(A) The village, as a franchising authority, has the legal authority to administer and shall enforce against any non-municipally owned cable television system operator, as permitted, therein, the provisions of Part 76, subpart N of the Rules and Regulations of the FCC, concerning Cable Rate Regulation, 47 CFR SS76.900 et seq., as they currently read and hereafter may be amended, which are herewith incorporated by reference.
(B) Any rate regulation proceedings conducted under division (A) above shall provide a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of any interested party, including but not limited to, subscribers and residents of the village. In addition to all other provisions required by the laws of the state and the village for such proceedings, and in order to provide for such opportunity for consideration of the views of any interested party, the village shall take the following actions:
(1) The village shall publish in a local newspaper, and mail by certified mail, to Time Warner, a public notice of the intent to conduct a public proceeding on basic service tier rates and/or charges for equipment to receive such basic service tier, as defined by the FCC.
(2) The public notice shall state, among other things, that cable television rates are subject to municipal review and explain the nature of the rate review in question; that any interested party has the right to participate in the proceedings; that public views may be submitted and the deadline for submitting any such views; that a decision concerning the reasonableness of the cable television rates or equipment rates in question will be governed by the rules and regulations of the FCC; and that the decision of the village is subject to review by the FCC.
(C) The village shall conduct a public proceeding to determine whether the rates or proposed rate increase or decrease are reasonable and shall be vested with all powers of a presiding officer to conduct such public proceeding.
(1) The nature of such proceeding will be determined by the village and may include public hearings, opportunities for the submission of written or oral comment, informal meetings or as the village otherwise determines appropriate under the circumstances.
(2) The village will maintain a record of all written submissions. At the discretion of the village, in appropriate cases, a transcript of any statement made at a public proceeding will be maintained; provided, however, that Time Warner may request, at he time it submits any proposed rates or changes in rates, that the village direct a transcript of such proceeding, provided further that upon such request, Time Warner shall pay all costs of such transcript, including copies for the village, and shall provide two copies of such transcript to the village as soon as reasonably possible.
(3) If the village cannot determine the reasonableness of a proposed rate increase within the time period permitted by the FCC Rules and Regulations, it may toll the effective date of the proposed rates for an additional period of time as permitted by the FCC Rules and Regulations, and issue any other necessary or appropriate order and give public notice accordingly.
(D) In the course of the rate regulations proceeding, the village may request additional information from Time Warner or any other party that is reasonably necessary to determine the reasonableness of the basic service tier rates and equipment charges.
(1) Any such additional information submitted to the village by Time Warner shall be verified by the authorized representative of the cable television system supervising the preparation of the response on behalf of the entity, and submitted by way of affidavit or under penalty of perjury, stating that the response is true and accurate to the best of that person's knowledge, information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry.
(2) The village may request proprietary information, provided that the village shall consider a timely request from Time Warner that said proprietary information shall not be made available for public information, consistent with the procedures set forth in Section 0.459 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Furthermore, said proprietary information may be used only for the purpose of determining the reasonableness of the rates and charges or the appropriate rate level based on a benchmark rate or a cost-of-service showing submitted by the cable operator.
(E) Upon termination of the rate regulations proceeding, the village shall adopt and release a written decision as to whether the rates or proposed rate increase are reasonable or unreasonable, and if unreasonable, its remedy, including prospective rate reduction, rate prescription and refunds.
(F) The village may not impose any fines, penalties, forfeitures or other sanctions, other than permitted by the FCC Rules and Regulations, for charging an unreasonable rate or proposing an unreasonable rate increase. However, the village may impose fines or monetary forfeitures on Time Warner if it does not comply with a rate decision or refund order of the village.
(G) Consistent with FCC Rules and Regulations, the village's decision may be reviewed only by the FCC.
(Ord. 15-1994, passed 3-15-94)