In this article:
Basic cable rates.
The monthly charges for a subscription to the basic service
tier and the associated equipment.
Basic service tier.
A separately available service tier to which subscription
is required for access to any other tier of service, including as
a minimum, but not limited to, all must-carry signals, all PEG channels,
and all domestic television signals other than superstations.
Benchmark.
A per-channel rate of charge for cable service and associated
equipment which the FCC has determined is reasonable.
Cable operator.
Any person or group of persons:
(1)
Who provides cable service over a cable system and directly
or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such
a cable system; or
(2)
Who otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement,
the management and operation of such a cable system.
Channel.
A unit of cable service identified and selected by a channel
number or similar designation.
Cost of service showing.
A filing in which the cable operator attempts to show that
the benchmark rate or the price cap is not sufficient to allow the
cable operator to fully recover the costs of providing the basic service
tier and to continue to attract capital.
Equipment basket.
A cost center to which the cable operator assigns the direct
costs of service installation, leasing, maintaining and servicing
customer equipment. It includes an allocation of all system joint
and common costs that installation, leasing, and repairing equipment
share with other system activities and a reasonable profit, but excludes
general system overhead.
FCC.
The Federal Communications Commission.
HSC.
The hourly service charge that allows the cable operator
to recover all equipment basket costs, except for the cable operator’s
costs of purchasing and financing the lease of customer equipment.
Initial basic cable rates.
The rates that the cable operator is charging for the basic
service tier, including charges for associated equipment, at the time
the city notifies the cable operator of the city’s qualification
and intent to regulate basic cable rates.
Must-carry signal.
The signal of any local broadcast station (except superstations)
which is required to be carried on the basic service tier.
PEG channel.
The channel capacity designated for public, educational,
or governmental use, and facilities and equipment for the use of that
channel capacity.
Price cap.
The ceiling set by the FCC on future increases in basic cable
rates regulated by the city, based on a formula using the GNP fixed
weight price index, reflecting general increases in the cost of doing
business and changes in overall inflation.
Superstation.
Any nonlocal broadcast signal secondarily transmitted by
satellite.
(Ordinance 441 adopted 9/28/93)
(a) Notice.
A cable operator in the city who wishes to increase
the rates for the basic service tier or associated equipment shall
file a request with the city and notify all subscribers at least 30
days before the cable operator desires the increase to take effect.
This notice may not be given more often than annually and not until
at least one year after the determination of the initial basic cable
rates.
(b) Expedited determination and public hearing.
(1) If the city council is able to expeditiously determine that the cable
operator’s rate increase request for basic cable service is
within the FCC’s reasonable rate standard, as determined by
the applicable price cap, the city council shall:
(A) Hold a public hearing at which interested persons may express their
views; and
(B) Act to approve the rate increase within 30 days from the date the
cable operator filed its request with the city.
(2) If the city council takes no action within 30 days from the date
the cable operator filed its request with the city, the proposed rates
will go into effect.
(c) Extended review period.
(1) If the city council is unable to determine whether the rate increase
is within the FCC’s reasonable rate standard based on the material
before it, or if the cable operator submits a cost-of-service showing,
the city council shall, by adoption of a formal resolution, invoke
the following additional periods of time, as applicable, to make a
final determination:
(A) 90 days if the city council needs more time to ensure that the requested
increase is within the FCC’s reasonable rate standard as determined
by the applicable price cap; and
(B) 150 days if the cable operator has submitted a cost-of-service showing
seeking to justify a rate increase above the applicable price cap.
(2) The proposed rate increase is tolled during the extended review period.
(3) If the city council has not made a decision within the 90- or 150-day
period, the city council shall issue a brief written order at the
end of the period requesting the cable operator to keep accurate account
of all amounts received by reason of the proposed rate increase and
on whose behalf the amounts are paid.
(d) Public hearing.
During the extended review period and
before taking action on the requested rate increase, the city council
shall hold at least one public hearing at which interested persons
may express their views and record objections.
(e) Objections.
An interested person who wishes to make
an objection to the proposed rate increase may request the city secretary
to record the objection during the public hearing or may submit the
objection in writing anytime before the decision resolution is adopted.
In order for an objection to be made part of the record, the objector
must provide the city secretary with the objector’s name and
address.
(f) Delayed determination.
If the city council is unable
to make a final determination concerning a requested rate increase
within the extended time period, the cable operator may put the increase
into effect, subject to subsequent refund if the city council later
issues a decision disapproving any portion of the increase.
(g) Price cap analysis.
If a cable operator presents its
request for a rate increase as being in compliance with the FCC’s
price cap, the city council shall review the rate using the price
cap analysis in accordance with the standard form authorized by the
FCC. Based on the city council’s findings, the basic cable rates
shall be established as follows:
(1) If the proposed basic cable rate increase is within the price cap
established by the FCC, the proposed rates shall become the new basic
cable rates.
(2) If the proposed basic cable rate increase exceeds the price cap established
by the FCC, the city council shall disapprove the proposed rate increase
and order an increase that is in compliance with the price cap.
(h) Cost-of-service showings.
If a cable operator submits
a cost-of-service showing in an attempt to justify a rate increase
above the price cap, the city council will review the submission pursuant
the FCC standards for cost-of-service review. The city council may
approve a rate increase above the price cap if the cable operator
makes the necessary showing; however, a cost-of-service determination
resulting in a rate below the price cap or below the cable operator’s
then-current rate will prescribe the cable operator’s new rate.
(i) Decision.
The city council’s decision concerning
the requested rate increase shall be adopted by formal resolution.
If a rate increase proposed by a cable operator is disapproved in
whole or in part, or if objections were made by other parties to the
proposed rate increase, the resolution must state the reasons for
the decision. Objections may be made at the public hearing by a person
requesting the city secretary to record the objection or may be submitted
in writing at any time before the decision resolution is adopted.
(j) Refunds.
(1) The city council may order refunds of subscribers’ rate payments
with interest if:
(A) The city council was unable to make a decision within the extended time period as described in subsection
(c) above; and
(B) The cable operator implemented the rate increase at the end of the
extended review period; and
(C) The city council determines that the rate increase as submitted exceeds
the applicable price cap or that the cable operator failed to justify
the rate increase by a cost-of-service showing, and the city council
disapproves any portion of the rate increase.
(2) The method for paying any refund and the interest rate will be in
accordance with FCC regulations as directed in the city council’s
decision resolution.
(k) Appeal.
The city council’s decision concerning
rates for the basic service tier or associated equipment may be appealed
to the FCC in accordance with applicable federal regulations.
(Ordinance 441 adopted 9/28/93)
(a) City may require.
(1) In those cases when the cable operator has submitted initial rates
or proposed an increase that exceeds the reasonable rate standard,
the city council may require the cable operator to produce information
in addition to that submitted, including proprietary information,
if needed to make a rate determination. In these cases, a cable operator
may request the information be kept confidential in accordance with
this section.
(2) In cases where initial or proposed rates comply with the reasonable
rate standard, the city council may request additional information
only in order to document that the cable operator’s rates are
in accord with the standard.
(b) Request for confidentiality.
(1) A cable operator submitting information to the city council may request
in writing that the information not be made routinely available for
public inspection. A copy of the request shall be attached to and
cover all of the information and all copies of the information to
which it applies.
(2) If feasible, the information to which the request applies shall be
physically separated from any information to which the request does
not apply. If this is not feasible, the portion of the information
to which the request applies shall be identified.
(3) Each request shall contain a statement of the reasons for withholding
information and a statement of the facts upon which those reasons
are based.
(4) Casual requests which do not comply with the requirements of this
subsection shall not be considered.
(c) City council action.
Requests which comply with the requirements of subsection
(b) will be acted upon by the city council. The city council will grant the request if the cable operator presents, by a preponderance of the evidence, a case for nondisclosure consistent with applicable federal regulations. If the request is granted, the ruling will be placed in a public file in lieu of the information withheld from public inspection. If the request does not present a case for nondisclosure and the city council denies the request, the city council shall take one of the following actions:
(1) If the information has been submitted voluntarily without any direction
from the city, the cable operator may request that the city return
the information without considering it. Ordinarily, the city will
comply with this request. Only in the unusual instance that the public
interest so requires, will the information be made available for public
inspection.
(2) If the information was required to be submitted by the city council,
the information will be made available for public inspection.
(d) Appeal.
If the city council denies the request for confidentiality,
the cable operator may seek review of that decision from the FCC within
five working days of the city council’s decision, and the release
of the information will be stayed pending review.
(Ordinance 441 adopted 9/28/93)
(a) Annual inflation adjustment.
In accordance with FCC
regulations, the cable operator may adjust its capped base per-channel
rate for the basic service tier annually by the final GNP-PI index.
(b) Other external costs.
(1) The FCC regulations also allow the cable operator to increase its
rate for the basic service tier automatically to reflect certain external
cost factors to the extent that the increase in cost of those factors
exceeds the GNP-PI. These factors include retransmission consent fees,
programming costs, state and local taxes applicable to the provision
of cable television service, and costs of franchise requirements.
The total cost of an increase in a franchise fee may be automatically
added to the base per-channel rate, without regard to its relation
to the GNP-PI.
(2) For all categories of external costs other than retransmission consent
and franchise fees, the starting date for measuring changes in external
costs for which the basic service per-channel rate may be adjusted
will be the date on which the basic service tier becomes subject to
regulation or February 28, 1994, whichever occurs first. The permitted
per-channel charge may not be adjusted for costs of retransmission
consent fees or changes in those fees incurred before October 6, 1994.
(c) Notification and review.
The cable operator shall notify
the city at least 30 days in advance of a rate increase based on automatic
adjustment items. The city shall review the increase to determine
whether the item or items qualify as automatic adjustments. If the
city makes no objection within 30 days of receiving notice of the
increase, the increase may go into effect.
(Ordinance 441 adopted 9/28/93)
(a) Refunds.
The city may order the cable operator to refund
to subscribers a portion of previously paid rates under the following
circumstances:
(1) A portion of the previously paid rates have been determined to be
in excess of the permitted tier charge or above the actual cost of
equipment; or
(2) The cable operator has failed to comply with a valid rate order issued
by the city.
(b) Fines.
If the cable operator fails to comply with a
rate decision or refund order, the cable operator shall be subject
to a fine of $500.00 for each day the cable operator fails to comply.
(Ordinance 441 adopted 9/28/93)