All franchises for the use of the streets or other public places
of the City for the furnishing of any public utility services to the
City or its inhabitants in existence when this Charter becomes effective
shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their respective
terms and conditions.
(a)Â
The City shall have all rights, power and authority to grant, revoke,
modify, purchase or condemn any franchise for the use of the streets
and other public places of the City for furnishing of any public utility
services and no public utility shall transact business in the City
without first obtaining a franchise from the City.
(b)Â
All public utility franchises, and all renewals, extensions and amendments
thereof, shall be granted only by ordinance. No such ordinance shall
be adopted before thirty (30) days after a request for such franchise
has been filed with the City Council, nor until a full public hearing
has been held thereon.
(c)Â
A franchise or grant which is not revocable at the will of the City
Council shall not be granted or become operative until the same shall
have been approved by three-fifths (3/5) of the electors voting on
a proposition for the approval of such franchise at a regularly scheduled
or special election. Any franchise not revocable at the will of the
City Council shall not be submitted to the electors until grantee
named in the franchise has filed with the City Clerk its unconditional
acceptance of all the terms of such franchise; and if submission of
a franchise to the electors is to be held on a special election date
allowed by law, the expense of holding the election, as determined
by the legislative body, shall be paid in advance to the City Treasurer
by the grantee in the franchise before any expenses are incurred by
the City.
(d)Â
No exclusive franchises shall ever be granted and no franchise shall
be granted for a longer term than thirty (30) years.
(e)Â
Control and revocation. The City Council shall cause to be instituted
such actions or proceedings as may be necessary to prosecute a public
utility company for violations of its franchise, the City Charter
or ordinances of the City, and may revoke, cancel or annul all franchises
that may have been granted by the City, which for any reason have
become inoperative, illegal or void and not binding upon the City.
(f)Â
Regulations.
(1)Â
All public franchises granted after the adoption of this Charter,
whether it be so provided in the granting ordinance or not, shall
be subject to the rights of the City as follows:
(i)Â
To repeal the same for misuse, or non-use, or for failure to
comply with the provisions thereof;
(ii)Â
To require proper and adequate extension of plant and service
and maintenance thereof at the highest practicable standard of efficiency;
(iii)Â
To establish reasonable standards of service
and quality of products and prevent unjust discrimination in service
or rates;
(iv)Â
To require continuous and uninterrupted service to the public
in accordance with the terms of the franchise throughout the entire
period thereof; and
(v)Â
To impose such other regulations as may be determined by the
City Council to be conducive to the safety, welfare and accommodation
of the public.
(2)Â
The enumeration of rights of the City in this section shall
not be exclusive and shall not impair the right of the City Council
to insert into such franchise any provision within the power of the
City to impose or require.
(g)Â
Rates. All public utility franchises shall make provision therein
for fixing rates, fares and charges and for readjustments thereof
at periodic intervals at the request of the City, subject to approval
in accordance with the law. The value of the property of the utility
used as a basis for fixing such rates, fares and charges shall in
no event include a value predicated upon the franchise, goodwill or
prospective profits.
(h)Â
Use of City property. Every public utility franchise shall be subject
to the right of the City to use, control and regulate the use of its
streets, alleys, bridges and public places and the space above and
beneath them. Every public utility shall pay such part of the cost
of improvement or maintenance of streets, alleys, bridges and public
places as shall arise from its use thereof and shall protect and save
the City harmless from all damages arising from said use. A public
utility may be required to permit joint use by the City and/or other
utilities of its property and appurtenances that are located in the
streets, alleys and public places provided such joint use is to be
reasonably practicable and upon payment of a reasonable rental rate.
In the absence of an agreement and upon application by any public
utility, the City Council shall provide for arbitration of the terms
and conditions of such joint use and the compensation to be paid therefore.
The arbitration award shall be final.
(i)Â
Temporary permits. Temporary permits for public utilities, revocable
at any time at the will of the City Council, may be granted by the
City Council by ordinance on such terms and conditions as it shall
determine, provided that such permits shall in no event be construed
to be franchises or amendments to franchises.
(a)Â
The City shall possess and hereby reserves to itself all the powers
granted to cities by the Constitution and the general laws of the
State of Michigan to acquire, construct, own, operate, improve, enlarge,
extend, repair and maintain public utilities, either within or outside
its corporate limits. The City may also sell and deliver water, sewage
disposal services, light, heat, power and other public utility services
outside its corporate limits in an amount not to exceed the limitations
set by law. The City shall not acquire any public utility furnishing
light, heat or power, which is not subject to revocation at the will
of the City, unless the proposition shall first have been approved
by three-fifths (3/5) of the electors voting on such proposition.
(b)Â
Control of utilities. The City Council may enact such ordinances
and adopt such resolutions as may be necessary for the care, protection,
preservation, control and operation of any public utilities which
the City now owns, or may, in any manner acquire, own or operate and
all fixtures, appurtenances, apparatus, building, and machinery connected
therewith or belonging thereto, and to carry into effect the powers
conferred upon the City by the provisions of this Charter, including
the fixing of just and equitable rates and charges as may be deemed
advisable for supplying the inhabitants of the City and others with
water, with electricity for light, heat, and power and with such other
utility services as the City may acquire.
(c)Â
Utility charges - collection and accounts. The City shall possess
all of the powers and privileges granted by law to make effective
the collection of any charges for any public utility services rendered
by the City. Separate accounts shall be kept for each public utility
owned or operated by the City, distinct from other City accounts,
and in such manner as to show the true and complete financial result
of such City ownership or operation, or both, including all assets,
liabilities, revenues and expenses. The City Council shall annually
cause a report be prepared showing the financial results of such City
ownership or operation, or both. This report shall provide for each
utility the information specified in this section and such other information
as the City Council may deem appropriate.
(d)Â
Disposal of utility property. The City shall not sell, exchange,
lease, or in any way alienate or dispose of the property, easements,
income or other equipment, privilege or asset belonging to and pertaining
to any utility which it now owns or may acquire, unless and until
the proposition for such purpose shall first have been submitted at
an election held for that purpose in the manner provided in this Charter,
to the electors of the City and approved by a three-fifths (3/5) majority
vote of the electors voting on such proposition. All contracts, negotiations,
licenses, grants, leases, or other forms of transfer in violation
of this provision, shall be void and of no effect as against the City.
The provisions of this section shall not, however, apply to the sale
or exchange of any articles or equipment of any City-owned utility
as are worn out or useless, or which could, with advantage to the
service, be replaced by new and improved machinery or equipment.
