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(A) The franchisee shall maintain insurance from companies approved by the city, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, to protect the city and the franchisee and their officers, agents and employees from and against claims caused by the construction, erection, operation or maintenance of any aspect of the system. The amount of such insurance shall be no less than the following:
(1) Commercial General Liability Insurance:
Per occurrence $5,000,000
Products and completed operations aggregate $5,000,000
Property damage general aggregate $5,000,000
(2) Commercial Automobile Insurance:
Per occurrence $5,000,000
(B) These limits may include self-insured retentions. Workers' compensation shall also be provided as required by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commercial general and automobile insurance shall include the city, as additional insured for their vicarious liability and shall provide 30 days notice to the city in the event of cancellation of any coverage afforded in said policies prior to the date said cancellation shall become effective. Certificates of insurance certifying the policies required hereunder shall be furnished to and filed with the City Clerk prior to the commencement of operations or the expiration of prior certificates, as the case may be.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) The operator shall timely submit those reports, statements, and logs required by this franchise.
(B) Certificates of insurance for renewal or replacement insurance policies shall be delivered to the city at least 15 days before the expiration of the insurance which such policies are to renew or replace.
(C) The operator shall submit a report to the city, within 90 days after the close of each quarter of its fiscal year, which contain for the previous quarter:
(1) A customer complaint log which identifies service related complaints by customers and the resolution of those complaints;
(2) The number of additional subscribers to the system;
(3) Changes that have occurred in the programming offered by the system;
(4) Additional line extensions and construction activity;
(5) A compliance report on the system's compliance with the franchise's customer service standards;
(6) A list of all reports and petitions filed by the system with the Federal Communications Commission; and
(7) A compliance report certifying that the system complies with federal signal leakage tests and all other federally mandated tests. If said tests reveal noncompliance, the nature of noncompliance shall be specified.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) The operator shall keep complete and accurate books of accounts, and records of the business and operations under, and in connection with the system.
(B) The city shall have the right to review at the operator's primary administrative office, all records, pertaining to the city's regulation of the operator's cable operations in the city, on seven days written notice. Such review, unless mutually agreed upon, or judicially ordered, should occur within the operator's regular office hours.
(C) The city shall have the right to hire, at its own expense, an independent certified public accountant, or other business or financial expert, to review the books and records of the operator. If, after a financial audit, it is determined that the operator has underpaid amounts owed to the city (in excess of 5%), then the city may require the operator to reimburse the city for the actual cost of the audit. Provided, however, absent fraud, all audits shall be binding on the city.
(D) The operator, at the local office, shall keep complete and accurate books and records of the key aspects of the system's operation in the city for at least the preceding three years in such a manner that all matters pertaining to the city can be easily produced and/or verified at the city's request. Also, the operator shall make available, on seven days advance written notice, those records that pertain to its operation of the system that may be required by any other federal or state agency having jurisdiction over cable operators. Provided, however, that with respect to the obligation to maintain financial records, the operator shall only be required to maintain the financial records required by federal law.
(E) Communications with regulatory agencies. A listing of all petitions, applications, communications, reports and all other documents submitted by the franchisee to the FCC or any other federal or state regulatory commission or agency shall be filed with the city annually and all such documents shall be available for inspection at franchisee's office.
(F) Annual report. No later than 90 days after the close of the franchisee's fiscal year, the franchisee shall submit a written report to the city that contains information as determined by the city including a summary of complaints and any special reports required by the city.
(G) All filings and reports required of the franchisee or any applicants by this chapter or any franchise agreement shall be made to the city.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) In order to provide customers with the variety of information needed to make an informed decision, and to ensure that customers are notified of the rights and responsibilities of the customer and the operator with respect to the cable system, the operator shall provide customers with a written "Notice of a Customer's and Operator's Rights and Responsibilities."
(B) Unless expressly prohibited by the state, the operator may comply with any notice requirements by providing said "Notice" by mail to the subscriber, through newspaper publication or over the cable system, on a channel clearly designated for the dissemination of such information - (such a channel need not be solely designated for dissemination of such information, and may, in fact, be used at other times for any lawful purpose).
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) When the operator provides a notice to customers concerning their rights such "Notice" should contain the following:
(1) An up-to-date listing of services provided;
(2) Notification of a subscriber's ability to purchase or lease, from the operator, parental control mechanisms, or other device which will prohibit the viewing of a particular program service during a period selected by the subscriber;
(3) A listing and explanation of rates and charges, credit refund policy, connection and involuntary disconnection policies;
(4) The complaint resolution procedures;
(5) A listing and explanation of billing options available (such as monthly or yearly, and/or discounts for pre-payments);
(6) The customer service office hours and telephone number(s);
(7) The method of securing a voluntary disconnection; and
(8) The equipment use and return policy together with any required security deposits.
(B) The "Notice" shall be in plain, simple, understandable English.
(C) The "Notice" may be delivered to a subscriber via an insert in the subscriber's periodic invoice, through a special mailing, by newspaper or publication over a channel clearly designated for the dissemination of such information.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) Whenever there is a change in the operator's billing practices or payment requirements, the operator shall notify subscribers within 30 days of the effective date of such billing practices or payment requirements.
(B) In any case where a subscriber requests a cancellation or reduction of service within 30 days after the notification of a scheduled rate or charge adjustment, then the subscriber's liability for the newly implemented rate or charge shall cease from the moment that the rate or charge adjustment becomes effective.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
The operator shall, upon request by a subscriber, provide that subscriber with a pro-rata credit for a service outage or interruption exceeding one service day in duration, provided that the outage is not caused or is not a result of matters beyond the immediate control of the operator.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
(A) Definitions:
"NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS." Those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers. This will include some evening hours (at least one night per week) and/or some weekend hours.
"NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS." Conditions that are within the control of the operator. Those conditions which are not within the control of the operator include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe weather. Those conditions which are ordinarily within the control of the operator include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of the system.
"SERVICE INTERRUPTION." A service outage which is not caused by the failure or malfunction of a subscriber's television receiver or by the error of the subscriber. This term affects the timing of when the operator must respond to a service problem.
(B) Customer service standards. Office hours and telephone availability:
(1) The operator will maintain a local, toll-free or collect call telephone access line which will be available to its subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(a) Trained company representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
(b) After normal business hours, the access line may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including an answering machine. Inquiries received after normal business hours must be responded to by trained company representatives on the next business day.
(2) Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed 30 seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis. The operator shall not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with telephone answering standards unless an historical record of complaint indicates a clear failure to comply.
(3) Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
(4) Customer service center and bill payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located.
(5) The operator will locate an office to serve as a center for payment and equipment exchanges within the territorial confines of Florence. The office location will be selected by the operator so as to allow convenient access by subscribers and will be open during normal business hours.
(C) Installations, outages, and service calls. Under normal operating conditions, each of the following four standards will be met no less than 95% of the time measured on a quarterly basis.
(1) Standard installations will be performed within seven business days after an order has been placed in accordance with the line extension policy set forth in § 120.31. Standard installations are those that are located up to 150 feet from the existing distribution system.
(2) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator, the cable operator will begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than four hours after the interruption becomes known.
(3) The appointment window alternatives for installations, service calls, and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business hours. (The operator may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer.)
(4) The operator may not cancel an appointment with a customer after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
(5) If a cable operator representative is running late for an appointment with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the customer will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer.
(D) Communications between cable operator and cable subscribers.
(1) Notifications to subscribers:
(a) The cable operator shall provide written information on each of the following areas at the time of installation of service, at least annually to all subscribers, and at any time upon request:
1. Products and services offered;
2. Prices and options for programming services and the conditions of subscription to programming and other services;
3. Installation and service maintenance policies;
4. Instructions on how to use the cable service;
5. Channel positions of programming carried on the system; and
6. Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone number of the local franchise authority's cable office.
(b) Customers will be notified of any changes in rates, programming service or channel positions as soon as possible through announcements on the cable system and in writing. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of 30 days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control of the cable operator. In addition, the cable operator shall notify subscribers 30 days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by the preceding paragraph.
(2) Billing:
(a) Bills will be clear, concise, and understandable. Bills must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates, and credits.
(b) In case of a billing dispute, the cable operator must respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within 30 days.
(3) Refunds. Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than either:
(a) In the customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever is earlier; or
(b) Within 30 days after return of equipment supplied by the cable operator.
(4) Credits. Credits for service will be issued no later than the customer's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(Ord. O-19-08, passed 11-11-08)
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