(a) By his acceptance of the franchise, a grantee agrees that Council shall have the power, authority and right to cause a grantee's rates and charges to conform to provisions hereof, and for this purpose Council may deny increases or order reductions of such rates and charges when it determines that in the absence of such action on its part a grantee's rates and charges or proposed rates and charges shall not conform to the provisions contained herein.
(b) The rates and charges for television signals distributed herein shall be fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory. A grantee shall be allowed to increase his rates if he can demonstrate to Council's satisfaction that he cannot make a fair return on his investment without a rate increase. Rates shall be subject to modification only by the Council and only in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Council shall have the authority to review the following rates, fees and charges:
A. Rates for the provision of basic service to subscribers, whether residential or commercial;
B. Rates for the connection, installation and reinstatement, including converters, of basic service, whether residential or commercial; and
C. Rates for installation, connection and reinstatement of basic service where unusual circumstances exist such as remote or inaccessible subscriber locations or subscriber request for underground service drops.
(2) The grantee may petition Council for a change in rates by filing, in triplicate, a proposed rate schedule with the Clerk of Council, which petition shall include the justification(s) for the proposed schedule. Such petition shall be filed at least ninety days prior to the requested implementation date of the rate change. One copy of the petition shall remain on file with the Clerk of Council and be open for public inspection.
(3) Within ten days of notification by Council of the place and time established for a hearing of such petition, the grantee shall notify its subscribers of the hearing by announcement on at least two channels of its system between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for five consecutive days. Additionally, hearings shall be announced in a newspaper of general circulation at least five days before the date of the hearing. Following all proper notice, but in no event later than ninety days from the date of such petition, Council shall hold an appropriate public hearing to consider the proposed new rates, at which hearing all parties desiring to be heard, including the grantee, shall be heard on any matters relating to the performance of this franchise, the grantee's services, and the proposed new rates.
(4) Within ninety days after such hearing, Council shall render a written decision on the grantee's position, either accepting, rejecting, or modifying the same and reciting the basis of its decision.
(5) If Council fails to act within ninety days of the grantee's petition filed pursuant to subsection (b) (3) hereof, the grantee shall thereafter be entitled to put its proposed new rates into effect on a provisional basis, provided that it shall keep a full and accurate accounting of all income resulting from such provisional rates and shall be obliged, for a period of six months thereafter, to refund the amount by which such provisional rates exceed the rates ultimately established by Council. Upon request by Council, the grantee shall provide a bond or other reasonable surety to ensure that possible refunds due under this subsection shall be promptly made. The bond or surety shall be in an amount not to exceed the difference between the amount of revenues generated in six months at the previously existing rates and the amount of revenues expected to be generated in six months at the provisional rates. Such bond shall be in a form approved by the Law Director.
(6) The criteria for Council's decision in such matters shall be the establishment of rates which are "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory" to both the grantee and its subscribers and shall be generally defined to be the minimum rates necessary to meet all applicable costs of service, including fair return on all invested capital, all assuming efficient and economical management.
(7) In order for Council to determine whether proposed rate changes comport with the criteria established in subsection (b)(6) hereof, the grantee's petition for a rate increase shall include the following financial reports which shall reflect the operations of its cable television system within the City:
A. Balance sheet.
B. Income statement.
C. Cash flow statement.
D. Statement of sources and application of funds.
E. Detailed supporting schedules of expenses, income, assets and other items as may be required.
F. Statement of current and projected subscribers and penetration. The grantee's accounting records shall be available for inspection by the City at all reasonable times. The documents listed above shall include sufficient detail and/or footnotes as may be necessary to provide the City with the information needed to make accurate determinations as to the financial condition of the system. All financial statements shall be certified as accurate by an officer of the grantee.
(8) Any disagreement between the City and the grantee concerning interpretations and calculations of the financial and statistical information provided by the grantee may be submitted to a court of competent jurisdiction, provided that final decisions concerning approval or denial of requested rate increases shall be made solely by Council.
(c) Unless and until otherwise changed by direction of Council the rates for service hereinunder shall be as follows:
(1) For service residential subscribers, twelve channel service not to exceed four dollars and eighty-five cents ($4.85) per month; effective July 1, 1984, for a six month period of time, thirty-five channel service not to exceed eight dollars and twenty-five cents ($8.25) per month; however, effective January 1, 1985 through December 31, 1985, thirty-five channel service shall not exceed nine dollars and twenty-five cents ($9.25) per month; one first run movie channel not to exceed five dollars and seventy-five cents ($5.75) per month; mini movie service not to exceed three dollars and ninety-five cents ($3.95) per month.
(2) No rental fee for any converter will be charged, but a refundable deposit not to exceed one-half of the cost of the converter may be required.
(3) For installation, not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and for moving and reconnecting each outlet, not more than ten dollars ($10.00).
(4) Rates for all other services to be provided over the CATV Systems by a grantee shall be set forth in each applicant's bid proposal and shall be established by the City based on the proposal accepted.
(5) The grantee understands that he shall be bound by the rates set forth in his written proposal and any increase in such rates can be made only as provided in subsection (b) hereof.
(d) Council shall exercise the power specified in subsection (a) hereof by ordinance with a determination that such action is necessary to comply with the requirement of subsection (b) hereof. Before final passage of the ordinance, a grantee shall be notified in writing thereof and there shall be a public hearing on the ordinance.
(e) No charge shall be made to the City for its use of City channels or for the construction and operation of the coaxial cable between the City studio and the CATV System head-end, and under no circumstances shall the City be obligated to pay to a grantee any fee for service rendered to the City under the terms of the
franchise. CATV shall also work with City officials to design and implement a two-way institutional cable network to be used by the City and schools.
(f) The Company shall not exhibit X-rated movies as rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
(Ord. 5757-1980. Passed 5-13-80; Ord. 6557-1984. Passed 7-10-84.)