[R.O. 2011 § 670.690; R.O. 2009 § 111.110; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
The City shall be responsible for the continued administration of this Chapter and all franchise agreements. The City may delegate this authority from time to time in any manner consistent with applicable law.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.700; R.O. 2009 § 111.111; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A grantee shall not be relieved of its obligation to comply with any of the provisions of this Chapter or a franchise agreement adopted pursuant to this Chapter by reason of any failure of the City to enforce prompt compliance.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.710; R.O. 2009 § 111.112; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A. 
The grantee shall establish procedures for receiving, acting upon and resolving customer complaints and crediting customer accounts in accordance with "Schedule A: Credits to Customers" and as otherwise provided herein without intervention by the grantor. Such procedures prescribe the manner in which any subscriber may submit a complaint by telephone or in writing to the grantee that it has violated any provision of these customer service standards, any terms or conditions of the customer's contract with the grantee or reasonable business practices.
1. 
The grantee's complaint procedure shall be filed with the grantor prior to its acceptance of the franchise.
2. 
The grantee's investigation of a subscriber complaint shall be concluded in no more than fifteen (15) business days after receiving the complaint, at which time the grantee shall notify the subscriber of the results of its investigation and its proposed action or credit. In the case of a billing dispute, a grantee must respond to a subscriber's telephone inquiry about their bill within three (3) business days.
3. 
The grantee shall also notify the subscriber of his/her rights to file a complaint with the grantor in the event the subscriber is dissatisfied with the grantee's decision and shall thoroughly explain the necessary procedures for filing such complaints with the grantor.
4. 
The grantee shall report all subscriber complaints that it does not find valid to the grantor. The grantor will review all complaints against grantee regarding quality of service, equipment malfunctions, billing disputes, property damage and matters included under Schedule A, at such time when a subscriber is dissatisfied with a proposed decision by the grantee or when a subscriber has not received a decision within the time allotted under Subsection (B) of this Section. The subscriber may initiate the review either by calling the grantor or by filing a written complaint together with the grantee's written decision, if any, with the grantor. The subscriber shall make such filing and notification within twenty (20) days of receipt of grantee's decision or if no decision was provided, within thirty (30) days after filing the original complaint with the grantee.
5. 
If the grantor decides that further evidence is warranted, the grantor shall require the grantee and the subscriber to submit, within ten (10) days of notice thereof, a written statement of facts and arguments in support of their respective positions. The grantee and subscriber shall produce any additional evidence, which the grantor may deem necessary to an understanding and determination of the complaint.
6. 
The grantor shall issue a determination within fifteen (15) days after examining the materials submitted, setting forth the basis for determination. The grantor may extend the time limits for reasonable cause and may intercede and attempt to negotiate an informal resolution.
7. 
If the grantor determines that the subscriber's complaint is valid and that the grantee did not provide the subscriber with the proper solution and/or credit, the grantor may reverse any decision by the grantee in the matter and/or require the grantee to grant a specific solution as determined by the grantor in its sole discretion and/or provide the subscriber with the amount of the credit as set forth in Schedule A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule A is included as an attachment to this Chapter.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.720; R.O. 2009 § 111.113; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A. 
Whenever grantor has reason to believe that a grantee has violated any provision of a franchise agreement or this Chapter, including the customer service and telephone availability requirements, grantor shall first notify the grantee in writing of the violation and demand correction within a reasonable time, which shall not be less than thirty (30) days. If a grantee fails to demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of grantor that no violation exists or if grantee fails to correct the violation within the time prescribed or if a grantee is unable to correct the violation and fails to commence corrective action within the time prescribed and to diligently remedy such violation thereafter, the grantee shall then be given written notice of not less than thirty (30) days of a public hearing to be held before the Council. Said notice shall indicate with reasonable specificity the violation alleged to have occurred. This procedure shall apply to all alleged franchise violations, including those in which grounds for revocation are considered.
B. 
At the public hearing, the Council shall hear and consider all relevant evidence and thereafter render findings and a decision based upon the evidence.
C. 
In the event the City finds that a grantee has corrected the violation or promptly commenced correction of such violation after notice thereof from grantor and is diligently proceeding to fully remedy the violation or that no violation has occurred, the proceedings shall terminate and no penalty or other sanction shall be imposed, except as provided for in Subsection (H) of this Section.
D. 
In the event the City finds that a violation exists and that a grantee has not corrected the same in a satisfactory manner or did not promptly commence and diligently proceed to correct the violation, the City may impose penalties and/or liquidated damages from the security fund as follows:
1. 
For system construction schedule violations, including, but not limited to, provisions relating to initial construction schedules and system upgrade construction schedule, five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day of non-compliance;
2. 
For all other violations, two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per day per violation.
E. 
If grantor elects to assess penalties or liquidated damages, then such election shall constitute grantor's exclusive remedy for a period of sixty (60) days. Thereafter, if a grantee remains in non-compliance, the grantor may pursue any other available remedy, including franchise revocation.
F. 
In the event that a franchise is canceled or terminated by reason of the default of a grantee, the security fund deposited pursuant to a franchise agreement shall remain in effect and available to the grantor until all pending claims or penalties are resolved or settled, after which point any remaining amounts in the security fund shall revert to the possession of the grantee.
G. 
The rights reserved to grantor with respect to the security fund are in addition to all other rights of grantor, whether reserved by a franchise agreement, this Chapter or authorized by law and no action, proceeding or exercise of a right with respect to such security fund shall affect any other right grantor may have.
H. 
The foregoing provisions shall not be deemed to preclude the grantor from obtaining any other available remedies for repeated violations of the same general type, whether remedied or not.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.730; R.O. 2009 § 111.114; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A. 
In addition to any rights in this Chapter or a franchise agreement, grantor reserves the right to utilize the above described enforcement procedure to revoke the franchise and all rights and privileges pertaining thereto, in the event that any of the following occur and the City and grantee are not able to mutually agree upon a cure or alternate remedy:
1. 
A grantee substantially violates any material provision of this Chapter or a franchise agreement;
2. 
A grantee practices an act of fraud or deceit upon the grantor; or
3. 
A grantee becomes insolvent, unable or unwilling to pay its debts or is adjudged bankrupt.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.740; R.O. 2009 § 111.115; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A. 
Upon the imposition of a penalty or revocation decision, a grantee shall have a period of one hundred twenty (120) days subsequent to the date of the formal adoption of the decision by the City Council within which to file an appeal with a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. 
During any such appeal period, the franchise shall remain in full force and effect.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.750; R.O. 2009 § 111.116; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
Any dispute arising with respect to this Chapter, or a franchise agreement granted pursuant to it, shall be subject to review by the State and Federal courts sitting in Saint Charles County, Missouri.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.760; R.O. 2009 § 111.117; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
If any Section, sentence, phrase, provision, paragraph or term of this Chapter or a franchise granted hereunder is held void or otherwise rendered unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be deemed severable from this Chapter and the franchise agreement and the remainder of this Chapter and the franchise agreement shall continue in full force and effect. Nothing in this Section, however, shall be deemed to limit the grantor or a grantee's ability to assert any claim regarding the enforceability of this Chapter or the terms of a franchise agreement on grounds other than that the provision at issue is not severable, including claims of failure of consideration.