(A) Failure to submit proposed rate schedule. In the event the grantee fails to submit a proposed rate schedule and modifies regulated rates in violation of this subchapter, it may be ordered to reduce its basic rates to 75% of the FCC Benchmark of Rates and its services/rental charges to those specified within the initial franchise agreement or proposal to provide a franchise agreement or, if no specific charges are listed for the particular service/rental charges, to such amounts as may be adopted by the City Council as set forth below.
(B) City Council; authority to set rates.
(1) In the event the grantee fails to submit a proposed rate schedule, as set forth above, within 60 days, the City Council shall meet to review the FCC benchmark of rates as well as the charges for services/rentals within the original franchise agreement and the FCC materials regarding the service/rental expenses and issue a rate schedule binding upon the grantee.
(2) In evaluating these rates, the City Council shall consider that the grantee is entitled to a fair return on its investment and shall take into account the appropriate costs including, but not limited to, the grantee’s capital costs, basic cable programming, customer service, labor and ancillary costs attributable to obtaining and transmitting signals carried on the basic service. Increases in such costs, and the costs of any franchise-imposed requirements not directly related to the provision of cable television service, as well as a reasonable profit to the grantee shall also be considered. The grantee may submit written documentation to the City Council prior to the meeting date as to any aspects of its costs. The City Council shall presume the reasonableness of any documented increases supplied by the grantee in those basic cable cost factors itemized in this “fair return on investment” standard.
(3) The City Council shall adopt the effective dates that the rate schedule shall be in effect with the beginning date being the date the grantee modified its rate schedule in violation of this subchapter or as otherwise allowed by law and the ending date being the date arrived at by subsequent implementation of this subchapter.
(4) The rate schedule shall be mailed to the grantee and published in conformance with applicable law. The rate schedule shall be effective upon its being reduced to writing and placed in the form of a resolution.
(1979 Code, § 2.124) (Ord. 118, passed 2-1-1994)