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2000-24215 RESO RESOLUTION NO. 2000-24215 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA APPROVING THE ISSUANCE AND EXECUTION BY THE CITY MANAGER OF AN ORDER TOLLING DEADLINE AND ACCOUNTING ORDER, WHICH GIVES THE CITY AN EXTENSION OF TIME WITHIN WHICH TO REVIEW PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED RATE FOR CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE WHICH HAVE BEEN FILED WITH THE CITY BY CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS AND REQUIRES CERTAIN RECORDS TO BE KEPT IN CONNECTION THEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, on December 1,2000, the City of Miami Beach, Florida (the "City") received FCC Form 1210 from Charter Communications, ("Charter"), proposing an increase in the Maximwn Permitted Rate for basic cable television service within the City, from $11,90 per month to $12.39 per month, an increase of $0.49; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") rules and regulations, the City has thirty (30) days to review the proposed change or request an extension of time; and WHEREAS, due to, among other things, the need for additional analysis by the City's attorneys and accountants, and due to the need to request and/or consider additional information and to consider comments from interested parties, and due to the schedule of meetings of the Mayor and City Commission at which action can be taken on the Form 1210" the City needs an extension of time to complete its review and determine whether the proposed changes are permissible under the rules and regulations of the FCC; and WHEREAS, pursuantto Section 76,933 of the rules and regulation of the FCC, the City may issue an Order Tolling Deadline, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein, tolling for an additional 150 days the date on which the changes may take effect. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA that: Section I, The issuance and execution by the City Manager of an Order Tolling Deadline and Accounting Order, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, is hereby approved, and the City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute said Order Tolling Deadline and Accounting Order and deliver said executed Order to Charter, Section 2, This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption, F:\ATTOIUVL\FRANCHlSITollin.lI-ol&Ordetl1-20-00,wpd PASSED and ADOPTED this 20th day of December, 2000, viA MAYOR ATTEST: ~~ ~uck CITY CLERK Resolution No. 2000-24215 APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE &, FOR. EXeCUTION ~, Li~CD FMTTOILEVLlFR^I<<:HIOlTGlI...Ilo00i"OrdorI2.1....,.wpd CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139 http:\\ci.miami-beach.f1.us CITY OF MIAMI BEACH TO: FROM: SUBJECT: COMMISSION MEMORANDUM No.9 Sb- 00 Mayor Neisen Kasdin and Members ofthe City Commission DATE: December 20, 2000 Jorge M. Gonzalez \ . .1lV City Manager O"'~ 0 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA APPROVING THE ISSUANCE AND EXECUTION BY THE CITY MANAGER OF AN ORDER TOLLING DEADLINE AND ACCOUNTING ORDER, WHICH GIVES THE CITY AN EXTENSION OF TIME WITHIN WHICH TO REVIEW PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED RATE FOR CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE WHICH HAVE BEEN FILED WITH THE CITY BY CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS AND REQUIRES CERTAIN RECORDS TO BE KEPT IN CONNECTION THEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION Approve the Resolution, ANALYSIS The maximum legal rate that Interlink Communications Partners, LLC d/b/a Charter Communications, Inc, (formerly known as Rifkin Narragansett South Florida CATV Limited Partnership, d/b/a CableVision Communications, and hereinafter referred to as "Charter"), may presently charge for the basic tier of cable television service (the "Basic Service Tier"), which is comprised of local broadcast stations plus certain public, education and government channels, is $12,19 (comprised of$II.70 (the "Maximum Permitted Rate," as defined by the applicable federal regulations), plus a $0.49 "rebuild" rate), Charter currently charges $11,90 for this service and has advised the City that it intends to keep this rate in place for the time being. This is consistent with Charter's past practice of requesting an annual increase in the Maximum Permitted Rate for the Basic Service Tier, although they do not always implement the increase immediately, The Basic Service Tier is the only tier of service that the City may regulate under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended (the "Telecommunications Act"). The City has no regulatory authority over the so-called "expanded basic" service or premium channels such as Showtime and HBO, AGENDA ITEM C,Q... DATE [2.,..-10 -00 F:\ATIO\LEVLIFRANCHIS\Tolllnl Comm Memo (2) 12.20-OO.wpd On December 1,2000, the City received an FCC Form 1210 filing from Charter, requesting a $0.43 increase in the Maximum Permitted Rate (which would make the Maximum Permitted Rate $12,13 per month), That amount, plus the $0.49 "rebuild" rate that was previously in effect, would make the total permitted rate for the Basic Service Tier equal to $12.62. Charter advises that it does not plan to implement this additional increase immediately, however, it desires to take the steps necessary for approval of the increase, The Administration recommends the issuance of a one hundred and fifty (150) day Tolling Order to provide sufficient time to analyze the Form 1210 filing, As has been done in the past, the Administration will use the services of Rachlin, Cohen & Holtz, Certified Public Accountants, to assess the current filing, Under the current federal regulations relating to the Basic Service Tier, if no action is taken by the City Commission at this time, the proposed increase in the Maximum Permitted Rate will automatically become effective thirty (30) days after the City's receipt of the Form 1210, that is, as of December 31, 2000, Therefore, the Administration recommends the adoption of the attached Resolution, JMG~/bfg F,\ATIO\LEVL\FRANCHISITollln. Comm Memo (2) 12.W-OO.wpd -.-.- C 1/V \ , IN THE MATTER OF RATE REGULATION ESTABLISHING RATES TO BE SET ON THE BASIC SERVICE TIER BY CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA / ORDER TOLLING DEADLINE AND ACCOUNTING ORDER Pursuant to Section 76,933 ofthe Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, the City of Miami Beach, Florida (the "City") issues the following Order: 1. WHEREAS, on December 1,2000, the City received an FCC Form 1210 filed by Charter Communications ("Charter") proposing certain changes in the Maximum Permitted Rate for the basic tier of cable television service, which increase is based on plant upgrades, 2, WHEREAS, the City has determined that the 30 day period accorded by Section 76,933 to review these rate changes prior to their taking effect is inadequate due to the need for additional analysis of the proposed rate changes. 3, WHEREAS, the City is unable to determine whether the proposed rate changes are permissible under the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission without consideration of additional information and comments from interested parties. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered thatthe effectiveness of the proposed rate changes is hereby tolled for an additional 150 days from the date on which the changes would take effect under Section 76,933 to and including May 30, 2001, In order to preserve the City's right to order refunds to subscribers in the City of Miami Beach, the City hereby orders Charter, pursuant to 47 CFR Section 76,933(c), to keep an accurate account of any and all amounts received during the pendency of this Order by reason of the rate in issue and on whose behalf such amounts were paid, . ! DONE and ORDERED this .2o'ay of ,D~I3ert-. , 2000, at the City of Miami Beach, Florida, ~uo-~ Jorge M. Gonzalez City Manager ,*(I~ Date APPROVED /IS TO FORM & lANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION ~~_ ItAlIAn City Altomey ~ F:\ATIO\LEVL\FRANCH1SITolllnC Resol &: Order 12.2tJ.OO.wpd