Whenever under 5.28.800 of this chapter, a prevailing rate is required to be ascertained, the board of directors of the cable television commission shall appoint a person or firm to conduct a prevailing rate study and determine the prevailing rates. The person or firm appointed shall not be an officer, agent, employee or representative of the franchisee, the cities, the county, the commission or any labor union or organization, and the board of directors shall be the sole judge of the qualifications of the appointee. All compensation and costs payable to the appointee for services rendered shall be paid by the franchisee. The board of directors may, prior to execution of any contract by which the appointee is retained to render services, require the franchisee to deposit a sum equal to the reasonably estimated cost of compensating the appointee for the services to be rendered.
The appointee shall identify the jobs and positions with respect to which the prevailing rate determination will be applicable. The franchisee shall provide all data and information requested by the appointee including, but not limited to, data relating to job titles, job descriptions, work functions, and rates of compensation, and shall, upon request, admit the appointee to the inspection of records and work areas as necessary to allow the appointee to make such personal examination as the appointee desires. The appointee shall conduct a survey of rates of compensation in connection with the initial construction, installation, maintenance, repair, extension, reconstruction and subsequent construction associated with cable systems and other work of a similar nature (excluding work performed by employees of municipally owned public utilities) within the counties identified by Section 5.28.780 of this chapter.
Not later than ninety (90) calendar days following the date of the contract by which the appointee is retained, the appointee shall arrive at prevailing rate determinations based upon the survey and the appointee's analysis, without hearings, and shall prepare and file with the clerk of the board of directors of the commission and with the franchisee a written report which contains the following information:
A. The methodology utilized in conducting the survey;
B. The methodology utilized in arriving at prevailing rate determinations;
C. The types of compensation, in addition to salary, considered in arriving at the prevailing rate determinations;
D. With respect to prevailing rate determinations in connection with initial construction, installation, maintenance, repair, extension, reconstruction or subsequent construction of a cable television system to be performed by the franchisee through independent contracts, a list of all crafts and other jobs associated therewith, together with the determined prevailing rates therefor;
E. With respect to prevailing rate determinations in connection with initial construction, installation, maintenance, repair, extension, reconstruction or subsequent construction of a cable television system to be performed by the franchisee through its own personnel, the following:
1. The job titles of the franchisee with respect to which a prevailing rate could not be ascertained within the counties, and the reasons why,
2. The prevailing rate for each job title of the franchisee for which a prevailing rate could be ascertained within the counties,
3. A list of those job titles of the franchisee with respect to which compensation paid by the franchisee equals or exceeds the determined prevailing rate, and
4. A list of those job titles of the franchisee, if any, with respect to which compensation paid by the franchisee is lower than the determined prevailing rate, together with the amount of difference or differences between the determined prevailing rate and the actual compensation paid for each job title.
All investigations, analyses and surveys undertaken by an appointee shall be performed independently, and the appointee shall not receive or consider any opinions, argument, claims, suggestions, or other persuasion concerning such matters or the prevailing rate determination from the franchisee, interested workers, or labor unions or organizations. All compensation data received by an appointee from the franchisee and others shall be held by the appointee in strict confidence, and shall not be subject to disclosure to either the franchisee, the commission, the cities, the county, interested workers, any labor union or organization, or any member of the public.
Any and all determinations made by an appointee, whether or not appearing in the written report, and including, but not limited to, all decisions concerning comparability of services or the absence of comparability, decisions relating to whether a prevailing rate can be ascertained, and decisions concerning the amounts of prevailing rates, shall be final, conclusive, and not subject to judicial review as to the franchisee, the cities, the county, the commission, interested workers, labor unions or organizations or any other interested party; provided that the function performed by the appointee and determinations made shall not be deemed to constitute an arbitration, nor shall the appointee be deemed to be an arbitrator, within the meaning of the provisions of this chapter. The determinations by the appointee shall be judicially enforceable in the manner prescribed by Section 5.28.820 of this chapter. (Prior code § 20.04.320)