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)