[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Rouses
Point as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-4-1993 by L.L.
No. 2-1993]
The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992
required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish customer
service standards for the cable industry; on April 7, 1993, the FCC promulgated
standards at 47 CFR 76.309 addressing cable system office hours and telephone
availability, installations, outages and service calls and communication between
the cable operator and the subscriber; the FCC has concluded that its standards
are automatically effective without any action on the part of the Village
of Rouses Point, except that the Village of Rouses Point must notify the cable
operator 90 days before initiating enforcement of the FCC standards and must
adopt appropriate enforcement procedures; the Village of Rouses Point has
informed the cable operator that it intends to enforce the FCC's customer
service standards; the New York State Commission on Cable Television (NYSCCT),
in Order No. 93-182 (May 27, 1993), released its customer service standards
which add to and/or modify the requirements in the FCC standards, particularly
in regard to standard installations, appointment windows for service and installations,
cancellation of service, customer information, bill format and billing dispute
procedures; the NYSCCT customer service standards are immediately effective
in the Village of Rouses Point by virtue of the terms of the franchise agreements
with the cable operator; a copy of the FCC and NYSCCT standards is available
at the Village Office for public review; and the Village of Rouses Point desires
to enforce the FCC standards and those provisions of the NYSCCT's standards
that are more stringent than the FCC standards, and it is intended that this
article shall provide for the same.
The Village of Rouses Point, hereafter called the "Village," may delegate
its powers to enforce this article to Village employees or officers (hereinafter
"cable official"). The cable official will have the authority to:
A.
Administer oaths and affirmations.
B.
Issue subpoenas.
C.
Examine witnesses.
D.
Rule upon questions of evidence.
E.
Take or cause depositions to be taken.
F.
Conduct proceedings in accordance with this article.
G.
Exclude from the proceeding any person engaging in contemptuous
conduct or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.
H.
Hold conferences for the settlement or simplification
of the issues by consent of the parties.
I.
Take actions and make decisions or recommend decisions
in conformity with this article.
A.
Scope of review.
(1)
The Village may, on its own motion or at the request
of a subscriber, hold any such proceedings as are necessary to determine the
overall compliance of any cable operator with the customer service standards.
As a result of such proceedings, the Village may order any appropriate remedies,
as discussed in more detail below, for any violations of the customer service
standards.
(2)
Under this provision, the Village will generally limits
its review to system-wide problems associated with the cable operator and
will not address one-time problems of an individual subscriber. System-wide
problems are those problems that reflect a failure by the cable operator to
comply with the customer service standards throughout the franchise area or
on an ongoing or recurring basis.
(3)
Evidence of system-wide problems could include, but is
not limited to, complaints by a significant number of subscribers or repeated
complaints by the same subscriber.
B.
Notice to the public and the cable operator. The Village will provide at least 30 days' notice to the cable operator and the public of a proceeding under Subsection A concerning the cable operator's overall compliance with the customer service standards. Notice will be provided to the public through publication in a newspaper of local circulation and will include the subject of the proceeding, a statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the proceeding is to be held, the time and place of the proceeding and a statement that the proceeding is open to the public. The Village will provide the cable operator with a copy of the public notice and any additional information regarding the proceeding that the municipality deems necessary.
C.
Procedures for decisionmaking.
(1)
The Village shall hold such proceedings as are necessary
to determine the overall compliance of the cable operator with the customer
service standards. The Village may hold an informal conference with the cable
operator prior to any public proceeding to resolve any issues concerning customer
service.
(2)
If the Village elects to hold a formal proceeding, the
proceeding shall be open to the public. The Village will provide a fair and
reasonable opportunity for parties to raise comments and to cross-examine
other parties. No person who is a party to the proceeding, or his representative,
shall submit ex parte, off-the-record communications to the Village or its
employees. The Village and its employees shall not request any such submissions.
The cable operator, and any other parties, may be accompanied by counsel at
the proceeding.
D.
Written decision. The Village will issue a written decision,
including a summary of the positions of the Village and the cable operator,
any findings of fact made by the cable official and a brief explanation of
the reason for the decision. A copy of the decision will be made available
to the cable operator.
A.
Separate from § 55-3 above, the Village can review individual subscriber complaints under the procedures set forth in this section.
B.
Filing a complaint.
(1)
A subscriber may only file a complaint after it has first
contacted the cable operator and tried to resolve the problem with the operator.
If the problem cannot be resolved, the subscriber may file a customer service
complaint against the cable operator on the appropriate form and mail it to
the Village of Rouses Point Offices at P.O. Box 185, 139 Lake Street, Rouses
Point, New York 12979-0185. Complaint forms can be obtained from the office
of the Village at the above address. Upon receipt of a customer service complaint,
the Village will promptly provide a copy of the complaint to the cable operator.
(2)
The complaint must include:
(a)
The name and address of the complainant.
(b)
The name and address of the cable operator.
(c)
The subject of the complaint, including whether the problem
pertains to cable operator office hours and availability, installations, service
calls, outages, communications, bills or other problems.
(d)
The relief requested by the complainant.
C.
Cable operator response.
(1)
The cable operator must respond to the complaint within
10 days of receipt by providing a written answer. The answer must be served
on the municipality and the complainant. The answer must contain a statement
of:
(a)
The nature of the problem.
(b)
The reason for the problem.
(c)
The length of the alleged violation and whether the problem
is recurring or ongoing.
(d)
The action the cable operator has taken to resolve the
complaint or preclude it from happening again.
(e)
A statement of why additional relief is or is not necessary.
(2)
The cable operator response can contain any other information
the cable operator considers necessary to aid the municipality in its resolution
of the complaint. The cable operator must also provide the municipality with
all records regarding the customer's complaint.
D.
Procedures for decisionmakings.
(1)
The Village handling customer service complaints may
obtain the information necessary to resolve the complaint through written
submissions from the complainant and the cable operator, including any reports
or data; telephone conversations between the complainant (or his representative)
and the cable operator (or his representative); or through a conference conducted
by the Village at which the complainant, accompanied by an attorney if he
desires, and the cable operator, accompanied by an attorney if he desires,
are present. The Village will seek to resolve the complaint, if at all possible,
through written submissions.
(2)
The Village shall afford both the complainant and the
cable operator a fair and reasonable opportunity to present evidence and to
challenge evidence submitted by the other party to the dispute. The Village
can request, on its own initiative or at the request of the complainant, written
materials from either party, including but not limited to reports, documents
or records that pertain to cable operator compliance with customer service
standards. The cable operator and the complainant will be required to provide
these reports. The Village shall seek to avoid any requests for information
of a personal nature unless that information is necessary to resolve the dispute
consistent with the New York Personal Privacy Protection Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 91 et seq.
E.
Written decision. The Village will issue a written decision,
including a summary of the positions of the parties, any findings of fact
made by the Village and a brief explanation of the reason for the decision.
A copy of the decision will be made available to the complainant, the cable
operator and the public.
A.
Relief.
(1)
The Village can provide such relief as is appropriate
for any violations of the customer service standards, including but not limited
to:
(a)
Ordering credits for subscribers.
(b)
Ordering refunds for subscribers.
(c)
Providing compensation for any late charges paid.
(d)
Refunding subscribers any interest paid on late charges
or other charges.
(e)
Assessing penalties against the cable operator for violation
of the standards.
(f)
Ordering the cable operator to undertake specific remedies
or performance to correct, alleviate or avoid a customer service violation.
B.
Aggregate system compliance. If any relief is provided
to subscribers in an aggregate system compliance proceeding, the cable operator
will first identify the subscribers that were harmed by its actions and provide
refunds, credits or other relief to those subscribers. If it is infeasible
for the cable operator to identify those subscribers that were directly harmed
by its actions, it will provide a refund, credit or other relief to either
all current subscribers or current subscribers of the same type as those that
were affected by its actions (e.g., subscribers in the same neighborhood or
with similar types of equipment), whichever is more appropriate.
A.
The cable operator shall maintain a record summarizing
all complaints, suggestions or comments (either written or oral) received
regarding cable service during the term of the franchise. Subscribers must
only be identified by subscriber billing number or other identification number
used by the cable operator and not by the name of the subscriber. Any complaints
received by the cable operator must identify the nature of the complaint,
including, if applicable, the municipal, state or federal standard violated,
the length of the violation and the resolution, if any, of the dispute (e.g.,
credits or refunds granted).
B.
The cable operator shall submit to the Village on or
before January 15 of each year all customer complaints for the previous year.
The cable operator will also make available to the Village these records on
reasonable notice at any time during normal working hours.
The Village reserves the right to enter and inspect any establishment
owned, leased or operated by the cable operator and to reproduce and inspect
any and all records, books, maps, plans and like materials for the purpose
of enforcing the customer service standards.
Insofar as the provisions of this article are inconsistent with the
provisions of another local law or act, the provisions of this article will
be controlling.
[Adopted 10-4-1993 by L.L.
No. 3-1993]
The franchising authority has the legal authority to administer and
shall enforce against any non-municipally-owned cable television system operator,
as permitted therein, the provisions of Part 76, Subpart N, of the Rules and
Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission concerning Cable Rate
Regulation, 47 CFR 76.900 et seq., as they currently read and hereafter may
be amended, which are herewith incorporated by reference.
Any rate regulation proceedings conducted under this article hereto
shall provide a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of any
interested party, including but not limited to the franchising authority or
its designee, the cable operator, subscribers and residents of the franchise
area. In addition to all other provisions required by the laws of the State
of New York and the Village of Rouses Point for such proceedings and in order
to provide for such opportunity for consideration of the views of any interested
party, the franchising authority shall take the following action:
A.
The franchising authority shall publish in a local newspaper,
post in a conspicuous place in the Village of Rouses Point Municipal Building
and mail, by certified mail, to the cable operator a public notice of the
intent to conduct a public proceeding on basic service tier rates and/or charges
for equipment to receive such basic service tier, as defined by the FCC.
B.
Said public notice shall state among other things that
cable television rates are subject to municipal review and explain the nature
of the rate review in question; that any interested party has a right to participate
in the proceeding; that public views may be submitted in the proceeding, explaining
how they are to be submitted and the deadline for submitting any such views;
that a decision concerning the reasonableness of the cable television rates
in question will be governed by the Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC); and that the decision of the franchising authority is subject
to review by the FCC.
C.
The franchising authority shall conduct a public proceeding
to determine whether or not the rates or proposed rate increase is reasonable.
The franchising authority may delegate the responsibility to conduct the proceeding
to any duly qualified and eligible individual(s) or entity. If the franchising
authority or its designee cannot determine the reasonableness of a proposed
rate increase within the time period permitted by the FCC Rules and Regulations,
it may toll the effective date of the proposed rates for an additional period
of time as permitted by the FCC Rules and Regulations and issue any other
necessary or appropriate order and give public notice accordingly.
D.
In the course of the rate regulation proceeding, the
franchising authority may request additional information from the cable operator
that is reasonably necessary to determine the reasonableness of the basic
service tier rates and equipment charges. Any such additional information
submitted to the franchising authority shall be verified by an appropriate
official of the cable television system supervising the preparation of the
response on behalf of the entity and submitted by way of affidavit or under
penalty of perjury stating that the response is true and accurate to the best
of that person's knowledge, information and belief formed after reasonable
inquiry. The franchising authority may request propriety information, provided
that the franchising authority shall consider a timely request from the cable
operator that said proprietary information shall not be made available for
public information, consistent with the procedures set forth in Section 0.459
of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Furthermore, said proprietary information
may be used only for the purpose of determining the reasonableness of the
rates and charges or the appropriate rate level based on a cost-of-service
showing submitted by the cable operator. The franchising authority may exercise
all powers under the laws of evidence applicable to administrative proceedings
under the laws of the State of New York and of the Village of Rouses Point
to discover any information relevant to the rate regulation proceeding, including,
but not limited to, subpoena, interrogatories, production of documents and
deposition.
E.
Upon termination of the rate regulation proceeding, the
franchising authority shall adopt and release a written decision as to whether
or not the rates or proposed rate increase is reasonable or unreasonable and,
if unreasonable, its remedy, including prospective rate reduction, rate prescription
and refunds.
F.
The franchising authority may not impose any fines, penalties,
forfeitures or other sanctions, other than permitted by the FCC Rules and
Regulations, for charging an unreasonable rate or proposing an unreasonable
rate increase. However, the franchising authority may impose fines or monetary
forfeitures on a cable operator that does not comply with a rate decision
or refund order of the franchising authority, directed specifically at the
cable operator, pursuant to the laws of the State of New York and the codes,
rules and regulations of this Village of Rouses Point.
G.
Consistent with FCC Rules and Regulations, the franchising
authority's decision may be reviewed only by the FCC.
H.
The franchising authority shall be authorized, at any
time, whether or not in the course of a rate regulation proceeding, to gather
information as necessary to exercise its jurisdiction as authorized by the
laws of the State of New York, the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
and the FCC Rules and Regulations. Any information submitted to the franchising
authority shall be verified by an appropriate official of the cable television
system supervising the preparation of the response on behalf of the entity
and submitted by way of affidavit or under penalty of perjury stating that
the response is true and accurate to the best of that person's knowledge,
information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry.
The franchising authority shall file with the FCC the required certification
form (FCC Form 328) on September 1, 1993, or as soon thereafter as appropriate.
Thirty days later, or as soon thereafter as appropriate, the franchising authority
shall notify the cable operator that the franchising authority has been certified
by the FCC and that it has adopted all necessary regulations so as to begin
regulating basic service tier cable television rates and equipment charges.
With regard to the cable programming service tier, as defined by the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the FCC Rules and Regulations,
and over which the franchising authority is not empowered to exercise rate
regulation, the cable operator shall give notice to the franchising authority
of any change in rates for the cable programming service tier or tiers, any
change in the charge for equipment required to receive the tier or tiers and
any changes in the nature of the services provided, including the program
services included in the tier or tiers. Said notice shall be provided within
five business days after the change becomes effective.
The franchising authority may delegate its powers to enforce this article
to municipal employees or officers, hereinafter called the "cable official."
The cable official will have the authority to:
A.
Administer oaths and affirmations.
B.
Issue subpoenas.
C.
Examine witnesses.
D.
Rule upon questions of evidence.
E.
Take or cause depositions to be taken.
F.
Conduct proceedings in accordance with this article.
G.
Exclude from the proceeding any person engaging in contemptuous
conduct or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.
H.
Hold conferences for the settlement or simplification
of the issues by consent of the parties.
I.
Take actions and make decisions or recommend decisions
in conformity with this article.
Insofar as the provisions of this article are inconsistent with the
provisions of any other local law or act, the provisions of this article shall
be controlling.
