(a) Creation and Membership of Board.
(1) The Birmingham City Commission and the Village Councils of Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, and Franklin have established a Cablecasting Board. The Board shall continue to consist of twelve members, seven who are residents of the City of Birmingham who shall be appointed by the City of Birmingham, three who shall be residents of Beverly Hills who shall be appointed by that Village, one who shall be a resident of Bingham Farms who shall be appointed by that Village, and one who shall be a resident or appointed official of the Village of Franklin who shall be appointed by the Village. Members of the Board shall serve without compensation and for such terms as their respective appointing authorities shall determine. The City of Birmingham and the Villages shall also have sole power to remove and/or replace their respective appointees.
(2) Each of the Board's member communities is encouraged to appoint an elected or appointed official of that community to act as a liaison to the Board, to attend Board meetings, and to participate in Board discussions.
(3) The Birmingham School District and the Baldwin Library are each also encouraged to appoint a representative to act as a liaison to the Board and to participate in Board discussions regarding matters relevant to their respective interests and constituencies.
(4) Seven members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a majority of the full Board shall be required for Board action.
(b) Meetings. Meetings of the Cablecasting Board shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Board may determine, but not less frequently than once a month. The Board shall adopt rules of procedures and shall keep minutes of its meetings, which shall be a public record. A representative of the franchisee may attend all open sessions of the Board and shall be given a place on the agenda for all regular Board meetings and special meetings when deemed appropriate by the Board in order to enable the franchisee to make such reports as it may desire and to respond to questions from Board members and the public.
(c) Duties and Powers. The Cablecasting Board shall perform the following roles and functions:
(1) Advise the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Bingham Farms Village Council and Franklin Village Council on matters relating to cable communications.
(2) Monitor the franchisee's compliance with the franchise agreement and the cable communications ordinance.
(3) Conduct performance reviews as outlined in this chapter.
(4) Act as liaison between the franchisee and the public; hear complaints from the public and seek their resolution from the franchisee.
(5) Advise the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Bingham Farms Village Council and Franklin Village Council on adjustments of rates and services according to the procedure outlined in this chapter and regulate rates as authorized by the City of Birmingham and the Villages and permitted by law.
(6) Advise the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Bingham Farms Village Council and the Franklin Village Council on transfer, renewal, extension or termination of a franchise and change of control of a franchisee.
(7) Appropriate those moneys deposited in an account in the name of the Cablecasting Board by the City of Birmingham, Village of Beverly Hills, Village of Franklin, and the Village of Bingham Farms for:
A. The costs of any consulting and administrative expenses related to the franchise selection process;
B. The costs of any consulting and administrative expense related to performance reviews;
C. Enhancement of the cable access channels; and
D. The costs of any consulting or administrative services under contracts entered into by the Board and other expenses relating to the continuing duties and operation of the Cablecasting Board;
and submit an annual budget to the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Franklin Village Council and Bingham Farms Village Council.
(8) Oversee the operation of the educational, governmental and public access channels by:
A. Establishing reasonable user fees.
B. Developing policy guidelines for programming, scheduling and utilization of equipment and facilities.
C. Directing that programming related primarily to the promotion of a business, trade or profession be discontinued or not delivered.
D. Hearing and deciding conflicts between access channel users regarding utilization of equipment, cablecasting time or facilities.
(9) Apprise the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Franklin Village Council, and Bingham Farms Village Council of new developments in cable communications technology.
(10) Hear and make recommendations to the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Franklin Village Council, and Bingham Farms Village Council on any request of a franchisee for modification of its franchise obligations.
(11) Enter into contracts within the Board's budget and such other contracts as may be authorized by the City of Birmingham and the Villages.
(12) Administer contracts entered into by the Board and terminate such contracts.
(13) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, hear and decide all matters and disputes relating to or arising under the customer service standards and consumer protection provisions of this chapter, including the assessment of liquidated damages for any violation of such standards or provisions.
(14) Perform such other functions and duties as may lawfully be delegated to it by the Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Franklin Village Council and Bingham Farms Village Council, and exercise such additional powers and functions as may be necessary or proper to carry out the duties expressly mandated in paragraphs (c)(1) through (13) hereof or as may be delegated under this paragraph (c)(14).
(d) Appeals. Any person jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the Cablecasting Board shall have the right to appeal to the County Circuit Court on any matter on which the Cablecasting Board has the power to render a final decision and exercises such power.
(e) Authority of Municipalities. The Birmingham City Commission, Beverly Hills Village Council, Franklin Village Council, and Bingham Farms Village Council shall retain full authority over all decisions pertaining to the issuance, extension, or renewal of a franchise, franchise transfer or change of control of a franchisee, franchise termination or franchise purchase, appointments to the Cablecasting Board, public access guidelines, and bond or letter of credit reduction.
(Ord. 2000-59. Passed 7-10-00.)