The grantee shall maintain a local office which provides the
necessary facilities, equipment, and personnel to comply, under normal
operating conditions, with the customer service standards set forth
in Subsections A through E of this section. For purposes of this section,
the term "normal operation conditions" embrace all conditions which
are within the control of the grantee, including special promotions,
pay-per-view events, rate increases, and maintenance or upgrade of
the cable system, but excluding conditions outside the grantee's
control, such as, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages,
telephone network outages, and extreme weather:
A. On a monthly basis, provide sufficient customer service representatives
and toll-free telephone-line capacity during normal business hours
to ensure that a minimum of 90% of all calls will be answered within
30 seconds and 90% of all calls for service will not be required to
wait more than 30 seconds after such call has been answered before
being connected to a service representative. All incoming customer
service lines shall not be simultaneously busy more than 3% of the
total time the cable office is open on any business day.
B. Staffed emergency toll-free telephone-line capacity on a twenty-four-hour basis,
including weekends and holidays.
C. Maintenance of an office in the franchise area of the intergovernmental
cable communications authority (hereinafter "the authority") with
adequate office hours to meet public demand. The authority may require
the grantee to alter or extend these hours if there is significant
evidence through subscriber complaints that the posted hours are not
adequate.
D. An emergency system maintenance and repair staff, capable of responding
to and repairing system malfunctions on a twenty-four-hour basis.
E. An installation staff, capable of furnishing standard installation
to any subscriber within seven days after receipt of a request. "Standard
installations" shall mean those located up to 175 feet from where
trunk and feeder cable have been activated. The grantee shall, at
its sole expense, cause all drops required to be buried to be properly
buried within 15 days of installation of service unless conditions
during such period make burial impracticable, in which case the drop
shall be buried within 15 days after physical conditions reasonably
allow for such burial. In the event of any dispute between the grantee
and the subscriber as to when conditions permit burial of the drop,
such dispute shall be resolved by the decision of the Township's
Building Official or other official designated by the Township to
resolve such disputes.
F. The grantee shall provide written instructions and information at
the time of installation and reinstallation, and at least annually
thereafter, to all subscribers on products and services, prices and
options, installation and service maintenance policies, instructions
for using the system, and billing and complaint procedures. Such instructions
and information shall include the grantee's business address,
applicable phone number, and the name of the appropriate official
or department of the grantee to whose attention the subscriber should
direct a request for service, request for billing adjustment or complaint.
Such instructions and information shall also include the name, business
address and telephone number of the authority's executive director
and the title, business address and telephone number of the designated
Township employee to whom they can call or write for information regarding
the terms, conditions, and provisions governing the grantee's
franchise if the grantee fails to respond within a reasonable period
of time to the subscriber's complaint or request for installation,
service or billing adjustment.
(1) The grantee shall promptly furnish revised written instructions and
information to each subscriber whenever the instructions and information
previously provided have been changed.
(2) The written instructions and information provided for herein shall
be subject to the review and approval of the authority which shall
not withhold its approval unreasonably. The authority shall have the
power to compel changes in such material if the authority deems the
same to be misleading, incorrect, or inadequate in any material respect,
and the grantee shall promptly institute any changes so required by
the authority.
Late payment charges imposed by the grantee upon subscribers
shall be fair and shall be reasonably related to the grantee's
cost of administering delinquent accounts. No late payment charge
shall be imposed upon a subscriber, and a subscriber shall not be
deemed to be in arrears on a bill, unless at least 21 days have elapsed
after the due date specified on the bill; and, for purposes of this
section and the prior section, the due date of administering delinquent
accounts. No late payment charge shall be imposed upon a subscriber,
and a subscriber shall not be deemed to be in arrears on a bill, unless
at least 30 days have elapsed after the due date specified on the
bill; and, for purposes of this section and the prior section, the
due date specified on the bill shall not be earlier than the first
day of the monthly period to which the bill is attributable.
The grantee shall provide at least 45 days' written notice
to subscribers prior to disconnecting any channel or programming service
or to realigning any channel and shall provide written notice of the
same to the authority no later than the grantee's notice to subscribers.
This provision shall not preclude the right of the Township, or the
authority on behalf of the Township, to contest or prohibit any such
action by the grantee if, and to the extent, such right exists. The
foregoing notice requirement shall not apply in cases in which a programming
service is discontinued because a nonaffiliated provider thereof discontinues
furnishing the same to the grantee on less than 45 days' notice
to the grantee. In any such case the grantee shall nevertheless furnish
notice to its subscribers and the authority promptly upon the grantee
receiving notice of the discontinuance of the programming service
from such unaffiliated provider.
The grantee shall provide at least 45 days' written notice
to subscribers prior to implementing any increase in subscriber rates
or reduction in subscriber services and shall provide written notice
of the same to the authority no later than the grantee's notice
to subscribers. The provisions of this section shall not preclude
the right of the Township, or the authority on behalf of the Township,
to contest or prohibit any such action by the grantee if, and to the
extent, permitted by law. Announcing or explaining any increase in
subscriber rates or reduction in programming services, the grantee
shall furnish a copy of such communication to the authority. The copy
of the communication required to be furnished to the authority hereunder
shall be deemed to be a report under applicable sections of the franchise
agreement, specifically, under the franchise agreement in effect as
of the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is
derived, subsections (G), (J) and (K) of section 19 of such franchise
agreement.
In the event the grantee, in any communication to the general
public, to the Township, to subscribers, or to the authority, justifies
a price increase or reduction in service on the basis of increased
costs to which the grantee has been subjected, then the grantee, on
written request of the authority, shall promptly furnish the authority
the underlying information on which such claim of increased costs
is based in such form as the authority may request. The information
so furnished by the grantee to the authority hereunder shall also
be deemed to be a report under applicable sections of the franchise
agreement, specifically, under the franchise agreement in effect as
of the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is
derived, subsections (G), (J) and (K) of section 19 of such franchise
agreement.
If the authority determines that the grantee has violated this article, the authority may order appropriate rebates to subscribers as provided in §
148-53 and/or assess liquidated damages against the grantee as provided in §
148-55. In addition, the Township may pursue any additional or other legal or equitable remedies available to it under the franchise agreement or any applicable law.
With respect to matters affecting the Township individually,
and excluding matters affecting all of the authority's member
communities equally, the grantee may appeal any action of the authority
to the Township by submitting a written appeal within 21 days from
the date of the authority's action to which the grantee objects.
Upon such appeal, the Township Board shall conduct a de novo review
of the action of the authority being appealed and shall set a hearing
date within 60 days of the date of receipt of the appeal. The grantee
may present any information, data or other evidence to the Township
Board either prior to or at the time of the hearing. Hearings shall
be open to the public and members of the public and representatives
of the authority may also present any evidence or information pertinent
to the matter appealed. The Township Board shall then determine whether
to uphold, reverse, or modify the action of the authority. The appeal
shall stay any further action on the matter appealed until the appeal
has been decided by the Township Board.