(A) Generally.
(1) Membership; term of office. The Mayor shall appoint, by and with the assent of the Council, a cable television board, which shall consist of 5 regular members, 1 of whom shall be a member of the Council. After the initial formation of the Board, 1 of the 4 non-Council members shall be appointed each year to serve a 4-year term of office or until a successor is duly appointed; provided that, all vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms. Any of the 4 non-Council members of the Board shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and City Council and may be removed with or without cause at any time. The Council member shall serve for a 2-year term of office or until a successor is duly appointed, not to exceed 3 consecutive terms of office. No person shall serve on the cable television board unless he or she resides inside the city limits and is a subscriber to cable television.
(2) Organization; meetings. At the time of the Board’s first meeting in January of each year, the Board shall organize by selecting from its membership a chairperson and a vice-chairperson/secretary, who are eligible for reelection. It shall be the duty of the Vice-Chairperson/Secretary to preside over the Board’s meeting when the Chairperson is absent and to see that correct minutes and records of all meetings are filed with the City Clerk. A Board member shall receive no compensation for his or her services, other than reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of duties, with prior approval of the Council. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of doing business and a majority vote of all members appointed shall be required to elect a person to any office of the Board. The Board shall meet monthly unless otherwise canceled due to lack of business or emergency. Special meetings shall be held upon the call of the Chairperson or any 2 members of the Board.
(3) Powers and duties. It shall be the function and duty of the Board to develop recommendations for consideration by the Mayor and City Council for the use of the cable television public service channel. The Board shall also serve to hear complaints regarding the performance of the local cable company, to investigate those complaints and to make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council concerning those complaints not resolved to the satisfaction of the subscriber or potential subscriber. The Board shall serve in an advisory position only, and all pertinent decisions, rules and guidelines adopted concerning local cable television and the city shall be made by the Mayor and City Council.
(B) Complaint procedure.
(1) Upon commencing service and annually thereafter, the cable company shall notify all subscribers of the manner in which to register complaints, and of the availability of a review of complaints not satisfactorily resolved through the Cable Television Board. The notice shall state the address, telephone number and hours of the cable television office.
(2) The cable company shall keep a written record of all complaints showing the date, the subscriber’s name and address, the nature of the complaint and the corrective action taken. The reports shall be available for inspection by the Board or a designated representative.
(3) Any person who has a complaint or problem with cable television service shall notify the cable company first. If the problem is not adequately resolved within 24 hours, the complainant may file a written complaint with the cable company, which sets forth the complainant’s name and address, and the date, a summary of the complaint, and corrective action, if any, taken by the cable company. If the problem is not resolved within 10 days after filing the written complaint, the complainant may file a written request for review with the Cable Board. No later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board, the Board will meet and consider all pending written complaints in order to resolve any disputes. Notice of the meeting is to be mailed to the address of the complainant and the cable company. At the meeting, the complainant has the opportunity to present the nature of his or her complaint and the type of relief sought. After the complainant, a representative of the cable company may present its version of the dispute and what, if anything, has been or will be done to resolve the complaint. The Board shall notify the parties within 5 working days of its recommendations. If those recommendations are satisfactory to the parties involved, no further action will be required. If the recommendations are not satisfactory to either of the parties, the matter shall be brought to the Mayor and Council for consideration and action at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
(Prior Code, § 2-216)