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DATE: OCTOBER 28, 1993 <br />TO: JAMES E. CHANDLER <br />COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR <br />FROM: TERRANCE G. PINTO <br />DIRECTOR OF UTILI SERVICES <br />STAFFED AND <br />PREPARED BY: CINDY E. WHITE <br />FRANCHISE COORDIN OR <br />DEPARTMENT OF UTILITY SERVICES <br />SUBJECT: CABLE ORDINANCE FOR REGULATION OF BASIC SERVICE TIER <br />RATES FOR TCI CABLEVISION AND FALCON CABLE <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act <br />of 1992, procedures have been established by the Federal <br />Communications Commission (FCC) whereby franchising authorities may <br />regulate basic cable service rates at the local level. <br />ANALYSIS: <br />FCC Form 328 (copy attached) to certify Indian River County to <br />regulate rates was sent via certified mail to the Federal <br />Communications Commission on September 17, 1993, and was received by <br />their office on September 20, 1993. Under the 1992 Cable Act, the <br />certification becomes effective 30 days after it has been filed with <br />the FCC. <br />The next step in the certification process is to adopt an ordinance <br />(attached) stating that Indian River County will follow the rate <br />regulations adopted by the FCC. Upon adoption of the ordinance, the <br />cable companies will be notified that they have 30 days in which to <br />submit justification of their basic cable rates; their rate <br />schedules and worksheets will then be analyzed by County staff to <br />determine whether their basic service rates are within the <br />benchmarks established by the FCC. <br />It is recommended that the Chairman of the Board of County <br />Commissioners execute the attached ordinance to enable Indian River <br />County to regulate basic service tier rates for TCI Cablevision and <br />Falcon Cable. <br />Chairman Bird questioned whether the County should assume <br />responsibility for regulating cable service. <br />Utility Services Director Terry Pinto responded that staff <br />does not necessarily want this responsibility. However, if unfair <br />rates are charged in the future, we will need this ordinance to <br />protect county residents. The ordinance must be adopted <br />immediately due to the time limit. <br />Attorney Vitunac advised that the Federal Communications <br />Commission rate freeze ends on November 15th. If we adopt this <br />35 <br />BOOK 90 F'nF �® <br />ON - 9 19 <br />