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Ordinance 93-2876 ORDINANCE NO. 93-2876 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING MIAMI BEACH ORDINANCE 86-2500 ENTITLED "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, GRANTING AS THEREINAFTER SET FORTH TO ALL-RITE SATELLITE, INC. , ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, A NONEXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE FOR THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A CABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH; ESTABLISHING CERTAIN CONDITIONS THEREFOR; PROVIDING FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE FRANCHISE; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ORDINANCES OR PARTS THEREOF INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; SPECIFICALLY AMENDING THE SECTION REGARDING DEFINITION OF GROSS REVENUE, CABLE RATE REGULATION, CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS, AND ESTABLISHING A NEW SECTION GOVERNMENT PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNEL; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ORDINANCES OR PARTS THEREOF INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, on February 5, 1986, the City adopted Ordinance No. 86-2500 awarding a non-exclusive cable television franchise to All- Rite Satellite, Inc. for a period of 15 years ("the TV Ticket Franchise") ; and WHEREAS, the City authorized the assignment of the TV Ticket Franchise to Rifkin-Narragansett South Florida CATV Limited Partnership d/b/a Gold Coast Cable, (the "Franchisee") ; and WHEREAS, the City Administration, with the assistance of special counsel, has currently engaged the Franchisee in negotiations with respect to modifications of the terms and conditions of the TV Ticket Franchise to include terms and conditions including customer service standards, rate regulation, and other pertinent issues; and WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") new rules and regulations with respect to rate regulation are incomplete and not final, and since these new rules and regulations will provide authority to the City for rate regulation and will restrict the Franchisee with respect to rates, the Administration has determined that it is not reasonable to conclude cable renewal negotiations pending detailed review of these rules and regulations. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida: SECTION 1. Section 2 (1) entitled "Gross Revenues" is amended as follows: (1) "Croce Revenues" shall mean all revenue derived directly or indirectly from subscribers and uccrc of the CATV system by the Company, its affiliates, cubsi-diaries, parent and any person in which the Company has a financial intereet, or its successors, assigns or transferees, froma or in connection with the operation of a cable communications system tau-rcuant to this ordinance and within the City; provided, however, all revenues shall include, but not be limited tom basic subscriber service monthly fees, pay cable fees, installation and reconnection feec, lea_-- converter rentals, studio rental, production equipment and personnel fees, security cervioos, advertising revenues and including any subscriber revenues from subscribers within the City even if cuch service is provided by lacer trancmiccion, or light or optical transmission and even if cubscribers reside in one or more multiple-unit dwellings under common ownership, control or management; and that this shall not include any taxes on services furniched by the Company herein imposed directly upon any SECTION 2 . (1) "Gross Revenue" shall mean all revenue including cash, credits, property of any kind or nature or other consideration (including barter) recognized directly or indirectly by franchisee (including to the extent applicable, its Affiliates, as hereinafter defined subsidiaries, or any person or entity in which the franchisee has a financial interest) from any source whatsoever arising from, attributable to, or in any way derived from the sale or exchange of cable services or the operation of a cable system by the franchisee within the City, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Gross revenues includes, but is 2 not limited to, fees charged subscribers for any optional premium, per-channel or per-program service; fees charged subscribers for any tier of service other than basic service; installation, disconnection, reconnection and change-in-service fees; leased access fees; fees, payments or other consideration from programmers for carriage of programming on the cable system; revenue from equipment rental or sales; revenue from studio and studio equipment rental ; advertising service; revenues derived from the sale of products or services advertised or promoted on the cable system, including home shopping channels; the sale, exchange or cablecast by the franchisee of any programming developed on or for access channels or institutional users; the sale of the signal or any portion thereof to unlicensed operators; any revenue received through any means which avoids payment of compensation that would otherwise be paid to the City for the franchise; and all other revenue. Gross revenue shall not include to the extent consistent with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied, bad debt write-offs; taxes and fees of a general nature imposed by law on subscribers of any state, county, city or other governmental unit and collected by the franchise on behalf of such governmental unit and which the franchisee passes on in full to the applicable tax authority or authorities (provided, however, that the franchisee fee required to be paid by the franchisee in accordance with its franchise shall not be considered to be such a tax of a general nature, as referred to above) . For purposes of this Section, the term "Affiliate" shall mean any person or entity which, directly or indirectly, owns ten percent (10%) or more interest in the franchisee; or any person or entity in which the franchisee, directly or indirectly, owns ten percent (10%) or more interest; or any person or entity with at least ten percent (10%) common interest with the franchisee. SECTION 2 . Section 9 (a) and (b) entitled "Rates" is amended as follows: 3 SECTION 9 . Rates. (a) The City retains the right to at any time regulate the rates that may be charged by the Company, which regulation shall be in accordance with the Regulations adopted by the FCC pursuant to the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 . to regulation pursuant to Sec. 8A-13 of the Dade County Code, and to the rules and regulations of any State or Federal authority over this type of industry or enterprise. SECTION 9 . Cable Rate Regulations. (a) To the extent permitted by applicable law, the City shall regulate rates of the Cable System. (b) The City shall regulate the Cable System's rates and charges in a manner consistent with all applicable FCC rules and regulations. Before adopting any order with respect to the rates of a cable system, the City shall provide a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of all interested parties, including but not limited to, the views of the franchisee. SECTION 3 . Section 13 , entitled "Operations and Maintenance System; Service Standards" is amended as follows: SECTION 13 . Operation and Maintenance of System; Service Standards. (a) The Company chall render operation and maintenance pursuant to the standards of the Federal Gammunicatione Commission and in full compliance with the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 . - -_ _ - -cc ' _- - - ard, Suite 22 , Kcy Biscayne, Florida 33149 , and which offices shall be open during all usual business hours, and which local cuc-temerc chall at all time shave access to by a local (Miami Beach) tel phone number, co that customers may register complaints and requocts without charge to the customer. 4 Company chall , at all times keep and maintain cufficient phone lines co as to enable a subccribcr to reach Company and register a complaint after a reaconable time and cffcrt, except in case of thereof. (c) Company chall dicpatch personnel to invectigate all service _ _ ly as possible. Planned interruption of cervice chali be only for good caucc. Incofar ac pocsible, planned cervine interruptions shall be preceded by personc who chall reside in Dade County. (d) Company shall maintain a complete lict of all complaints not rccolved within ceven day-s rc eived and the measures taken to resolve them in form to be -approved day the City Manager. This list shall be supplied to the City Manager on a monthly bacic. (e) Company chall maintain a list of all complaints received, which list will be available to the City Manager. (f) Company chall permit the City Manager to incpect and tact the - to twenty-four hours) notice. (g) The Company chall cctablich a grievance procedure which shall be fair and equitable to all cubccribers and shall file copies of all complaints and final decisions with the City Manager, montes. SECTION 13 . Consumer protection provisions; office and telephone availability. (a) The franchisee shall maintain a local business office within the existing cable system's service area, but not more than five (5) miles from the City or within the City that is adequately staffed and open to the public, Monday through Friday_ from 8 : 30 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m. This office may close for any holiday observed by the U.S. Government. 5 (b) Each franchisee shall maintain a telephone system with a publicly listed local telephone number. Knowledgeable, qualified franchisee representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries, Monday through Friday from 8 : 30 a.m. to 7 : 00 p.m. ; one weekday night until 8: 00 p.m. ; and on Saturday from 9 : 00 a.m. until 5: 00 p.m. (c) Under Normal Operating Conditions, all customer service and repair calls shall be answered within thirty (30) seconds, including wait time and within an additional thirty (30) seconds to transfer the call during the hours between 7 : 00 a.m. and 11: 00 p.m. each day of the year. The rate of lost calls, including incoming calls abandoned, shall be less than ten (10) percent of all incoming calls. Customers shall receive a busy signal no more than three (3) percent of the time. These standards shall be met no less than ninety (90) percent of the time measured on a quarterly basis based upon the most recent quarter. With respect to those calls received prior to 8: 30 a.m. or after 7 : 00 p.m. , Monday to Friday; prior to 9: 00 a.m. or after 5: 00 p.m. on Saturday; all day Sunday and on all national holidays the franchisee shall use reasonable efforts to assure that its outside answering service comply with the standards set forth above. (d) Franchisee shall maintain or contract for at least one (1) billing payment and customer equipment location located in the City which will be open for transactions Monday through Friday from 8 : 30 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m. ; at least one night Monday through Friday until 8 : 00 p.m. ; and on Saturday 9 : 00 a.m. until 12 : 00 p.m. (e) When the franchisee's offices are closed, and at times not included in subsection (a) above, franchisee may use telephone answering services or automated answering and distribution to meet the requirements of this section. The franchisee shall meet the standards specified in subsection (c) . SECTION 13 . 1 Consumer protection provisions; Consumer 6 complaint procedures. (a) Subscribers may lodge complaints concerning cable service with a franchisee by (i) writing franchisee at its local business office; (ii) by telephoning franchisee at its local business office or (iii) visiting franchisee at its local business office. (b) Franchisee shall maintain a written record of each customer complaint received. For purposes of this section, a customer complaint shall not include normal service calls or requests including billing or programming inquiries unless the subscriber does not receive a satisfactory response or service from the franchisee within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed fifteen (15) days, after the service call or other request has been made. The record shall include name of the customer, the date of the complaint, the nature of the complaint and the date of the response. (c) Customers dissatisfied with a franchisee's response to a complaint may appeal to the City Manager within seven (7) days of the franchisee's response. The City Manager and the franchisee, or their representatives shall meet to resolve the complaint to the mutual satisfaction of the parties within thirty (30) days. The franchisee shall use reasonable efforts to resolve these complaints. (d) The franchisee shall notify its subscribers in writing at the time of initial installation and at least annually thereafter that if a subscriber is not satisfied with the franchisee's service the subscriber can contact the City and County offices regulating cable television. The franchisee's written notice shall include the telephone number and contact person for the City and the County's cable offices. (e) The franchisee shall, within seven (7) days after receiving written request from the City, send a written report to the City with respect to any particular consumer complaint. The 7 report to the City shall provide a full explanation of the investigation, findings and corrective steps taken or in process by the franchisee. SECTION 13 . 2 Installations outages and service calls. (a) Under normal operating conditions, each of the following four (4) standards will be met no less than ninety-five (95) percent of the time measured on a quarterly basis. (i) Standard installations will be performed within seven (7) business days after an order has been placed; provided the franchisee has been able to obtain any necessary easements or other consents necessary to complete the installations. "Standard" installations are up to one hundred fifty (150) feet from the existing distribution system. (ii) The franchisee will respond to service interruptions promptly and in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours after the interruption becomes known. Other service problems will be responded to promptly and in no event later than forty- eight (48) hours. Notwithstanding the above, the franchisee shall not be required to respond to service interruptions or service problems on Sunday. All service interruptions and service problems within the control of franchisee will be corrected within 72 hours after receipt of a complaint. (iii) The appointment window alternatives made available for installations, service calls, repairs, and other installation activities will be (a) mornings, and (b) afternoons, Monday through Saturday; or (c) at the election and discretion of the subscriber, "all day" . (iv) If at any time an installer or technician is running late, an attempt to contact the customer will be made and the appointment rescheduled as necessary at a time which is convenient for the customer. lb) The franchisee shall not miss a service or 8 installation appointment scheduled with a particular subscriber unless rescheduled one (1) day in advance. .(c) Franchisee may intentionally interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Franchisee shall use its best efforts to insure that such interruptions shall occur only during the hours of 1: 00 a.m. to 6: 00 a.m. A written log shall be maintained for all intentional service interruptions. (d) In the event that service to any subscriber is interrupted on all channels on the basic tier which shall mean the service tier which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals or thirty percent (30%) of the channels on any other programming tier or any single a la carte premium channel (hereinafter for purposes of this Section referred to collectively as the "Base Channels") for twenty-four-hour (24) or more hours due to the fault of the franchisee and not due to acts of God or other circumstances beyond franchisee's control , the franchisee shall provide a credit or rebate to affected subscribers equal to twenty (20) percent of the monthly fees for each twenty-four-hour period during which the subscriber is without service not to exceed one (1) month subscriber payment. In the event that service to any subscriber is interrupted on the Base Channels including loss of signal complying with the technical requirements specified in this franchise or under applicable federal law for six (6) or more hours, the franchisee shall provide a credit or rebate to affected subscribers upon request by the subscriber, equal to one-thirtieth of the monthly bill . However, in the event that service to any subscriber is interrupted on the Base Channels, including the loss of signal complying with the technical requirements specified in the franchise or under applicable federal law for twenty-four (24) or more hours the franchisee shall provide a credit or rebate to affected subscribers equal to one-thirtieth of the monthly bill . For purposes of computing the time of interrupted service, the time shall begin when a complaint for interrupted service is received 9 by the franchisee or when the franchisee has actual or constructive notice of the interruption, whichever occurs first. For purposes of this Section, service interruption shall mean the loss of picture or sound. In addition, with respect to cable service offered in multiple dwelling units, no rebate or credit shall be required unless the franchisee has actual or constructive notice that the Base Channels are not in compliance with the technical requirements of this franchise or under applicable federal law, and if the franchisee has commenced any and all necessary repairs within thirty-six (36) hours using its best efforts to correct the quality of the signal. In addition, no rebate or credit shall be required for cable service offered in multiple dwelling units if the failure to provide the required signal or the ability to cure is beyond the control of the franchise, and within the control of the management or owner(s) of the multiple dwelling unit. Nothing in this subsection limits the franchisee from applying a rebate policy more liberal than these requirements. (e) In all situations where cable service is disrupted to five hundred 5500) or more subscribers for a time period greater than six (6) hours, the franchisee shall notify the City Manager or his designee immediately. (f) All field employees must carry identification indicating their employment with the franchisee. (q) Upon termination of service to any subscriber, the franchisee shall remove all portions of its system, facilities and equipment from the subscriber's premises within 14 days of subscriber's request. Where removal is impractical, such as with buried cable or internal wiring, facilities and equipment may be disconnected or abandoned rather than removed. SECTION 13 . 3 Communications, bills and refunds. (a) The franchisee will provide written information in each of the following areas at the time of installation and at any 10 future time upon request by the Subscriber: (i) The products and services offered; (ii) Prices and service options; (iii)How to use the cable service; (iv) Installation and service policies; (v) The franchisee's procedures for the receipt and resolution of customer complaints, the franchisee's address and telephone number to which complaints may be reported, and the hours of operation; (vi) The telephone number and address of the City's office and the County's office designated to handle cable television complaints and inquiries; (vii) The availability of the "lock-out" device; (viii) The availability of an input selector, or A/B switch, and identification of those local broadcast stations not carried on their system; (ix) The franchisee's information collection and disclosure policies for the protection of a subscriber's privacy. The information in subsection (v) - (ix) above will be provided to each subscriber at least annually. (b) In addition, a franchisee shall provide written notice in its monthly billing, at the request of the City Manager, of any meeting regarding requests or applications by the franchisee for renewal, transfer or modification of its franchise. The City Manager shall make such a request in writing, no less than forty- five (45) days prior to the mailing of any billing by franchisee. Said notices shall be made at franchisee's expense and said expense shall not be considered part of the franchise fee assessed pursuant to Section 8 and shall not be regarded as the term as defined in Section 622 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 42 . (c) The franchisee's bills will be clear, concise and understandable. 11 (d) Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than the earlier of thirty (30) days or the customer's next billing cycle following the resolution of the request, or the return of the equipment supplied by the franchisee if service is terminated. (e) All customers and the City will receive written notification a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance of any rate or channel change. SECTION 13 . 4 Customer Service Compliance Certificate. The franchisee shall certify in writing to the City on January 1 and June 1 of each year based upon internal due diligence by the franchisee that to the best of its knowledge it is in substantial compliance with the customer service standards set forth in Sections 13-13 . 3 within thirty (30) days of receipt of the certification. At the request of the City, the franchisee shall submit such documentation, as may be required, to demonstrate such compliance within thirty (30) days of receipt of such request. SECTION 13 . 5 Customer Service - Penalties. (a) In addition to any other remedies provided herein, the City may (in accordance with provisions of this Section) impose the following penalties for any violation of Sections 13-13 . 3 , hereof: Customer Service Description of Penalty Section Violation 13 (a) Failure to Maintain $300 Local Business Office 13 (b) Failure to Maintain $300 Telephone System 13 (b) Failure to Make $300 Qualified Franchisee Representatives Available 13 (c) Failure, Under $300 Normal Operating Conditions, to Meet Phone Answering Time 13 (d) Failure to Maintain $500 Billing Payment and 12 Customer Equipment Location Within The City 13 (d) Failure to $500 Maintain Billing Payment and Customer Equipment Office Hours 13 (e) Failure to Meet After- $300 Hour Telephone Standards 13 . 1 (b) Failure to Comply $500 With Record Requirements of Customer Complaints 13 . 1 (3) Delay in Sending $200 Written Report in Consumer Complaint 13 . 3 (a) Failure to Notify $250 Customers at Time of Installation or Annually 13 . 2 (a) Failure, Under $300 Normal Operating Conditions, to Meet Installations, Outages and Service Calls within Requisite Time 13 . 2 (b) Failure to Meet $100 Service or Installation Appointment 13 . 2 (c) Interruption of $500 Service Without Good Cause 13 . 2 (d) Interruption of $500 Service Due to Fault of Franchise 13 . 2 (e) Delay in Notify $200 City of Service Disruption 13 . 2 (f) Failure to Properly $100 Identify Field Personnel 13 . 3 (a) (ix) Failure to Provide $100 Written Information as to Products and Services Offered, Prices and Service Options, Use Cable Service, Installations and Service Policies; 13 Procedures for Customer Complaints, Telephone Numbers for County and City Cable Offices; the Availability of Lock-out Devices, Input Selectors or A/B Switches 13 . 3 (b) Failure to Provide $500 Notice of City Meetings • 13 . 3 (d) Delay in Refunds $250 For purposes of computing these penalties, each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate violation. (b) The City shall give the franchisee thirty (30) days prior written notice of its intent to assess a penalty, identifying the reasons for such proposed action. During the thirty (30) day notice period the franchisee may file a written response to the Notice of Intent to assess a penalty with the City. (c) The City shall consider any justification, mitigating factor, including but not limited to rebates or credits to the subscriber, a cure of the violation, offered by the franchisee prior to assessing such penalties, and the imposition of a penalty by Dade County. The City may, after consideration of such a response by the franchisee, waive or reduce the penalty. The City and the franchisee agree that it is appropriate and necessary for the City to enforce the customer service standards contained in this franchise. The City will use reasonable efforts to coordinate with Dade County to avoid the assessment of multiple penalties for the same violation. However, nothing herein shall prevent the City from assessing penalties as a result of Dade County's action(s) , if any. (d) Subsequent to the notice and consideration of franchisee's response, if any, as required in subsections (b) and (c) above, the City may issue an assessment of penalty. The penalty shall be paid within thirty (30) days of written notice to 14 franchisee. (e) Failure of the City to enforce any requirement of the customer service standards or to assess any penalties for violations shall not constitute a waiver of the City's rights. (f) Any penalties assessed under this Section shall be considered liquidated damages. It is the intent of the City to determine penalties as a reasonable estimate of the damages suffered by the City, whether actual or potential, and may include without limitation, increased costs of administration and other damages difficult to measure. (q) Any penalty assessed under this Section shall not be considered part of the franchisee fee assessed pursuant to Section 8 and shall not be regarded as a franchisee fee, as that term is defined in Section 622 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 542 . Further, any penalty shall not be considered as an external cost as defined by the FCC and shall not be treated as a pass- through or in any calculation of cost of service for rate regulation to the extent provided by applicable federal law. (h) Further, any penalty assessed under this Section shall not be considered in any rate regulation proceeding as a cost to the franchisee, nor shall it be treated as a pass-through to the subscribers. SECTION 13 . 6 Violation of Customer Service Standards- Renewal & Transfer. Violations and penalties assessed as a result thereof of the customer service standards set forth in Sections 13-13 . 3 may be considered in connection with franchisee's franchise renewal application or any franchisee's transfer application, to the extent permitted under federal law. However, prior to such consideration, the City shall provide franchisee with notice of its intent to consider such matters in its evaluation and an opportunity to cure any violations. 15 SECTION 4 . A new Section 30, entitled "Government Access Channel" is added as follows: SECTION 30. Government Access Channel . (a) The franchisee shall provide and maintain, without charge, a cable channel on a full-time basis to the City of Miami Beach for its use and programming. 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The existing Sections 30, 32 , and 33 are renumbered consecutivelyas Sections 31, 32, and 33 , respectively. SECTION 6. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said holding shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance. SECTION 7 . Repealer. All ordinances or parts in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. 16 SECTION 8 . Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days after adoption on the 2nd day of October , 1993 . Customer service standards contained herein shall become effective January 1, 1994 . However, the City shall comply with all notice requirements for the customer service standards and rate regulation contained herein under applicable federal law. PASSED and ADOPTED this 22nd day of f o tember 199 ' f.,... A , „,„• MA�Tn ATTEST: t ---61(e‘o•AAA F. ,t1A,N,.__ CITY CLERK 1st reading 9/8/93 2nd reading 9/22/93 FORM APPROVED LEGAL DEPT. By Date 4. 3-i3 A:\ordinanc.908 17 i f EXHIBIT A LEIBOWITZ & SPENCER A PARTNERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS MATTHEW L. LEIBOWITZ. P . SUITE 1450 SUITE 500 JOHN M. SPENCER, P.0 * SUNBANK INTERNATIONAL CENTER 1000 CONNECTICUT AVENUE. N.W. JOSEPH A BELISLE ONE SOUTHEAST THIRD AVENUE WASHINGTON, 0. 20036 OF COUNSEL MIAMI, FLORIDA 33131-1715 SANFORD L. BOHRER TELEPHONE(305)530-1322 NOT ADMITTED TO TELECOPIER(305)530-9417 FLORIDA BAR March 31, 1993 Laurence Feingold, Esq. City Attorney City of Miami Beach 1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139 Re: Special Counsel for Cable Television Dear Mr, Feingold: This letter is to set forth the Agreement of the City of Miami Beach to retain the Law Firm of Leibowitz & Spencer as Special Counsel for the purpose of representing the City in the area of cable television, including specifically the following areas: 1 . Review the City' s present cable ordinance and cable franchise agreements, and make recommendations for appropriate modifications thereto. 2 . Advise the City with respect to its existing cable franchise relationship and assist the City in negotiating a renewal thereof, if appropriate. 3 . Advise the City regarding competitive cable franchises, including but not limited to, municipal owned cable systems. 4 . Advise the City regarding new federal cable statutes and implementing FCC rules and regulations, including but not limited to, rate regulation, customer service and cable technical standards. 5 . Represent the City before the FCC in cable television matters, including but not limited to, filing for rate regulation authority. 6. Advise the City regarding enforcement of existing and future cable services offered to the City and its residents. Laurence Feingold, Esq. March 31, 1993 Page Two Leibowitz & Spencer will also advise the City as to procedures, notices, public hearings, required approvals and filings, and other legal matters related to the provision of cable television service to the City. In addition thereto, Mr. Leibowitz will attend any City hearings related to cable television services and as needed, Mr. Leibowitz will agree to provide verbal reports to the City Commission. To avoid any non-productive time, the City will schedule Time Certain for any such appearances. It is understood and agreed that Leibowitz & Spencer currently charges hourly rates for attorney time from $185 to $250 and $60 for paralegal times. These rates are subject to revision from time to time. It is further understood that Matthew L. Leibowitz will be the attorney primarily responsible for the City's work and that his current hourly rate is $250. However, in recognition that the City is a muncipality and is currently facing severe budgetary restrictions, Leibowitz & Spencer agrees to bill the City only seventy percent (70%) , on a current basis, for Mr. Leibowitz ' s services rendered covered by the scope of the work above. The balance of the fees will be due when the City authorizes either a renewal franchise with its existing franchisee or a new franchise with a new cable operator and the City receives payment of a renewal fee or an initial franchise fee or other payment by the cable operator, provided that the deferred payment shall be limited to the amount by which the renewal fee, initial franchise fee or other payment by the cable operator exceeds the expenses and non- deferred fees previously paid or payable to Leibowitz & Spencer under this agreement. Unfortunately it is not possible to establish a fee cap at this time. The FCC has not yet adopted its new cable rules and regulations. In addition, it is not possible to ascertain, at this time, a reasonable projection of time related to advising the City with respect to its existing relationship with its cable franchisee and negotiating a renewal thereof, if appropriate. Nor is it possible, at this time, to reasonably ascertain the City's needs to investigate competitive cable franchises and/or municipal owned cable systems. However, in order to assure financial responsibility in the provision of services by Leibowitz & Spencer, Leibowitz & Spencer recognizes that by this Agreement the City authorizes work not to exceed $50 , 000 in non-deferred fees. In the event this authorized amount is reached, the City and Leibowitz & Spencer will determine whether it is appropriate and/or necessary for the City to continue the services of Leibowitz & Spencer and if so, they will negotiate a new maximum authorized limit and/or if appropriate, a specific cap of fees for the remaining work to be completed so that Leibowitz & Spencer will be fairly and reasonably compensated for Laurence Feingold, Esq. March 31, 1993 Page Three their services remaining to be rendered on behalf of the City. In addition to fees, Leibowitz & Spencer shall be entitled to payment of out-of-pocket expenses and reimbursements, including without limitation, long distance telephone calls, air express charges, printing, photocopying, facsimiles, hand delivery, travel, lodging, filing, and other out-of-pocket expenses. All fees and expenses will be billed monthly and payable within thirty days of billing. This Agreement may be cancelled at any time by either the City or Leibowitz & Spencer upon receipt of reasonable written notice. However, if the City elects to terminate this agreement prior to renewing its existing franchise or issuing a new franchise, the City will remain responsible for the payment of the full fees incurred to the date of termination, payable upon renewal of the current franchise or issuance of a new franchise and receipt by the City of a renewal fee or an initial franchise fee or other payment by the cable operator, provided that the deferred payment shall be limited to the amount by which the renewal fee, initial franchise fee or other payment by the cable operator exceeds the expenses and non-deferred fees previously paid or payable to Leibowitz & Spencer under this agreement. If the foregoing meets with your approval, please so indicate by signing this letter where indicated and returning an executed copy to our office for our records. We look forward to working with you and the other City officials on this very exciting project. Sincerely yours, Matthew L. Leibowitz The undersigned, being duly authorized, hereby accepts this engagement. By: Laurence Feingold, City Attorney City of Miami Beach Date: Laurence Feingold, Esq. August 31, 1993 Page Two For services rendered in connection with the scope of work, we will bill at a reduced blended rate for all attorney time which is substantially less than our normal rates. The blended rate as negotiated by you and us is $175 per hour for all services which we perform under the scope of work outlined above. In addition, we have agreed to a cap for legal fees of $50, 000 for all services rendered covered by the scope of work outlined above. In addition to fees, Leibowitz & Spencer shall be entitled to payment of out-of-pocket expenses and reimbursements, including without limitation, long distance telephone calls, air express charges, printing, photocopying, facsimiles, hand delivery, travel, lodging, filing, and other out-of-pocket expenses. All fees and expenses will be billed monthly and payable within thirty days of billing. This Agreement may be cancelled at any time by either the City or Leibowitz & Spencer upon receipt of reasonable written notice. If the foregoing meets with your approval, please so indicate by signing this letter where indicated and returning an executed copy to our office for our records. • We look forward ' to working with you and the other City officials on this very exciting project. Sincerely yours, Matthew L. Leibowitz The undersicfniad, being •uly authorized, hereby accepts this engagement. ' By: \ ;4 ' . , Sd Lauren = Feingold C y Attorney City of Miami Beach Date: i EXHIBIT B [D R A F T] August 31, 1993 Laurence Feingold, Esq. City Attorney City of Miami Beach 1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139 Re: Special Counsel for Cable Television Dear Mr. Feingold: This letter is to set forth the Agreement of the City of Miami Beach to retain the Law Firm of Leibowitz & Spencer as Special Counsel for a period of one year from the date this Agreement is executed for the purpose of representing the City in the area of " cable television, including specifically the following areas: 1 . New federal cable statutes and implementing FCC rules and regulations, including but not limited to, rate regulation, customer service and cable technical standards. 2 . Represent the City before the FCC in cable television matters, including but not limited to, filing for rate regulation authority and filing complaints regarding unreasonable cable rates on non-basic tiers. 3 . Advise the City regarding existing and future cable services offered to the City and its residents. 4 . Advise the City regarding competitive alternate cable technologies. Mr. Leibowitz will attend any City hearings as requested by the City Administration related to cable television services and as needed, Mr. Leibowitz will agree to provide verbal reports to the City Commission. To avoid any non-productive time, the City will schedule Time Certain for any such appearances. OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY 624 "Ic Amu. Mid F L O R I D A pM� BES +ticoerpanc;" P O BOX O LAURENCE FEINGOLD �h CITY ATTORNEY 1:412e MIAMI BEACH. FLORIDA 33119-2032 TELEPHONE(305)673-7470 G� TELECOPY (305)673-7002 COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO. 5/4 - 3 DATE: September 22 , 1993 TO: Mayor Seymour Gelber and Members of the City Commission FROM: Roger M. Carl ••, City Manager ,� i Laurence Feingold, Es! . / City Attorney 4, SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA AMENDING CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ORDINANCE NO. 86-2500 WHICH GRANTED RIFKIN-NARRAGANSETT OF SOUTH FLORIDA CATV LIMITED PARTNERSHIP D/B/A GOLD COAST CABLE, AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO ALL-RITE SATELLITE, INC. , A NONEXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN A CABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CONCERNING GROSS REVENUE, CUSTOMER SERVICE, RATE REGULATION AND GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL; AND TO NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH ADDITIONAL MUTUALLY AGREEABLE MODIFICATIONS TO SAID ORDINANCE. ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission approve the attached amendments to Ordinance 86-2500 which will establish initial procedures for regulating cable television service within the City of Miami Beach. A First Reading was held on September 8, 1993 ; we would recommend adoption upon Second Reading today, September 22 , 1993 . BACKGROUND The City of Miami Beach previously had two CATV franchises. The first franchise was awarded to Ultracom of Dade County, Inc. (the "Ultracom Franchise") in 1979 . This franchise was for a fifteen year period. A second fifteen year franchise was awarded to All-Rite Satellite, Inc. (the "TV Ticket Franchise") , in 1986 . ss In March, 1988 , both Miami Beach franchises were transferred to AGENDA ITEM � l "700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE - FOURTH FLOOR - MIAMI BE DATE -� Rifkin/Narrangansett South Florida CATV Limited Partnership d/b/a Gold Coast Cable (the "Cable Franchise") . Since that date, Gold Coast has been providing CATV service to Miami Beach under both franchises. At the May 5, 1993 Commission Meeting, the City of Miami Beach adopted Resolution No. 93-20796 and Ordinance No. 93-2851 whereby the City and Gold Coast Cable mutually agreed to voluntarily terminate the Ultracom of Dade County, Inc. nonexclusive franchise originally established by Ordinance No. 79-2172 , and to negotiate in good faith to mutually agreeable modifications to the existing All-Rite Satellite, Inc. nonexclusive franchise as originally established by Ordinance No. 86-2500. The Administration, with the assistance of the City Attorney and special counsel, has negotiated modifications in the areas of the definition of gross revenue, customer service monitoring, rate regulatory procedures and government access channel requirements. I. CROSS EVENTJv The City of Miami Beach, with the assistance of special counsel , completed an audit of Gold Coast Cable's revenues to confirm that the City was receiving the full benefit of the franchisee fees due under the Ultracom and All-Rite Franchises. The audit concluded that Gold Coast, with the exception of minor calculation errors causing small underpayments to the City totalling $334 . 00, which the franchisee will remit to the City, correctly calculated, paid, and timely reported in compliance with the applicable provision of the City's Ordinance governing same. In addition, the audit recommended that the definition of Gross Revenues upon which the City receives its franchise fees be modified to clearly spell out the elements of gross revenue, and be all inclusive, eliminating all exemptions. Accordingly, the Gross Revenue definition was modified, and it is estimated that the City will collect over $33 , 600 more annually, based upon pre-rate 2 89 regulation revenues, as a result of this action. II. CUSTOMER SERVICE The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 ("The 1992 Cable Act") amended Section 632 of the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for the establishment, implementation and enforcement of customer service standards for cable operators, nationwide. Section 632 required the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") to enact minimum standards with respect to the following: 1 . Cable system office hours and telephone availability. 2 . Installations, outages, and service calls. 3 . Communications between the cable operator and the subscriber (including standards governing bills and refunds) . As a result, the FCC adopted minimum national standards for �b� i He 'e..' r, pursuant toSection 612 (c) of cable, Luj:,vi:c...r services. ' v. e. ..ier.e the Communications Act, local governments are free to adopt and enforce standards exceeding those established by the FCC either with the consent of the cable operator or by enactment of an appropriate law or regulation. DADE COUNTY Prior to the adoption of the 1992 Cable Act, Dade County amended its Cable Television Ordinance to include customer protection provisions. Specifically Section 8AA-57 of the Dade County Code addresses consumer protection provisions, office and telephone availability; Section 8AA-58 addresses installation, outage and service calls; and Section 8AA-59 addresses communications, bills and refunds. 'The City of Miami Beach participated in this rule making proceeding by filing comments on January 11, 1993 . A copy is attached. 3 90 EXISTING MIAMI BEACH ORDINANCE AND FRANCHISE Chapter 42 of the Miami Beach City Code (entitled "Cable TV") , Section A-9, addresses "Service standards---Business office--- Resolution of complaints" . Section 13 of the All-Rite Franchise addresses "Operation and Maintenance of System Service Standards" . Both sections provide incomplete service standards which fall well below the new federal standards and Dade County's standards. On April 20, 1993 , the City held its first public hearing with respect to evaluating Gold Coast's past performance. The predominant complaint was that customers experienced difficulties in dealing with Gold Coast including, but not limited to, problems with availability of telephone attendants, problems with repairs, and poor service. In response to public complaints, the Administration and special counsel have reviewed the new federal requirements, Dade County's Ordinance, and the existing Miami Beach Cable Ordinance and All-Rite Franchise and proposes to amend the relevant sections of the All-Rite Franchise: (a) to reflect the new federal standards and Dade County standards, and, as a result of the input from residents; (b) to establish higher standards to improve Gold Coast's performance in the area of customer services. In addition, the franchise would be amended to include specific enforcement mechanisms in case of violations by Gold Coast. The mechanism includes specific monetary penalties and consideration of violations in the franchise renewal process. III. RATE REGULATION The 1992 Cable Act also reinstated cable rate regulation. Pursuant thereto, the FCC initiated several rule makings to adopt appropriate rules governing rate regulations for local franchise authorities and the FCC. The initial rate regulation rules were issued on May 3 , 1993 and were contained in a Report and Order of 4 91 over 500 pages. This Report and Order was subject to over 70 Petitions for Reconsideration, and the FCC on August 27 , 1993 , issued its first Order on Reconsideration, to be followed by at least one additional Order. Further, the FCC has initiated two additional collateral rate regulation rule makings. The final FCC rate regulation rules are not expected for several months. Pursuant to FCC rules, local franchise authorities can regulate cable television rates for the basic tier of cable television service and equipment related thereto, and the FCC regulates the rates for all other tiers of cable television programming. . Per channel or per program offerings are not regulated. In order to regulate basic service rates, the local franchise authority must file a certificate with the FCC indicating that 1) it has the legal authority to be a rate regulator; 2) that it has or will adopt rules implementing rate regulations; and 3) that it has the requisite staff to enforce and administer said policies. This certification becomes effective 30 days after the date it is filed unless the FCC acts to disapprove it. Local franchise authorities are not required to regulate cable television rates. Delaying a decision to regulate cable television rates can have adverse consequences, however. First, cable television rates are presently frozen until November 15, 1993 . Absent municipal action to regulate rates, cable operators will be free to raise rates on the basic service tier on November 16, 1993 . Next, delaying rate regulation may limit the availability of refunds as a remedy for cable overcharges. In the absence of an accounting order from a rate regulating authority, refunds can only be ordered for overcharges occurring within a year of the refund order. A year's delay in instituting rate regulation guarantees that refund orders will not fully remedy overcharges. This is because refunds cannot be ordered for overcharges occurring before the rate regulation rule's effective date, September 1, 1993 . 5 92 Local franchise authorities that want to protect their citizens from excessive charges for cable television services not offered on the basic tier can do so by filing a rate complaint with the FCC. Complaints concerning the reasonableness of cable rates in effect on September 1, 1993 (the date the FCC rate regulation rules become effective) must be filed on or before February 28 , 1994 . Complaints concern!ng upper tier cable rate changes occurring after September 1, 1993 must be filed within 45 days from the date subscribers receive bills reflecting the increased rates. By Resolution No. 93-20796 adopted on April 8 , 1993 , the Commission authorized the Administration to file for Certification to regulate Gold Coast's rates. The proposed amendment to the Franchise complies with FCC rules and, subject to being Certified by the FCC, empowers the City to engage in cable rate regulation. GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL Section 611 [47 U.S.C. Section 531] of Title VI Cable Communications of the Communications Act of 1934 , as amended, authorizes a local franchise authority to require in a cable franchise channel, capacity for public, educational and governmental use. Presently Gold Coast provides three (3) channels to Dade County, on a full-time basis for educational and government access . In contrast, although Gold Coast voluntarily cablecasts the City's Commission Meetings, it does so on a shared channel . Gold Coast has agreed to provide to the City a full-time dedicated channel for government access. This will allow for cablecast of substantially more information and events about the City to cable subscribers. However, due to the uncertainty of FCC rules, the Administration and Gold Coast has deferred discussions regarding the provision of additional equipment and funding for the channel . 6 93 EXTENSION OF GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION Due to the uncertainty of FCC rules and their effect on the City and Gold Coast, the Administration, with special counsel, respectfully request an additional 120 days to conclude negotiations in the following matters including, but not limited to: State of the Art Technical Requirements; Funding and Equipment for Government Access Channels ; Institutional Network; Extension of Franchise Term; Provision of Telephone Service via the Cable System; Late Charges and Retroactive Billing. CONCLUSION: The Administration recommends approval of the amendments incorporated in this proposal to ensure that federally mandated time schedules are met and the regulatory process moves forward. The remaining issues will be negotiated in good faith over the next 120 days to bring this complex process to closure. A:Acommemo.922 7 Q4 - - 4 • a tr) 'NC cc \ • 0 C.) T.t4 cti <0 • XI • • . • • .1-1 • 7:1 • • 1.) • 74 •