AgdaPkt 2012-09-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.5.C. - Page 3 charge 1%, but if greater than that, it cannot charge more than what the operator was paying and in any case no more than 3%. In certain circumstances, DI VCA provides for an interim PEG fee to be established that is applicable until the expiration of the incumbent cable operator's local franchise with the City. The Finance Department has analyzed the PEG fees being paid by cable operators under former franchise agreements and determined that the appropriate fee is 1% of gross revenues and accordingly, the proposed ordinance provides that all state franchise holders shall pay PEG fees in the amount of 1% of gross revenues. This requirement is consistent with DIVCA, which requires that all video service providers, including the incumbent, shall pay the same PEG fee. It was further determined that an interim PEG fee of $0.55 per subscriber per month should be established and applicable until the expiration of Comcast's local franchise, at which time the 1% PEG fee will go into effect. The amount of the interim PEG fee was determined based on the PEG funding requirements in Comcast's local franchise. 3) DI VCA preserves local authority to regulate the time, place and manner of facilities and equipment that are placed in the rights-of-way by state franchise holders, but requires that this authority be exercised consistent with how the local authority regulates the use of the rights-of-way by telecommunications providers. The ordinance provides that state franchise holders must comply with the same right- of-way permitting requirements the City imposes on other users of the right-of-way, including telecommunications providers. The ordinance also provides for a 60-day limit for the City to issue or deny an encroachment permit, and imposes a clear mechanism for appealing permit denials to the Council, as required under DIVCA. 4) DI VCA preserves the authority of local governments to enforce state and federal customer service requirements and directs that local governments adopt a schedule of penalties for violations of such customer service standards. However, the amount of penalties a local authority may impose is greatly restricted by DI VCA and half of any amount collected must be turned over to the state. The ordinance, implements a schedule of penalties for violations of customer service standards. The penalties, which are required to be authorized by local ordinance or resolution, are the maximum allowed under DIVCA. ALTERNATIVES 1. The City Council could choose not to take any action and allow the City and state video franchise holders to continue to operate without a DIVCA-compliant ordinance. 2. The City Council could direct staff to make other changes to the proposed ordinance.