(A) Rates subject to review. The Board shall have the authority to review the
rates, fees and charges:
(1) Rates far the provision of
to
, whether residential or commercial.
(2) Rates for the connection,
and reinstatement (including
) of
, whether residential or commercial.
(3) Rates for
, connection and reinstatement of
where unusual circumstances exist such as remote or inaccessible
locations or
requested underground service drops.
(B) The
petition the Board for a change in rates by filing, in triplicate, a proposed rate schedule with the County Clerk, which petition shall include the justification for the proposed schedule. Said petition shall be at least 90 days prior to the requested implementation date of the rate change. One copy of the petition shall remain on file with the County Clerk and be open for public inspection.
(C) Within 90 days of the filing of the petition for rate change, the Board shall hold an appropriate public hearing to consider the proposed rate change, at which hearing all
desiring to be heard, including the
, shall be heard on any matter, including but not limited to, the performance of the franchise, the company's services, and the proposed new rates.
(D) Upon notice of any public hearing as provided in division (C) above, the
shall notify its
of the time, place and subject matter of the public hearing by announcement on at least two of the highest-rated origination channels of its system between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., for at least five consecutive days prior to the hearing. In addition, notice of any public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least once, but
be published two or more times provided that one publication occurs not less than seven nor more than 21 days before the public hearing. Each advertisement must be two column inches in height and four column inches long. The
shall be responsible for publication and associated costs.
(E) Within 90 days after the hearing, the Board shall render a
decision on the company's petition, either accepting, rejecting, modifying or deferring the same and reciting the basis of its decision. The Board shall consider, inter alia, the
factors in approving or disapproving the petition:
(1) The ability of the
to render system services and to derive a reasonable profit therefrom under the existing rate schedule and under the proposed rate schedule;
(2) The revenues and profits derived from system services;
(3) The efficiency of the
;
(4) The quality of the service offered by the
;
(5) The original cost of the system less depreciation;
(6) A fair rate of return with respect to the cost of borrowing and the rates of return on investments having similar risks to that of cable television;
(7) The extent to which the
has adhered to the terms of this agreement; and
(8) Fairness to
residents,
and
.
The Board shall not consider any valuation based upon the franchise or the company's goodwill and these items of value shall neither be amortized as an expense nor shall a return be paid on them.
(F) If the Board fails to render a
decision either accepting, rejecting, modifying, or deferring the company's petition within 90 days after said hearings, the
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 said provisional rates and shall be obliged for a period of 90 days thereafter to refund the amount by which said provisional rates exceed the rates ultimately established by the Board. Upon request by the Board, the
shall provide a bond or other reasonable surety to insure 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 90 days at the previously existing rates and the amount of revenues expected to be generated in 90 days at the provisional rates.
(G) If no final decision on the company's petition has been rendered by the Board within 180 days of the hearing, the company's petition will be deemed approved.
(H) Action of the Board is final and not appealable.
(I) (1) The company's petition for a rate increase shall include, but not be limited to, the
financial reports, which shall reflect the operations of the Campbell County system only:
(a) Balance sheet.
(b) Income statement.
(c) Cash flow statement.
(d) Statement of sources and applications of funds.
(e) Detailed supporting schedules of expenses, income, assets and other items as
be required.
(f) Statement of current and projected
and penetration.
(2) The company's accounting records applicable to the Campbell County system shall be available for inspection by the
at all reasonable times. The Board shall have access to records of financial transactions for the purpose of verifying burden rates or other indirect costs prorated to the Campbell County operation. The documents listed above shall include sufficient detail and/or footnotes as
be necessary to provide the Board 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
.
(Ord. O-9-81, passed 7-19-81)