This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Cable Television Franchise Ordinance."
Pursuant to § 66.082 of Wis. Stats.,
this chapter allows the Village of Saukville to grant to a franchise
grantee a nonexclusive license to install, maintain and operate a
cable television system for the distribution of television signals,
frequency-modulated radio signals and closed circuit television programs
for a term not to exceed 15 years, provided that the franchise grantee
conforms to the conditions, limitations and requirements of this chapter.
This chapter may be amended from time to time by the village through
the enactment of amendments thereto.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning
given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in
the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include
the singular number and words in the singular number include the plural
number.
BOARD
The present governing body of the village or any future body
constituting the legislative body of the village.
CABLE
Coaxial cables, wave guides or other conductors and equipment
for providing television service by cable or through its facilities
as herein contemplated, and including closed circuit special event
programs and educational television.
GRANTEE
A person or entity to whom or which a franchise under this
chapter is granted by the Board, along with the lawful successors
or assigns of such person or entity.
GROSS REVENUES
Any revenue, derived directly or indirectly by a grantee,
its affiliates, subsidiaries, parents and any persons or entities
in which a grantee has a financial interest of 5% or more, from or
in connection with the operation of a Saukville cable system, including,
but not limited to, basic or extended basic subscriber service monthly
fees, pay cable fees, installation and reconnection fees, leased channel
fees, converter rentals, enhanced telecommunications services, studio
rental, production equipment rental and advertising revenues. The
term does not include any taxes on services furnished by a grantee
and imposed directly upon any subscriber or used by the village, state
or other governmental unit and collected by a grantee on behalf of
said governmental unit. The term does include any amounts billed to
offset the cost of any franchise fee.
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
Those hours during which most similar businesses in the village
are open to serve customers, plus at least one night per week until
8:00 p.m. and at least four hours on the weekend.
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
Those conditions affecting service within the control of
the grantee. Those conditions presumed to be outside normal operation
conditions include natural disasters, human-caused disasters and civil
disturbances, power or telephone outages, and severe or unusual weather
conditions where such condition limits the grantee's ability to provide
service. Those conditions presumed to be within normal operating conditions
include special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular
peak or seasonal demand periods and maintenance, rebuild or upgrade
of the cable system.
STREET
The surface of and space above and below any public street,
road, highway, freeway, lane, alley, court, sidewalk, parkway or drive,
now or hereafter existing as such within the village.
SUBSCRIBER
Any person or entity legally receiving for any purpose the
services of a grantee herein.
VILLAGE
The Village of Saukville, County of Ozaukee, State of Wisconsin,
in its present incorporated form or in any later recognized, consolidated,
enlarged or reincorporated form.
All of the rights and privileges and all the
obligations, duties and liabilities created by this chapter shall
pass to and be binding upon the successors of the village and the
successors and assigns of a grantee. The franchise shall not be assigned
or transferred by the grantee without the written approval of the
village hereunder, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld
without a showing of good cause; provided, however, that this section
shall not prevent the assignment or pledge of a franchise or system
by a grantee as security for debt without such approval; and provided
further that transfers or assignments of a franchise between any parent
and subsidiary corporation or between entities of which at least 51%
of the beneficial ownership is here by the grantee or any parent corporation
shall be permitted without the prior approval of the village. The
sale, transfer or assignment of a material portion of the tangible
assets of a grantee to an unrelated third party shall be considered
an assignment subject to the provisions of this section.
A. The parties to the sale or transfer of a franchise
shall make a written request to the village for its approval of a
sale or transfer of the franchise.
B. The village shall reply in writing within 30 days
of the request with a written notification of any information it needs
to evaluate the request. Within 30 days of such information being
provided, the village shall indicate approval of the request or its
determination that a public hearing is necessary.
C. If a public hearing is deemed necessary pursuant to Subsection
B, the village shall conduct such hearing within 30 days of such determination. Notice of any such hearing shall be given at least 14 days prior to the hearing by publishing notice thereof once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area being served by the franchise. The notice shall contain the date, time and place of the hearing and shall briefly state the substance of the action to be considered by the village.
D. Within 60 days after the public hearing, the village
shall approve or deny the sale or transfer request and notify the
grantee in writing of its decision.
E. The parties to the sale or transfer of a franchise
only, without the inclusion of a cable communications systems in which
at least substantial construction has commenced, shall establish that
the sale or transfer of a franchise only will be in the public interest.
F. The new holder of a sold or transferred franchise
shall, within 30 days of the sale or transfer, file with the village
a copy of the deed, agreement or other written instrument evidencing
such sale, transfer of ownership or control or lease, certified and
sworn to as correct by the grantee. The new holder shall within the
same period file with the village any and all required bonds, proofs
of insurance and certifications, and accept in writing all responsibilities
relating to the cable franchise and system.
A franchise granted under this chapter is for
the territorial limits of the Village of Saukville. The grantee shall
offer to make cable service available to all residents of the franchise
territory at the time a new or renewed franchise is issued or thereafter,
regardless of density standards.
The cable system shall be operated to comply
with or exceed all guidelines and standards set by the FCC for signal
quality and leakage. The village reserves the right to test the system
and independently measure the signal quality. The system shall comply
at all times with the National Electrical Code of the National Fire
Protection Association.
A grantee shall manage all of its operations
in accordance with the policy of totally open books and records vis-a-vis
the village. The authorized officers or agents of the village shall
have the right to inspect, upon notice, during normal business hours
all books, records, maps, plans, financial statements, service complaint
logs, performance test results, records of request for service and
other like materials of the grantee that relate to the operation of
the franchise.
During the construction or substantial rebuild
of a cable system, the grantee shall file with the village a performance
bond in the amount of $50,000. The bond shall be released when the
grantee certifies to the village that the construction or substantial
rebuild is complete, and the village accepts such certification as
proven.
A franchise granted under this chapter shall
be effective upon written acceptance of the franchise being filed
with the Clerk of the village. The filing must take place within 30
days of the offer of the franchise being made by the Village Board.
This chapter and a franchise granted hereunder
may be amended to incorporate amendments to the statutes, rules and
regulations of the federal government as they are promulgated by the
federal government. Any provision herein in conflict with or preempted
by said rules, regulations or statutes shall be superseded.
A grantee shall at all times keep its cables
and other appurtenances used for transmitting signals shielded in
such a manner that there will be no interference with signals received
by radios or televisions not connected to the grantee's services.
A grantee may promulgate such rules, regulations,
terms and conditions governing the conduct of its business as shall
be reasonably necessary to enable the grantee to exercise its rights
and perform its obligations under the franchise and to assure uninterrupted
service to all its subscribers. However, such rules, regulations,
terms and conditions shall not be in conflict with the provisions
of this chapter or the laws of the state.
By the adoption of this chapter, the village
expressly waives all objections it has or may have to the legal rights
of the grantee to attach its cables, equipment and transmission lines
to the poles of the village, pursuant to an agreement.
The grantee agrees by acceptance of a franchise
that it will not at any time set up against the village in any claim
for proceeding any condition or term of the franchise as unreasonable,
arbitrary or void, or that the village had no power or authority to
make such term or condition, but shall be required to accept the validity
of the terms and conditions of the franchise in their entirety.
The grantee shall maintain resources sufficient
and near enough to the franchise territory to provide the necessary
facilities, equipment and personnel to comply with this section and
other provisions of this chapter.
A. Service standards. The grantee shall render efficient
service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. only for good cause and for the shortest
possible time. Service may be interrupted between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00
for routine testing, maintenance and repair, except on nights commencing
on Saturday and Sunday and on holidays. Scheduled or predictable service
interruptions, except for weekly routine maintenance, insofar as possible
shall be preceded by notice, which may be provided across the cable
system. The interruptions shall occur during periods of minimum use
of the system to the extent allowable. The grantee shall maintain
a written log or an equivalent capable of access and reproduction
of all service interruptions and requests for service, which log shall
be available for village inspection during the franchise period.
B. Telephone lines. The grantee shall provide local toll-free
or collect call telephone access to its subscribers within the franchise
territory. Any calls should be answered by a customer service representative
during normal business hours; calls outside this period may be answered
by an automated response mechanism, but such calls should be returned
by a grantee's representative within 12 hours. The grantee shall provide
sufficient phone answering capabilities so that customers are receiving
an appropriate level of service as noted in renewal criteria in federal
cable law.
[Amended 4-17-2001 by Ord. No. 565]
C. Local office. The grantee shall provide a public business
and service office, located within or near the village and convenient
to subscribers, which shall be open during normal business hours.
The office shall, at a minimum, be able to accept and process subscriber
payments, service requests and customer complaints.
D. Installation. The grantee shall complete requests
for subscriber installations within seven business days of order placement
when the installation is within 150 feet of the existing cable system.
Installation requests required to be honored under this chapter beyond
the one-hundred-fifty-foot standard must be completed within 14 days.
If the grantee fails to meet these standards, the grantee shall provide
the subscriber with a free month of the requested service. The grantee
may request the village toll these periods for reasonable circumstances
beyond its control.
E. Repair standards. The grantee shall maintain a repair
force capable, under normal operating circumstances, of responding
to service interruption and degradation complaints made during Normal
Business Hours within four hours. For complaints made outside normal
business hours, the grantee must respond within 16 hours. For the
purpose of this subsection, "response" shall mean at a minimum contacting
the subscriber by phone or in person. Where a grantee misses either
of these deadlines, the grantee must provide the subscriber with one
month's free service. The grantee may request the village toll the
repair period for reasonable circumstances beyond its control.
F. Service call scheduling. When the grantee needs to
arrange a service appointment at a subscriber's location, the grantee
must offer the subscriber a service window not to exceed four hours
in duration. The grantee may not cancel a service window without the
subscriber's consent. Where a grantee misses a service window, the
grantee must provide the subscriber with one month's free service.
The grantee may request the village toll the service call period for
reasonable circumstances beyond its control.
G. Service interruptions and significant degradation.
When the grantee has failed to provide a subscriber with appropriate
service due to service outage or significant audio or video degradation
not due to the subscriber's equipment or action, the grantee must
notify the subscriber that the subscriber may request a rebate of
any fees paid for the affected service(s) under the following schedule,
and the grantee must provide such rebates. For the purposes of this
section, the outage or degradation period shall begin when the subscriber
provides notice to the grantee of the outage or degradation. For the
purpose of this section, any complaints of outage or degradation by
a subscriber within any month shall be cumulative. The grantee may
request the village waive or modify the rebate provisions for reasonable
circumstances beyond its control.
(1) For periods at least four hours long but under 24
hours, a rebate of 1/30 of the monthly fee for affected services for
each instance.
(2) For periods of at least 24 hours, a rebate of 1/10
of the monthly fee for affected services for each twenty-four-hour
period or portion thereof.
For the violation of any of the following provisions
of this franchise, penalties shall be as follows and the village may
determine the amount of the fine for other violations which are not
specified in a sum not to exceed $500. For each violation, with each
day constituting a separate violation.
A. Failure to furnish, maintain or offer all cable services
to any potential subscriber within the village upon order of the village:
$200 per day, per violation, for each day that such failure occurs
or continues.
B. Failure to obtain or file evidence of required insurance,
construction bond, performance bond or other required financial security:
$200 per day, per violation, for each day such failure occurs or continues.
C. Failure to provide access to data, documents, records
or reports to the village as required: $200 per day, per violation,
for each day such failure occurs or continues.
D. Failure to comply with applicable construction, operation
or maintenance standards: $200 per day, per violation.
E. Failure to comply with a rate decision or refund order:
$200 per day, per violation, for each day such a violation occurs
or continues. Grantor may impose any or all of the above enumerated
measures against the grantee, which shall be in addition to any and
all other legal or equitable remedies it has under the franchise or
under any applicable law.
F. Any violations for noncompliance with the customer service standards of §
79-28: $200 per day for each day, or part thereof, that such noncompliance continues.
G. Any other violations of this franchise agreement to
be determined by the grantor in a public hearing but not specifically
noted in this section: not exceed $500 per day, per violation.