[R.O. 1991 § 615.120; Ord. No. 1607 §§ 10
— 11, 3-21-1995]
A.
Company Office. An operator shall maintain
an office in the Kansas City metropolitan area that is reasonably
accessible to residents and open during all normal business hours.
The portion of the office open to the public shall comply with the
terms of the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act.[1] An operator shall maintain a drop box within the City
for collection of subscriber payments.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
B.
Telephone Access. An operator shall establish
and maintain at least one (1) publicly listed telephone number whereby
cable service subscribers may register service complaints, request
service and conduct other business. Any telephone number used to receive
cable service subscriber complaints and requests for repairs shall
be answered twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. Telephone
equipment shall be available to permit persons with hearing impairments
to communicate with the operator.
C.
Policies And Practices. An operator shall
have authority to promulgate, consistent with the terms of this Chapter
and its franchise agreement, the Act, and any other applicable Federal,
State or local laws, such rules, regulations, policies, prices and
subscriber practices as are reasonably necessary for its business,
including installation and disconnection policies, delinquent accounts
collection procedures and late penalty charges.
D.
Notice Of Program/Channel Changes. An operator
shall provide at least thirty (30) days' advance written notice to
the City of any change in channel assignment or in the video programming
service provided over any such channel if such change is within the
operator's control, and otherwise shall provide notice of the change
as soon as reasonably possible.
E.
Refunds To Subscribers. If any cable service
subscriber terminates, for any reason, any monthly service prior to
the end of a prepaid period, a prorated portion of any prepaid subscriber
service fee, using the number of days within the billing period as
a basis, shall be credited to the subscriber's account by the operator
and refunded to the subscriber upon settlement of all outstanding
obligations.
F.
Customer Service Standards.
1.
FCC Standards. Unless otherwise provided
by ordinance or by separate franchise agreement, the FCC customer
service standards, Appendix 2 — FCC Customer Service Standards,
which is on file in the City offices, are adopted and shall apply.
Acceptance of a separate franchise agreement by an operator shall
constitute any notice required by the FCC of the intent to enforce
Federal standards. Should FCC customer service standards change, the
City shall provide notice as required by the Act.
2.
No Waiver. Adoption of the FCC customer
service standards shall not constitute a waiver of the City's right
pursuant to the Act to unilaterally adopt and impose additional customer
service standards.
G.
Maintenance And Complaints.
1.
Duty To Provide Efficient Service.
An operator shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly
and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time
possible.
2.
Regular Office Hours. An operator's
office staff will maintain regular office hours from Monday through
Friday. Complaints concerning billing, employee courtesy, programming,
safety, the operator's operational policies, or any other matter raised
by a resident shall be handled during those hours.
3.
Repair Force. An operator shall maintain
a sufficient repair force of technicians that shall respond to subscriber
complaints, loss of service, or requests for service.
4.
Resolution Of Complaints. All complaints
shall be resolved within seven (7) days from the date of the initial
complaint, to the extent reasonably possible. Upon request of the
Franchise Administrator or the Cable Advisory Board, an operator shall
provide a written explanation of its inability to resolve a complaint
within the time period specified herein.
5.
Pro-Rated Billing Credit For Service
Interruption. Upon request, a cable service subscriber's account shall
be credited if the subscriber is without service for any reason, except
subscriber inflicted damages to the operator's equipment. An operator
shall, at least annually, provide written notice to its cable service
subscribers of this right.
6.
Complaints Received By The City. All subscribers and residents may direct complaints and inquiries regarding an operator's service or performance to the City. Such complaints and inquiries will be promptly submitted to the operator. If, in the sole discretion of the Franchise Administrator, it is concluded that the operator may not have attempted to resolve a dispute to the reasonable satisfaction of the person initiating a complaint, and if the complaint remains unresolved, the City may conduct public hearings regarding the complaint or may proceed pursuant to the provisions of Section 615.170 of this Chapter, if applicable. If a hearing is conducted, all parties to the dispute shall be invited to participate. A record shall be maintained of the hearing.
H.
Equal Employment Opportunity.
1.
Notification To The City. Upon request,
an operator shall submit to the City copies of all filings made by
the operator pursuant to the Act and FCC regulations concerning equal
employment opportunity practices of the operator, if made by the operator.
If made as part of a larger filing by the operator's managing partner,
corporate owner or manager, or other responsible party, the operator
shall provide the information equivalent to that sought by the FCC
to the City.
2.
Affirmative Action Plan. An operator
shall comply with all Federal, State and local laws applicable to
contractors and franchise holders doing business with the City.
I.
Annual Report By Operator. Within ninety
(90) days after the close of its fiscal year, an operator shall submit
to the City a written annual report in a form approved by the Franchise
Administrator, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld,
which shall contain at least the following information:
1.
Review Of System Development. A summary
of the previous year's activities in the development of the system
in the City, including, but not limited to, additions, deletions or
improvements begun or discontinued during the reporting year, and
a summary of the type and number of subscribers of each type, and
subscribers gained or lost.
2.
Financial Information. A balance
sheet or annual audited financial statement prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting practices. This information shall
be in addition to that required to establish the operator's gross
revenues, for purposes of establishing the required Franchise fee
payable to the City.
3.
Summary Of Complaints/Compliance
With Customer Service Standards.
a.
A summary of any written complaints received from cable service subscribers
concerning the operation of the system, and information verifying
compliance with the FCC customer service standards and any locally
imposed customer service standards. It is understood that reporting
by an operator of compliance may, if the operator does not possess
technology which can reasonably report compliance by jurisdiction
serviced by the operator, be done on a unified basis by the operator.
In addition, an operator shall, upon written request of the City from
time to time, in response to subscriber inquiries, complaints or disputes,
provide to the City a report of complaint information, including the
operator's responses, on any individual subscriber. The report shall
include at least the following:
(1)
Nature of the complaint;
(2)
Actions taken to resolve the complaint;
(3)
Whether the complaint was resolved, and if it was, the length
of time taken to resolve the complaint;
(4)
If the complaint was not resolved, whether it is anticipated
that the complaint will be resolved; and
(5)
If it is not anticipated that the complaint will be resolved,
an explanation of why that conclusion is reached.
b.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require the operator
to provide information it reasonably believes to be in violation of
the privacy provisions contained in the Act or other applicable law.
4.
Other Required Information. Unless
directed otherwise by a separate franchise agreement, all reports,
records, maps or other information required by this Chapter or a separate
franchise agreement to be submitted to the City, but for which no
specific time for submission is provided, shall be included in the
annual report.
J.
Broad Categories Of Programming. An operator
shall offer to cable service subscribers a variety of programs generally
available to cable communications systems, designed to reflect the
interests of the residents of the City, including ethnic and racial
minorities. It is recognized that programming may be affected by channel
capacity, programming availability, interests of subscribers, and
other circumstances.
