A.
Ongoing regulation. The Borough shall exercise appropriate regulatory
authority under the provisions of this chapter and applicable law.
This authority shall be vested in the Borough Council and administered
through the Borough Manager or his designee in order to provide day-to-day
administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and
any franchise granted hereunder, and to carry out the Borough's
responsibilities with regard to cable communications.
B.
Change in law or regulation. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of this chapter to the contrary, the grantee shall at all times comply
with all laws and regulations of the local, commonwealth and federal
government. In the event that any actions of the commonwealth or federal
government or any agency thereof, or any court of competent jurisdiction
upon final adjudication, substantially reduce in any way the power
or authority of the Borough under this chapter or the franchise, or
if in compliance with any local, commonwealth, or federal law or regulation
is in conflict with the terms of this chapter, the franchise, or any
law or regulation of the Borough, then the Borough, at its option,
may notify the grantee that it wishes to negotiate those provisions
which are affected in any way by such modification in regulations
or statutory authority. Thereafter, the grantee shall negotiate in
good faith with the Borough in the development of alternate provisions
which shall fairly restore the Borough to the maximum level of authority
and power permitted by law. The Borough shall have the right to modify
any of the provisions to such reasonable extent as may be necessary
to carry out the full intent and purpose of this chapter and the franchise.
C.
Authority. The Borough reserves the right to exercise the maximum
plenary authority, as may at any time be lawfully permissible, to
regulate the cable communications system, the franchise and the grantee.
Should applicable legislative, judicial or regulatory authorities
at any time permit regulation not presently permitted to the Borough,
the Borough may without the approval of the grantee engage in any
such additional regulation as may then be permissible, whether or
not contemplated by this chapter or the franchise.
A.
The Borough shall have the following regulatory responsibility:
(1)
Administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter
and any franchise granted hereunder.
(2)
Award, renewal, extension or termination of a franchise pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter, the franchise, and other applicable
law.
(3)
Consent prior to sale or transfer of any franchise granted hereunder.
(4)
Performance evaluation.
(5)
Rate regulation, if applicable.
B.
The Borough also reserves the right to perform the following functions:
(1)
Develop objectives and coordinate activities related to the operation
of government channels.
(2)
Approve procedures and standards for public, government and educational
access and operations and services, including the use of dedicated
channels and sharing of public facilities.
(3)
Coordinate plans for expansion, interconnection and growth of cable
services.
(4)
Analyze the possibility of integrating cable communications with
other Borough, state or regional telecommunications networks.
(5)
Formulate and recommend long-range telecommunications policy for
the Borough, and determine the future cable-related needs and interests
of the community.
(6)
Provide the administrative effort necessary for the conduct of performance
evaluations, and any other activities required for the administration
of the franchise.
(7)
Monitor grantee's process for handling citizen complaints and
periodically inspect and analyze the records related to such complaints.
(8)
Receive applications for rate increases if applicable and provide
staff assistance in the analysis and recommendations thereto.
(9)
Monitor grantee's adherence to operational standards, service
requirements and line extension policies.
(10)
Assure compliance with applicable laws and ordinances.
(11)
Arrange tests and analysis of equipment and performance, as
needed to insure compliance with this chapter and the franchise.
(12)
Assure continuity in service.
(13)
Receive for examination all data and reports required by this
chapter.
A.
Schedule filings. Grantee shall file with the Borough schedules which
shall describe all services offered, all rates and charges of any
kind, and all terms and conditions relating thereto. No rates or charges
shall be effective except as they appear on a schedule so filed. Grantee
shall notify subscribers in writing at least 30 days prior to the
implementation of any change in services offered, rates charges, or
terms and conditions related thereto.
B.
Nondiscriminatory rates. Grantee shall establish rates that are nondiscriminatory
within the same general class of subscribers which must be applied
fairly and uniformly to all subscribers in the franchise area for
all services. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the grantee
from offering: (a) discounts to commercial and multiple-family dwelling
subscribers billed on a bulk basis; (b) promotional discounts; or
(c) reduced installation rates for subscribers who have multiple services.
Grantee's charges and rates for all services shall be itemized
on subscriber's monthly bills.
C.
Borough regulation. To the extent that federal or commonwealth law
or regulation may now, or as the same may hereafter be amended to,
authorize the Borough to regulate the rates for any particular service
tiers, service packages, equipment, or any other services provided
by grantee, the Borough shall have the right to exercise rate regulation
to the full extent authorized by law, or to refrain from exercising
such regulation for any period of time, at the sole discretion of
the Borough.
A.
Evaluation sessions. The Borough and the grantee may, at the discretion
of the Borough, hold scheduled performance evaluation sessions every
three years. All such evaluation sessions may be open to the public.
B.
Special sessions. Special evaluation sessions may be held at any
time during the term of the franchise at the request of the Borough.
C.
Public hearings. All evaluation sessions may be open to the public and announced in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with public notice, as provided in § 151-51. Grantee shall notify subscribers of any such public meetings by announcement on the designated local government channel on the system between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. for five consecutive days preceding each session.
D.
Topics for review. Topics which may be discussed at any scheduled
or special evaluation session may include, but not be limited to system
performance and construction, grantee compliance with this chapter
and the franchise, customer service and complaint response, subscriber
privacy, services provided, programming offered, service rate structures,
franchise fees, penalties, free or discounted services, applications
of new technologies, judicial and FCC filings, and line extensions.
E.
Cooperation by grantee. During the review and evaluation by the Borough,
the grantee shall fully cooperate with the Borough and shall provide
such information and documents as the Borough may need to reasonably
perform its review.
Any person, firm, corporation or utility which permits the violation
of this chapter, shall, upon being found liable in a civil enforcement
proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a fine of $600 plus all court
costs, including reasonable attorneys fees incurred by the Borough.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion thereof in
which a violation is found to exist or for each section of the Ordinance
which is found to have been violated. In addition, to civil actions
before a District Justice, the Borough may enforce this chapter in
an action in equity brought in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
