Buellton Municipal Code Ch. 5.04 Cable Television

Section 2-95.23 of the Santa Barbara County Code, as adopted by reference by the city of Buellton, is amended to read as follows:

Section 2-95.23 Subscriber Service Standards and Complaint Procedures.

(a) Subscriber Service Standards. Beginning 90 days from the date this Ordinance No. 95-09 is adopted, grantee shall comply with the Customer Service Standards established by the Federal Communications Commission at Section 76.309 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, except that the standards contained at Section 76.309 are amended as follows:

1. 47 CFR § (c)(1)(i)(A) is revised to provide that:

Knowledgeable, qualified customer service representatives shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquires a minimum of 49 hours weekly, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and at least four additional hours as selected by the cable operator.

A business and service office located within twenty miles of the City shall be open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and adequately staffed to accept subscriber payments and respond to service requests and complaints. Additionally, the cable operator will staff the business and service office at least four additional hours per week.

3. Subsections (vi), (vii) and (viii) are added to 47 CFR § 76.309(c)(2) to provide that:

(vi) The cable operator will maintain an emergency maintenance system and repairing major system malfunctions on a 24 hour basis shall be provided.

(vii) The cable operator shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Scheduled interruptions insofar as possible, shall be preceded by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system, preferably between midnight and 6:00 a.m.

(viii) The cable operator shall maintain a repair force of technicians capable of responding to subscriber requests for service within the following time frames:

(i) System outages: Within two hours, including weekends, of receiving subscriber calls which by number identify a system outage of sound or picture of one or more channels, affecting all the subscribers of the system or a considerable number thereof.

(ii) Service interruptions: Within 24 hours, including weekends, after receiving a request for service identifying a problem concerning picture or sound quality.

(iii) Inferior reception quality: Within 48 hours, including weekends, after receiving a request for service identifying a problem concerning picture or sound quality.

(b) Verification of Standards. Upon reasonable notice, grantee shall demonstrate compliance with any or all of the standards. Grantee shall provide sufficient detail to permit the City to verify the extent of compliance.

A written log or an equivalent stored in computer memory and capable of access and reproduction, shall be maintained for three years. The log shall indicate the time and date of all service interruptions, request for cable service or repairs, and responses to request for cable service or repairs.

(c) Complaints. The City does hereby designate the City Manager's office as the official responsible for receiving complaints or comments from any subscriber or potential subscriber as to the manner in which the grantee is providing cable television service. Grantee shall annually notify each subscriber that the Office of the City Manager is available to assist in resolving complaints regarding cable television service.

(d) Rebates. Whenever service is interrupted to any subscriber due to system failure for any continuous period of time in excess of 24 hours, the subscriber shall upon application receive a rebate of one-thirtieth (1/30th) of the subscriber's monthly service fee for each day or part thereof between the end of the 24 hours and the time service is restored to proper standards.

(Ord. 95-09)