[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lock
Haven 3-21-1994 by Ord. No. 462B (Ch. 13, Part 4, of the 2003 Code of Ordinances). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.Â
Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
"City of Lock Haven Cable Television Ordinance Amendments of 1993."
B.Â
Repealer. All other ordinances of the City of Lock Haven are repealed
to the extent inconsistent herewith. All franchise agreements between
the City of Lock Haven and cable operators are abrogated to the extent,
and only to the extent, inconsistent herewith, except to the extent
abrogation is not required by the Federal Cable Television Consumer
Protection and Competition Act of 1992[1] or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
[1]
Editor's Note: See See 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq.
C.Â
Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to regulate cable television
in the exercise of the power of City Council to:
D.Â
Federal law. This chapter is enacted under the Federal Cable Television
Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, which permits local
franchising authorities to regulate cable television, subject to certain
substantive and procedural limitations.
E.Â
Interpretation. In interpreting and applying the provisions of this
chapter, these provisions shall be construed broadly as required for
the maintenance of peace, good government, safety and welfare of the
City and its trade, commerce and manufactures.
F.Â
Conflict with federal law. It is the intent of City Council that
this chapter conform to the federal law. If a court of competent jurisdiction
declares any provision of this chapter to be in conflict with the
federal law, the federal law will control and this chapter, to the
extent that any provision is declared to be in conflict with the federal
law, shall not apply.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
All equipment in a cable subscriber's home that is used
to receive the basic service, regardless of whether such equipment
is additionally used to receive other tiers of regulated programming
service and/or unregulated service. Equipment shall include, but not
be limited to:
At a minimum, all signals of domestic television broadcast
stations provided to any subscriber (except a signal secondarily transmitted
by satellite carrier beyond the local service area of such station,
regardless of how such signal is ultimately received by the cable
system), any public, educational and governmental programming required
by the franchise to be carried on the basic tier and any additional
video programming signals a service added to the basic tier by the
cable operator.
The rate charged by a cable operator for basic service and
associated equipment costs.
Any person or group of persons:
A facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths
and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment
that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming
and which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community,
but does not include:
A facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals
of one or more television broadcast stations.
A facility that serves only subscribers in one or more multiple-unit
dwellings under common ownership, control or management, unless such
facility uses any public right-of-way.
A facility of a common carrier, except to the extent that such
facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly
to subscribers.
Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating
its electric utility systems.
The Lock Haven City Council.
The Federal Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984,[1] as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection
and Competition Act of 1992, and all regulations promulgated by the
FCC thereunder, as any of the foregoing may be amended from time to
time.
The Federal Communications Commission.
The City of Lock Haven, a City of the third class; a political
subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq.
[Amended 2-24-2003 by Ord. No. 670]
A.Â
Appointment and powers of compliance officer.
(1)Â
For the administration of this chapter, a compliance officer, who
shall not hold any elective office in the City, shall be appointed
by the City Council.
(2)Â
The compliance officer shall meet the qualifications established
by City Council and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction
of City Council a working knowledge of cable regulation under the
federal law and this chapter.
(3)Â
The compliance officer shall administer this chapter in accordance
with its literal terms.
B.Â
Duties of compliance officer. This compliance officer shall be responsible
for:
(1)Â
Taking such action on behalf of the City as may from time to time
be required to obtain or maintain the City's certification to
regulate basic service rates.
(2)Â
Notifying all cable operators serving the City when the City has
been certified by the FCC to regulate basic service rates.
(3)Â
Notifying all cable operators serving the City that the City intends
to enforce the minimum customer service standards established by the
federal law.
(4)Â
Making all filings required or permitted to be made to the FCC by
the City pursuant to the federal law, subject to oversight and control
of City Council.
(5)Â
Receiving, filing in the public records of the City, reviewing for
completeness and placing on the City Council's agenda for consideration,
all submissions, petitions and other filings required or permitted
to be made to the City pursuant to the federal law. All submissions,
petitions and other filings made to the City pursuant to the federal
law shall be made via first class mail, postage prepaid, to the following
address:
City of Lock Haven
Attn: Cable Television Compliance Officer
City Hall, 20 East Church Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745
|
(6)Â
Receiving and transmitting to the proper officer of the City any
filing fees paid pursuant to this chapter. The filing of fees, as
applicable to this chapter, shall be in amounts established from time
to time by resolution of City Council.
(7)Â
Enforcing the provisions of this chapter and all decisions of City
Council made hereunder to the fullest extent permitted by the federal
law, subject to the oversight and control of City Council.
(8)Â
Taking such other action as may be necessary from time to time, subject
to the oversight and control of City Council, to protect the right
of the City to regulate cable television to the fullest extent permitted
by the federal law.
[Amended 2-24-2003 by Ord. No. 670]
The City Council shall regulate basic service rates in accordance
with the substantive and procedural provisions of the federal law
and any applicable state law or regulations or local ordinances.
A.Â
Duties of cable operators.
(1)Â
Within 30 days of receiving written notification from the City that
the City has been certified by the FCC to regulate rates for the basic
service, a cable operator shall file its schedule of rates for the
basic service and associated equipment with the City.
(2)Â
At least 30 days prior to increasing its rates for the basic service,
a cable operator shall notify each subscriber of the proposed rate
increase in billing envelopes and shall file a notice of its proposed
rate increase with the City, together with the fee in an amount as
established from time to time by resolution of City Council.
(3)Â
At the time of filing a schedule of rates or a proposed rate increase
with the City, a cable operator shall:
(a)Â
Publish a summary of the rates or rate increase in a local newspaper
of daily general circulation for at least three consecutive days in
a block advertisement no smaller than three inches by four inches;
and
(b)Â
Cablecast a summary of the rates or rate increase on its public information
channel, at least twice daily at such times as are reasonably expected
to reach the largest audience, over a seven-day period, in each case
notifying interested parties that they must submit written comments
by a certain date (within 15 days of the cable operator's filing
with the City), at the municipal address.
(4)Â
A cable operator shall comply with all orders of the City, except
that a cable operator shall not be required to comply with an order
if the cable operator demonstrates that complying with the order would
require the cable operator to disclose proprietary information.
B.Â
Duties of the City.
(1)Â
Upon receipt of a cable operator's schedule of rates or a proposed
rate increase, the City shall cablecast a summary of the rates or
rate increase on the channel(s) allocated to the City at least twice
daily at such times as are reasonably expected to reach the largest
audience, over a three-day period, along with a notice that interested
parties shall submit written comments to the City by a date certain
(within 15 days of the cable operator's filing with the City),
at the City address.
(2)Â
The City shall make any decision on the reasonableness of current
basic service rates and proposed rate increases pursuant to the procedural
and substantive provisions of the federal law.
(3)Â
In making a decision on the reasonableness of current basic service
rates or proposed rate increases, the City shall have the authority
to compel the production of proprietary information from cable operators
and, in such circumstances, the City shall be subject to the confidentiality
provisions set forth elsewhere in this chapter.
C.Â
Enforcement. In rendering its decisions, the City Council shall have
the full authority granted to it pursuant to the federal law to order
a cable operator to take any and all actions as the federal law permits
including, without limitation:
(1)Â
Ordering a cable operator to implement a reduction in basic service
tier or associated equipment rates where necessary to bring rates
into compliance with the standards set forth in the federal law.
(2)Â
Prescribing a reasonable rate for the basic service tier or associated
equipment after it determines that a proposed rate is unreasonable.
(3)Â
Ordering a cable operator to refund to subscribers that portion of
previously paid rates determined to be in excess of the permitted
tier charge or above the actual cost of equipment, unless the operator
has submitted a cost-of-service showing which justified the rate charged
as reasonable. Before ordering such a refund, however, the City shall
give the operator notice and shall give the operator 15 days from
the date such notice is given to submit written comments to the City.
Any such refund order shall be further subject to the limitations
contained in the federal law.
D.Â
Penalties. In the event that a cable operator does not comply with
a decision made pursuant to this chapter and directed specifically
toward the cable operator, the City may assess a fine against the
cable operator as set by resolution of the City of Lock Haven.
A.Â
Federal minimum customer service standards adopted. It is the intent
of the City to enforce the following minimum customer service standards
as established by the federal law:
(1)Â
Cable system office hours and telephone availability.
(a)Â
The cable operator will maintain a local, toll-free or collect
call telephone access line which will be available to its subscribers
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
[1]Â
Trained company representatives will be available to respond
to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
[2]Â
After normal business hours, the access line may be answered
by a service or an automated response system, including an answering
machine. Inquiries received after normal business hours must be responded
to by a trained company representative on the next business day.
(b)Â
Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by
a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30
seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time
under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
(c)Â
The operator will not be required to acquire equipment or perform
surveys to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards
above unless an historical record of complaints indicates a clear
failure to comply.
(d)Â
Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive
a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
(e)Â
Customer service center and bill payment locations will be open
at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located.
(2)Â
Installation, outages and service calls. Under normal operating conditions,
each of the following four standards will be met no less than 95%
of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
(a)Â
Standard installations will be performed within seven business
days after an order has been placed. "Standard" installations are
those that are located up to 125 feet from the existing distribution
system.
(b)Â
Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator, the
cable operator will begin working on "service interruptions" promptly
and in no event later than 24 hours after the interruption becomes
known. The cable operator must begin actions to correct other service
problems the next business day after notification of the service problem.
(c)Â
The "appointment window" alternatives for installations, service
calls and other installation activities will be either a specific
time or, at maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business
hours. (The operator may schedule service calls and other installation
activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience
of the customer.)
(d)Â
An operator may not cancel an appointment with a customer after
the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
(e)Â
If a cable operator representative is running late for an appointment
with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled,
the customer will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled,
as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer.
(3)Â
Communications between cable operators and cable subscribers.
(a)Â
Notification to subscribers.
[1]Â
The cable operator shall provide written information on each
of the following areas at the time of installation of service, at
least annually to all subscribers, and at any time upon request.
[a]Â
Products and services offered.
[b]Â
Prices and options for programming services and
conditions of subscription to programming and other services.
[c]Â
Installation and service maintenance policies.
[d]Â
Instructions on how to use the cable service.
[e]Â
Channel positions of programming carried on the
system.
[f]Â
Billing and complaint procedures, including the
address and telephone number of the local franchise authority's
cable office.
[2]Â
Billing.
[a]Â
Bills will be clear, concise and understandable.
Bills must be fully itemized with itemizations including, but not
limited to, basic and premium service charges and equipment charges.
Bills will also clearly delineate all activity during the billing
period, including optional charges, rebates and credits.
[b]Â
In case of a billing dispute, the cable operator
must respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within 30 days.
[4]Â
Credits. Credits for service will be issued no later than the
customer's next billing cycle following the determination that
a credit is warranted.
(4)Â
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
SERVICE INTERRUPTION
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Those hours during which most similar businesses in the community
are open to serve customers. In all cases, "normal business hours"
must include some evening hours at least one night per week and/or
some weekend hours.
Those service conditions which are within the control of
the cable operator. Those conditions which are not within the control
of the cable operator include, but are not limited to, natural disasters,
civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages and severe
or unusual weather conditions. Those conditions which are ordinarily
within the control of the cable operator include, but are not limited
to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular
peak or seasonal demand periods and maintenance or upgrade of the
cable system.
The loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels.
B.Â
Enforcement. In furtherance thereof, the compliance officer, 90 days
after giving notice to the cable operators of the City's intent
to enforce these standards, shall have the authority and responsibility
to enforce these standards to the fullest extent permitted by the
federal law and in accordance with all substantive and procedural
requirements of the federal law. In furtherance thereof, the compliance
officer may make any and all such orders and assess any and all such
penalties for violations of these standards as are permitted by the
federal law, subject to the oversight and control of the City Council,
including, without limitation:
C.Â
Other customer service standards not affected. All other customer
service standards, whether established by franchise agreement, state
law or regulation or local ordinance, and whether now or hereafter
enacted, shall remain in full force and effect to the extent that
such other customer service standards are not preempted by the federal
law.