Chapter 4.70 BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
Section 4.70.260 Regulatory jurisdiction and procedures.
1. Continuing Regulatory Jurisdiction. The city council shall have continuing
regulatory jurisdiction and
primary supervision over the operation of any franchise granted under this chapter, including subscriber
rates. However, it is recognized that the daily routine, administrative responsibilities and supervision
of the
franchise should be entrusted to the city manager.
2. Regulatory Responsibilities of the City. The city council does designate
the city manager to exercise
the city's continuing regulatory and supervisory jurisdiction over the franchisee and, in this regard,
the city
manager shall have the following responsibilities and duties and such other responsibilities and duties
that
the city may assign and delegate to him:
a. Resolve disputes as provided herein;
b. Review and audit all reports and filings submitted
to the city as required under this chapter and such
other correspondence as may be submitted to the city concerning the operation of the broadband
telecommunications network and review the rules and regulations set by the franchisee under provisions
in
this chapter;
c. Assure that all tariffs, rates and rules pertinent
to the operation of the BTN in the city are made
available for inspection by the public at reasonable hours;
d. Confer and coordinate with the franchisee on the
interconnection of the city's BTN with other
similar networks;
e. Advise the council on matters which might constitute
grounds for revocation of the franchise in
accordance with this chapter;
f. Advise the council on the regulation of rates in
accordance with this chapter;
g. Determine general policy relating to the service
provided to subscribers and the operation and use of
access channels, with a view to maximizing the diversity of programs and services to subscribers. The
use
of access channels shall be allocated on a first come, first served basis, subject to limitations on
monopolization of network time or prime times;
h. Encourage use of access channels among the widest
range of institutions, groups and individuals
within the city;
i. Submit an annual report to the city council, including,
but not limited to, the total number of hours of
utilization of access channels, a review of any plans submitted during the year by franchisee for
development of new services, and hourly subtotals for various programming categories. The annual
report
shall include the following programming categories:
(1) Local educational uses including
library,
(2) Public access for local
programming under public control,
(3) Local government access
(including fire, police, burglar alarms, and public announcements),
(4) Channel time use for lease
for pay TV,
(5) Channel time use for lease
for business uses, including telemetry of information,
(6) Information retrieval and
professional communication;
j. Cooperate with other networks and supervise interconnection
of systems;
k. Maintain a knowledge of current developments in cable
communications;
l. Submit a budget request to the city to cover expenses
anticipated for the performance of functions
required by this chapter. This request may include funds to be used for the development of the
use of
access channels, including production grants to users and the purchase and maintenance of equipment
not
required to be provided by the franchisee and funds to be used for expenses and such salaries as may
be
prescribed from time to time by the council;
m. Audit all the franchisee records required by this
chapter and, in the manager's discretion, require the
preparation and filing of information in addition to that required in this chapter;
n. Conduct evaluations of the network at least every
three years with the franchisee and pursuant
thereto, make recommendations to the council for amendments to this chapter;
o. Employ, as necessary, the services of a consultant,
to assist in the analysis of any matter required by
this chapter. (Ord. S-35454, 1978)