City shall exercise appropriate regulatory authority under the provisions of this Chapter and applicable law. If the franchise area served by the cable communications system also serves other contiguous or neighboring communities, City may, at its sole option, participate in a joint regulatory agency, with delegated responsibility in the area of cable and related communications.
(Prior code § 63013; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
City may exercise regulatory responsibility, including, but not limited to, the following areas:
(a) 
Administering and enforcing the provisions of the cable communications system franchise(s).
(b) 
Coordination of the operation of public, educational, and government access channels and facilities.
(c) 
Providing technical, programming, and operational support to public agency users, such as government departments, schools, and social service providers.
(d) 
Establishing procedures and standards for use of channels and facilities dedicated to PEG access use, if provided for in any franchise agreement.
(e) 
Planning expansion and growth of public benefit cable service.
(f) 
Analyzing the possibility of integrating cable communications with other local, state, or national telecommunications networks.
(g) 
Formulating and recommending long-range telecommunications policy.
(Prior code § 63014; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
As specified in the franchise agreement, City shall utilize a portion of the cable communications system capacity, and associated facilities and resources, to develop and provide cable services that will be in the public interest. It is the intent of City to insure that public, educational or government access facilities provided for in any franchise agreement shall be managed in the best public interest so that programming using such facilities will be open to all residents, and available for all forms of public expression, community information, and debate of public issues.
(a) 
Delegation of Public Usage Facility Management. City may delegate or assign all or a portion of the responsibility for management of public, education or government access facilities to an entity or entities which may include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
(1) 
A nonprofit public corporation.
(2) 
An access facility management commission or committee, appointed by City, or elected, and representing a broad spectrum of the community.
(3) 
An established nonprofit entity with special cable-casting capability, such as a local or regional community college.
(4) 
A grantee of a cable franchise.
(5) 
A City department or division with special cable-casting ability.
(b) 
Functions. Any entity or entities designated to manage all or a portion of the PEG access facilities and public usage of the system shall share responsibility with City for such of the following functions as may be specified by City:
(1) 
Management of Facilities. To assume responsibility for and management of the public access facilities as may in the franchise agreement be designated for community-based programming. Community channels may include public, educational, and government access channels, as designated in the franchise agreement.
(2) 
PEG Utilization. Receive and utilize or reallocate for utilization on a periodic basis, channel capacity, facilities, funding, and other support provided specifically for public usage of the cable communications system to conform with changing priorities and public needs.
(3) 
Administration and Regulation. To devise, establish, and administer rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to the use and scheduling of the PEG access facilities.
(4) 
Reports on Utilization. Report to City annually, or upon request, on the utilization of resources, about the new public services developed and the benefits achieved for City and its residents.
(5) 
Non-Discriminatory Access. To assure that the PEG access facilities are made available to all residents of the franchise area on a nondiscriminatory, first-come, first-served basis.
(6) 
Non-Censorship. To assure that no censorship or control over program content of the PEG access facilities exists except as necessary to comply with Federal prohibition of material that is obscene.
(7) 
Hiring of Staff. To hire and supervise staff.
(8) 
Purchase of Materials. To make all purchases of materials and equipment that may be required.
(9) 
Development of Funding Sources. To develop sources of funding, such as foundation or Federal or state grants, to further community programming.
(10) 
Performance of Relevant Functions. To perform such other functions relevant to the PEG access facilities as may be appropriate.
(11) 
Establishment of Budget. To establish budgets on an annual basis, and utilize funds and resources received from City or the public usage entity designated in Section 6.108.06.030(a), for the purpose of PEG access programming.
(c) 
Access Rules. Any entity or entities to whom City delegates or assigns access facility management responsibilities shall complete a set of rules for the use of all or a portion of the access facilities which shall be promptly forwarded to City. The rules shall be prepared in cooperation with Grantee and confirmed by agreement between the PEG access facility management entity and Grantee. The rules shall, at a minimum provide for:
(1) 
Access on a first-come, first-served, nondiscriminatory basis for all residents of the franchise area.
(2) 
Prohibition of commercial use.
(3) 
Prohibition of any presentation of obscene material.
(4) 
Public inspection of the log of producers, which shall be retained by the Grantee for a period of four years.
(5) 
Procedures by which individuals or groups who violate any rule may be prevented from further access to the facilities.
(6) 
Free use of such reasonable amounts of channel time, cable-casting facilities, and technical support as are provided for in the agreement between any PEG access facility management entity and Grantee.
(Prior code § 63015; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
(a) 
Uniform Application. Grantee shall establish rates for its services that shall be applied fairly and uniformly to all subscribers in the franchise area.
(b) 
Schedule of Rates. Grantee shall maintain and file with City, a complete schedule of subscriber rates including all fees and charges for services. Grantee shall notify City and cable subscribers at least 30 days prior to any change in rates.
(c) 
Disconnection. There shall be no charge for disconnection from the system.
(d) 
Reconnection. If a subscriber has failed to pay properly due monthly fees or if a subscriber disconnects for seasonal periods, Grantee may require, in addition to full payment of any delinquent fees, a reasonable fee for reconnection.
(e) 
No Consideration Beyond Schedule. Grantee shall receive no consideration whatsoever for or in connection with its provision of service to its subscribers other than as filed with City.
(Prior code § 63016; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
To the extent permitted by law, the franchise agreement may provide a procedure for the review and approval of rate changes by the City.
(Prior code § 63017; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
At City's sole option, within 90 days of the first anniversary of the effective date of each franchise, and each year thereafter throughout the term of the franchise, City and Grantee shall meet publicly to review the performance and quality of service of the cable communications system. The reports required in Section 6.108.16.070 regarding subscriber complaints, the records of performance tests and the opinion survey report shall be utilized as the basis for review. In addition, any subscriber may submit comments during the review meetings, either orally or in writing, and these shall be considered.
(a) 
Within 30 days after the conclusion of the quality of service review meetings, City shall issue a report with respect to the adequacy of system performance and quality of service. If inadequacies are found, City may direct Grantee to correct the inadequacies within a reasonable period of time.
(b) 
Failure of Grantee, after due notice, to correct the inadequacies shall be considered a material breach of the franchise, and City may, at its sole discretion, exercise any remedy within the scope of this ordinance considered appropriate.
(Prior code § 63018; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
To provide for technological, economic, and regulatory changes in the state of the art of cable communications, to facilitate renewal procedures, to promote the maximum degree of flexibility in the cable system, and to achieve a continuing, advanced modern system, the following system and services review procedures are hereby established:
(a) 
At City's sole option, City and Grantee shall hold a system and services review session on or about the second anniversary date of the franchise agreement. Subsequent system review sessions shall be scheduled by City approximately each two years thereafter.
(b) 
Sixty days prior to the scheduled system and services review session, Grantee shall submit a report to City indicating the following:
(1) 
All cable system services that are being provided on an operational basis, excluding tests and demonstrations, to cities in the United States with populations comparable to that in the franchise area, that are not provided to City.
(2) 
A plan for provision of such services, or a justification indicating why such services are not feasible for the franchise area.
(c) 
Topics for discussion and review at the system and services review sessions shall include, but not be limited to, services provided, application of new technologies, system performance, programming, subscriber complaints, user complaints, rights of privacy, amendments to the franchise, undergrounding processes, developments in the law, and regulatory constraints, and technical and economic feasibility of system expansion or upgrading.
(d) 
Either City or Grantee may select additional topics for discussion at any review session.
(e) 
All system and services review sessions shall be open to the public and Grantee shall provide notice of such session at least 10 days preceding each session in a newspaper of general circulation in City. Grantee shall notify its subscribers of all system and services review sessions by announcement on at least two channels of its system between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., for 10 consecutive days preceding each session.
(f) 
Not later than 60 days after the conclusion of each system and services review session, City shall issue a report, including specifically a listing of any cable services not then being provided to City that are considered technically and economically feasible.
(Prior code § 63019; added by Ord. No. 1407CCS, adopted 4/28/87)
(a) 
A Franchise Agreement may provide that subsequent to each System and Services Review Session and City issuance of a report thereon, as set forth in Section 6.108.06.070, the City Council shall have the authority to order a public hearing on the provision of additional channel capacity by Grantee or on the inclusion in Grantee's cable system of "state of the art" technology or upgraded facilities. Notice of such hearing shall be provided to Grantee and the public not later than 30 days prior to such hearing.
(b) 
The City Council may order provision of additional channel capacity or upgrading of facilities if after the hearing provided in subdivision (a), it makes each of the following findings:
(1) 
There exists a reasonable need and demand for additional channel capacity and/or state of the art technology or upgraded facilities.
(2) 
Provision has been made or will be made for adequate rates which will allow Grantee a fair rate of return on its investment (including the investment required to provide the additional channels and/or the state-of-the-art technology or upgraded facilities).
(3) 
Will not result in economic waste for Grantee.
In considering the economic feasibility of required system improvements, the City Council may consider the extension of the term of the franchise to permit the recovery of the cost of said improvements. Any proposed extension of franchise is subject to the procedures for franchise renewal found in Section 6.108.04.060 of this Chapter. Without implying any limitations as to other provisions of this Chapter, this Section is deemed a material provision within the meaning of Sections 6.108.20.040 and 6.108.24.030 of this Chapter. Non-compliance with this Section shall constitute a breach of this Chapter, and City may, at its sole discretion, exercise any remedy it deems appropriate pursuant to this Chapter.
(Prior code § 63020)