Merced Municipal Code Ch. 3.50 Local Cable Usage Fees

A. For any state video franchise holder operating within the boundaries of the city, there shall be fee paid to the city equal to one percent (1%) of the gross revenue of the state video franchise holder, which fee shall be used by the city for the purpose of facilitating public, educational, and governmental access consistent with state and federal law. The term 'gross revenues' shall be defined as set forth in Public Utilities Code Section 5860, as amended from time to time.

B. The fee on state franchise holders to support public, educational and governmental channel facilities in Merced Municipal Code Section 3.50.010(A) is reauthorized and shall remain unchanged and in full effect as to all state franchise holders.

C. The PEG fee in Merced Municipal Code Section 3.50.010 shall automatically be reauthorized upon expiration of any existing or future franchise certificate(s) held by any state franchise holder operating within the city.

D. This Section shall automatically be reauthorized upon the expiration of any existing or future certificate(s) held by any state franchise holder operating within the city. This section shall so renew upon the future expiration of any franchise certificate(s) until such time that the city council [takes] formal affirmative action to cease renewals.

(Ord. 2293 § 1 (part), 2007).

(Ord. No. 2483, § 1, 1-2-2018)

A. Franchise Fee. A state video franchise holder operating in the city shall pay to the city a franchise fee that is equal to five (5) percent of the gross revenues of that state video franchise holder. The term "gross revenues" shall be defined as set forth in Public Utilities Code Section 5860, as amended from time to time.

B. Audit Authority. Not more than once annually, the city may examine and perform an audit of the business records of a holder of a state video franchise to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations related to the computation and payment of franchise fees.

C. Customer Service Penalties Under State Video Franchises.

1. The holder of a state video franchise shall comply with all applicable state and federal customer service and protection standards pertaining to the provision of video service.

2. The city shall monitor state video franchise holder's compliance with state and federal customer service and protection standards. The city will provide to the state video franchise holder written notice of any material breaches of applicable customer service and protection standards, and will allow the state video franchise holder thirty (30) days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach. Material breaches not remedied within the thirty (30) day time period will be subject to the following monetary penalties to be imposed by the city in accordance with state law:

a. For the first occurrence of a violation, a monetary penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) for each violation.

b. For a second violation of the same nature within twelve (12) months, a monetary penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) for each violation.

c. For a third or further violation of the same nature within twelve (12) months, a monetary penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500.00) for each violation.

3. A state video franchise holder may appeal a monetary penalty assessed by the city within sixty (60) days of the assessment. After relevant speakers are heard, and any necessary staff reports are submitted, the city council will vote to either uphold or vacate the monetary penalty. The city council's decision on the imposition of a monetary penalty shall be final.

D. City Response to State Video Franchise Applications.

1. Applicants for state video franchises within the boundaries of the city must concurrently provide to the city complete copies of any application or amendments to applications filed with the California Public Utilities Commission. One (1) complete copy must be provided to the city clerk and one (1) complete copy to the director of information technology.

2. The city will provide any appropriate comments to the California Public Utilities Commission regarding an application or an amendment to an application for a state video franchise.

E. PEG Channel Capacity. A state video franchise holder that uses the public rights-of-way shall designate sufficient capacity on its network to enable the carriage of at least three (3) public, educational, or governmental (PEG) access channels.

1. PEG access channels shall be for the exclusive use of the city or its designees to provide public, educational, or governmental programming.

2. Advertising, underwriting, or sponsorship recognition may be carried on the PEG access channels for the purpose of funding PEG-related activities.

3. The PEG access channels shall be carried on the basic service tier.

4. To the extent feasible, the PEG access channels shall not be separated numerically from other channels carried on the basic service tier, and the channel numbers for the PEG access channels shall be the same channel numbers used by the incumbent cable operator unless prohibited by federal law.

5. After the initial designation of PEG access channel numbers, the channel numbers shall not be changed without the prior written consent of the city, unless the change is required by federal law.

6. Each PEG access channel shall be capable of carrying a National Television System Committee (NTSC) television signal.

F. Interconnection. Where technically feasible, a state video franchise holder and incumbent cable operator shall negotiate in good faith to interconnect their networks for the purpose of providing PEG access channel programming. Interconnection may be accomplished by direct cable, microwave link, satellite, or other reasonable method of connection. State video franchise holders and incumbent cable operators shall provide interconnection of the PEG access channels on reasonable terms and conditions and may not withhold the interconnection. If a state video franchise holder and an incumbent cable operator cannot reach a mutually acceptable interconnection agreement, the city may require the incumbent cable operator to allow the state video franchise holder to interconnect its network with the incumbent's network at a technically feasible point on the holder's network as identified by the holder. If no technically-feasible point for interconnection is available, the state video franchise holder shall make an interconnection available to the channel originator and shall provide the facilities necessary for the interconnection. The cost of any interconnection shall be borne by the state video franchise holder requesting the interconnection unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

G. Emergency Alert System and Emergency Overrides. A state video franchise holder must comply with the emergency alert system requirements, or any successor system or process thereof, of the Federal Communications Commission in order that emergency messages may be distributed over the holder's network.

(Ord. 2293 § 1 (part), 2007).