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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993 Resolution No. 089• • RESOLUTION NO . il SERI ES OF 1993 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE GREATER METRO CABLE CONSORTIUM TO FILE FOR, AND REGULATE, BASIC CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE RATES ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, COWRADO. WHEREAS, the Cable Television Con1Ume,-Protection and Competition Act of 1992 (the "1992 Cable Ac t"i and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto authorize local governments empowered under state law w regulate cable television rat.es to apply for o uthorizotion to regulate basic service ratn either jointly or independently; and WH EREAS , Colo rado Revised Statutes 29-1-203 and 29 -1-401 authorize political subd ivisio n of the State of Colorado to cooperate or contract to provide any lawfully aulhorized fun ction , service or facility , or to form or maintain associations to promote, through co operative efforts, the interest.a or welfa re of ee ch; end WHEREAS, on November 20, 1992 the City of Englewood , Arapahoe Coun ty Co lorado entered into a joint and cooperative Intergovernmental Agreement (th e "IGA") fo r a Greote r Metro Cable Consortium (the "GMCC"), which agreement created and establi sh ed a cooperat ive agency with other political subdivisions within th e State of Co lorado for th e purpose of s haring information and resources regarding, and coope ration in the ndm ini strotion of, cabl e television opera tion within the memb er juri sdiction s: and WHERE AS, th e GMCC h as agreed to comply with all regulations of the United States' Fed erol Communication s Commission (the "FCC") pertaining thereto and act on behalf of the City of Englewood in regulating basic cable television service rates; and WHEREAS, the Englewood City Council fin ds that the City of Engl ewood has authority under state law , the Colorado Con stitution and its Charter to regulate cable tele vision service within the City of Englewood, and that the GMCC has suffi cient personn el to undertake cable television rate regulation ; and WHEREAS , Co uncil also finds that it will be less expensive and administratively burden some u pon the City of Englewood , and is in the best interests of the we lfare of the citizens of the Ci ty of Englewood to cooperate with other political subdivis ion s through th e G~ICC in the r egu lation of basic cable television service rates under the 1992 Cable Act; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNC IL OF THE CITY OF E NG LEWOOD , COWRADO , THAT: Ss:i:iiml..l. The GMCC is h ereby authorized and directed to apply on th e City of Englewoo d's behalf for certification to r egulate basic cable television service rates in acco rd once wi th the 1992 Cable Act and to act as the City ofEnglewood"s agent in r egard to the regulation of basic television service rates within the City of Englewood , Colorado. 5.e£1imiJ! Th e GMCC is hereby authorued and directed , os agent for the City of Engl ewoc'I.J in the regu latio n of ba sic cabl e tele visio n serv ice rat es with in th e Ci ty of Engl o,wood, to ca rry out and comply with all mandates of th e 1992 Cable Act and all regu latio ns lawfu lly promulgated pursuant thereto, an d in accordan ce therewith to : A . Adopt an d administer rate regulations which accord with FCC rate regulations promulgated pursuant to th e 1992 Cable Act; B. Ensure and promulgate procedures and regulations to ensure that all proc:edurea in the reru,lation of cable television rates provide reuonabl e opportunity for participation by the public; C . Serve upon, and provide copiea of, the completed certification form, and of the offi ci al certification, this reaolution, and all regulations promulgated pursuant thereto to any and all cable operatora opereting within the City of Englewood , Colorado. ~ The City of Englewood may terminate thi1 A~eementatany time with the City paying all current expense ■ due and owing. ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 20th day of September, 1993. ATTEST : ,.--.., ~ ,4it.c <-<.-'t. !£. {i,H.,'.,r Patricia H. Crow, City Clerk I, Patricia H. Crow, City Clerk for t!le City of Englewood , Colorado, hereby certify the above is a true copy of Resolution No [:l Series of 1993 . ~~;a LL"'/ 64:<-vr Patricia H. Crow >I • • • • O..te September 20 , 1993 INillA TEO BY SfAFF SOURCE COUNOL COMMUNICATION Agerula Item 11 a City Manager's Office Subject Regulation of Basic Cable TV Rates for the City of Englewood Chuck Reid , Assistant City Manager ~ ACTION PRIJPOSEO Staff seeks Council approval of a resolution authorizing the Greater Metro Cable Consortium (GMCC) to fi le for and regulate basic cable TV rates for the C,y of Englewood . • PREVIOUS COUNOL ACTION • Council previously appro,·ed an Intergovemmental Agre .men! and authorized funds for the City of Englewood to participate as an active member of the GMCC. BACl<GROUND The Greater Metro Cable Consortium consists of 17 cities and counties working together as a "clearinghouse" to share information and resources and to jointly deve lop policies and procedures for working with their local cable provider (TC! of Colorado) under the rules and regulations of the 1992 Cable Act. One of the 0pportunities available under the 1992 Cable Act is for local franchising authorities to file for certification with the Federal Communications Commissi on (FCC) for the authority to regulate the rates of basic tier services (oncy basic tier services -premium and pay-per-view services remain unaffected) in their local communities. Filing should take place following the new Rate Regulations that took effect September 1, 1993 . Tht FCC recognizes and encourases joint ceqific•tiao by members of consortiwns like the GMCC in o:der to sha re administrative costs . However, joint ce rtificati on does not preclude indiv idual communities from regulating local cable rates on their own . Any member wh:• certifies jointly through the GMCC and who is dissatisfied with the work done by the GMCC L'l its behalf will always have the option to reject the GMCC's work and apply for individual certification at a later date . STAJ-1! /..Nl~L YSIS The FCC allows cable operalurs to recunfigtire their tiE'rs and rates rior to Sep tember 1, in theory , to comply w i th the n ew rules. It allows pPrator:; t0 do thi s w ithout notice to subscribers, who will learn of it on th eir next bills, w hich will also co u tain the name and phone number of the local franchising authority, e .g. the City of Englewood . Through s tori es in the medi a , the public has been led to believe that w ith the new regula.tions, their rates may d ec rease up to te n r ercent. In fact, there will be ooth increases and d ecreases depending on th e pecific sitvation of the individ u.al subscr ihe r, e .g . the number of outl ets in the home, the le vel o f service requested by the subscriber , etc . The GMCC fo rmed a suliw mrnittee to s tudy the new .ate regulations a nd to report back to the GMCC rega rding th, feas ibility of joint ce rtificaifor. It was the rec ommendation of that £ul>committee and the subsequent recommendation o f the majority o ' GMCC members that t ~ ·'.':MCC b e authorized to handle rate regulation for its individual members . The FCC ~~ ~e.:•rs to b e fl exi ble in recognizing joi nt ce rtl fic tion b y consortiums and by individual m1e ,i.\;ers. However, the p roc ess could be re.dunda.it in that both would have to file separatP 1pplication,. This dual filing might also enable the local cable pro\'ider to cha llen1se the ce rti fication a pplication and thus delay the rate regulation process . As a practica l matter, ra,e regulation will be a large ly m a thematiril process of ascertaining a specifi rate figure ba I on th e FCC's formulas. The chi ef adva; ~~g e of joint certification to individ ual GMCC members lies in the sharing of combined re.-r urces and expertise . Thi? GMCC would act as an "expert adv isor" and recommend a rate structure to its participating members. Thi s would preclude th e necessity of individual cities hiring and retaining separate cable consultants. Once each GMCC member has been gi anted authorization by its local governing body for the GMCC to fil e for rate regulation a uthority on its behalf, the individual members will submit a copy of that resolution to the GMCC, w ho w ill then s ubmit the required certifi cation forms tu the FCC on behalf of all its members. While the application is pending before the FCC, the GMCC will .::!opt regulations to foll ow th e FCC guidelines in regula_ting 1,asic ca b le rates and to provide for public partici pation in the rate regulation process . Thirty days after applying to th e FCC and al'ter adopting the above regulations, the GMCC wilJ noti fy TC ! that the GMCC is n ow certified to regulate basic ra tes on behalf of i members. It will also d irect TC! to submit to the GMCC a schedule of its irrent bas ic rates fo • GMCC review a..-id comments . The GMCC w ill then determin e whether those rates a re within FCC guidelines or w hether they should be reduced to ti e le ve l pre.scribed y th e FCC. The GMCC will then announce its decision in a public directiv e to TCI. FINANCIAL IMPACT Th~ fi nancial impact of this resol ution is minimal, in that its ongoing administration wi ll be co\'ered und er the City's annual membership dues to the GMCC. Fail ure to a pprove thi s ~esolution may necessitate th e City's hiring a separa te cable consultant to handle thi s 'ssue • if Council chooses to exercise its rate regulation opti on.