West Palm Beach |
Code of Ordinances |
Chapter 78. STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND PUBLIC PLACES |
Article IX. CABLE TELEVISION |
§ 78-298. Reports and records.
(a)
The franchisee shall submit reports to the city quarterly according to the following schedule: January through March are due on or before April 25, April through June are due on or before July 25, July through September are due on or before October 25 and October through December are due on or before January 25 of each year or as otherwise provided in a franchise agreement.
The quarterly report shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)
Number of homes passed, number of cable plant miles, number of new installs, number of disconnects and net result of new installs and disconnects.
(2)
Telephone reports, broken down by quarter, indicating the number of calls received, number of calls abandoned, number of calls receiving a busy signal and percentage of total calls for which a busy signal was received.
(3)
A summary by quarter for the number of standard installations performed within seven days, number of unplanned service interruptions, the hours in which planned service interruptions have occurred, number of unplanned service interruptions by duration, number of service interruptions responded to within 24 hours, number of other service problems responded to within 36 hours, preventative measures to reduce or eliminate service interruptions and any other information that may be reasonably required to monitor the franchisee's compliance with this article. A franchisee may comply with the requirements of this subsection by providing to the city a copy of the actual written complaint and/or service interruption logs maintained by franchisee.
(4)
Unless prohibited by applicable law, revenue information, including, but not limited to number of subscribers for each type of cable service offered, and the gross revenue from all sources attributable to the operations of the cable system by the franchisee in the city, stating separately by category each source and the amount of revenue attributable thereto. As of the date of this article, the obligations imposed on franchisee in this section to provide an annual financial statement are prohibited by the State of Florida Simplified Communications Service Tax, F.S. Ch. 202, and this obligation is severable from this article and has no effect on the remaining valid provisions hereof. However, if state or federal law allows the city to impose the requirements of this section, the city expressly reserves the right to do so.
(b)
Within six months of the close of its fiscal year, the franchisee shall provide an annual report to the city that includes the following information:
(1)
A summary of the activities of the previous year in development of the cable system, including as pertains to cable services, initiated or discontinued policy changes enacted during the previous year, number of cable subscribers for each tier or type of cable service or cable product (including gains and losses), homes passed and miles of cable distribution plant in service. The summary shall also include a comparison of any construction, including cable system upgrades, during the year with any projections previously provided to the city, as well as rate and charge increases and/or decreases for the previous fiscal year.
(2)
The website addresses to the franchisee's ultimate parent annual report and 10-K as filed with the SEC, and all filings made with the State of Florida under the Communications Services Tax Simplification Law. Unless prohibited by applicable law, to verify franchise fee payments, franchisee shall provide, upon written request, an annual financial report to include a statement of sources of revenues for the franchise area. The statement shall be audited if franchisee has audited statements prepared in its normal course of business. If not, the statements shall be certified by the chief financial officer of the franchisee. The financial report shall include notes to the financial statements that specify all significant accounting policies and practices upon which it is based. As of the date of this article, the obligations imposed on franchisee in this section to provide an annual financial statement are prohibited by the State of Florida Simplified Communications Service Tax, F.S. Ch. 202, and this obligation is severable from this article and has no effect on the remaining valid provisions hereof. However, if state or federal law allows the city to impose the requirements of this section, the city expressly reserves the right to do so.
(3)
Where applicable, a copy of updated maps depicting the location of all trunk lines and feeder lines and associated devices in the city to the extent such locations have changed. Upon request of the city, such maps shall be provided in digitized form at the expense of the franchisee.
(4)
A summary of written subscriber or resident complaints, identifying the number and nature of complaints and their disposition. Where complaints involve recurrent cable system problems, the nature of each problem and the corrective measures taken shall be identified. More detailed information concerning complaints shall be submitted upon written request of the city, subject to franchisee's obligation to maintain subscriber privacy in accordance with federal law.
(5)
Upon written request, and if not otherwise provided, a summary of the number of unplanned service interruptions, the hours in which planned service interruptions have occurred and the number of unplanned service interruptions by duration, including preventative measures to eliminate reoccurrence.
(6)
Upon written request, if the franchisee is a corporation, a list of officers and members of the board of directors; the officers and members of the board of directors of any parent corporation; and if the franchisee or parent corporation stock or ownership interests are publicly traded, a copy of its most recent annual report.
(7)
Upon written request, if the franchisee is a partnership, a list of the partners, including any limited partners, and addresses; and if the general partner is a corporation, a list of officers and members of the board of directors or the corporate general partner and the officers and directors of any parent corporation; and where the general partner or parent corporation ownership interests are publicly traded, a copy of its most recent annual report.
(8)
Upon written request, a list of all people holding five percent or more ownership or otherwise cognizable interest in the franchisee pursuant to the Communications Act and 47 C.F.R. 76.501.
(9)
A copy of the rules and regulations of the franchisee applicable to subscribers of the cable system.
(10)
A report on the number of senior citizens, economically disadvantaged or disabled subscribers receiving any rate discounts and the amount of any such discounts for specific cable services if franchisee offers separate rates or discounts for those categories of subscribers.
(11)
A report on the number of multiple dwelling buildings and units therein receiving cable service under bulk agreements.
(12)
A full schedule and description of services, service hours and location of the customer service office of the franchisee or offices available to subscribers, and a schedule of all rates, fees and charges for all cable services provided over the cable system.
(13)
Upon written request, a report on the number of total subscribers served by the franchisee in the cable system, with a breakdown by the types of cable services received by subscribers.
(14)
Upon written request, a copy of any filing made to the FCC pursuant to equal employment opportunity council requirements.
(c)
Upon each written request by the city made not more than once annually, a franchisee shall within 45 days of receipt of the request, provide the following documents to the city, without regard to whether the documents are filed by the franchisee or an affiliate:
(1)
If not otherwise available, annual financial report of the franchisee or its parent or any affiliate of franchisee that controls franchisee and issues an annual financial report.
(2)
Copyright filings reflecting the operation of the cable system.
(3)
Any pleadings, petitions, applications, communications, reports and documents (collectively referred to as "filings") submitted within the previous 12 months by or on behalf of the franchisee to the FCC, SEC or any state or federal agency, court or regulatory council that may directly and adversely impact the operation of the franchisee's cable system in the city or that may adversely impact the rights or obligations of the city under this article or the franchise agreement and any and all responses, if any, to such filings.
(4)
Any and all notices of deficiency, forfeiture or documents instituting any investigation, civil or criminal proceeding issued by any state or federal agency regarding the cable system, franchisee or any affiliate of franchisee, provided, however, that any such notice or documents relating to an affiliate of the franchisee need be provided only to the extent the same may directly and adversely affect or bear on operations of the franchisee in the city. For example, a notice that an affiliate that has a management contract for the cable system located in the city was not in compliance with the FCC's EEO requirements would be deemed to affect or bear on operations in the city.
(d)
Reserved.
(e)
The franchisee shall, upon written request, furnish to the city such additional reports as a franchisee may prepare as a customary business practice with respect to its operations of the cable system, which in the city's discretion are reasonable and necessary for the administration and/or enforcement of this article.
(f)
A franchisee shall provide the city, within 30 days of filing or receipt of any petition or filings with any federal, state, or local agencies or courts, which may, in the reasonable judgment of the franchisee, adversely impact the construction, operation or maintenance of franchisee's cable system, affect city and/or subscribers regarding this article or a franchise agreement, including, but not limited to, any request for protection under bankruptcy laws, or any judgment related to a declaration of bankruptcy. In any administrative or legal proceeding in which franchisee is a party, which in the reasonable judgment of franchisee adversely impacts the construction or operation of its cable system in the city, franchisee shall provide a copy of any filed document that is available for public dissemination, upon written request of the city, within five days. To the extent the city desires and may properly participate in the proceeding, franchisee agrees that it will not oppose any necessary extension or tolling of time that may allow the city's participation in such matter. However, the franchisee may oppose or object to any extension of time that exceeds the period of time used by franchisee to provide a copy of the requested filing to the city.
(g)
A franchisee shall make a complete set of books and records available for inspection and audit by the city in Palm Beach County, for purposes of ascertaining compliance with this article and the franchise agreement, subject to subsection (h) below. Such inspection and audit shall be upon reasonable notice and during normal business hours.
(h)
Any materials requested by the city which are deemed proprietary and confidential by franchisee shall be made available for review and inspection by the city at a location in Palm Beach County (but not copying or removal, unless otherwise required by federal or state law, including but not limited to the public records law of the State of Florida). The city shall accord all books and records that it inspects under this section the degree of confidentiality such books and records are entitled to under federal and state law. A franchisee's books and records shall not constitute public records, except to the extent required by federal and state law. To the extent a franchisee considers any books or records that it is required to produce to be confidential or otherwise protected from public disclosure, franchisee shall designate which documents it views as protected and provide a written explanation to the city of the legal basis for franchisee's claim of protection.
(Ord. No. 3806-04, § I, 10-25-2004)