Chapter 5.06 CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE*

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases and abbreviations and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
“Basic cable service” means any service tier which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals.
“Board” means the board of supervisors of the county of Madera.
“Cable service” means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming service and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service.
“Cable system” or “system” means a facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment, that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming and which is provided to multiple subscribers within the county of Madera.
“Channel” means a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum or any other means of transmission (including, without limitation, optical fibers or any other means now available or that may become available) which is capable of carrying one video and accompanying audio signal.
“County” means the county of Madera.
“Franchise” means and includes any initial authorization, or renewal thereof, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement or otherwise, which authorizes the construction and/or operation and maintenance of a cable system within all or a specified area of the county of Madera. Any such franchise shall mean and include any license or permit required for the privilege of transacting and carrying on a business within the county as required by other county ordinances.
“Franchisee” means a person (as defined by other county ordinances) granted a franchise by the board of supervisors under this chapter to provide cable service over a cable system, and the lawful successor, transferee or assignee of that person.
“Gross revenues” means all revenues received by the franchisee and any affiliate thereof for providing cable services to subscribers within the area of the county for which the franchise is granted. Gross revenues shall include, but not be limited to, revenue from advertising, from rentals of converter boxes or other equipment, from installation and reconnection fees, from subscriber fees for basic cable service, from subscriber fees for all other cable services and from studio rental and production equipment and personnel fees. Gross revenues shall not include any taxes on services furnished by the franchisee, regulatory fees or other assessments which are imposed directly on subscribers by the United States, the state of California or any local agency and collected by the franchisee on behalf of the government. Gross revenues shall not include any revenue received directly from the franchisee by an affiliate, when the revenue received has already been included in reported gross revenues as received by the franchisee, or any subscriber deposit, or any amount not yet actually collected by or paid to the franchisee.
“Service tier” means a category of cable service or other services provided by a franchisee and for which a separate rate is charged by the franchisee.
“Signal” means any transmission of radio frequency energy or optical information.
“Street” means the surface, the air space above the surface and the area below the surface of any public street, public highway, other public right-of-way or public place, including public utility easements.
“Subscriber” means any person or entity receiving for any purpose any lawful service of the franchisee’s cable system. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

In addition to other service regulations adopted by the board and excepting circumstances beyond the franchisee’s control such as acts of God, riots and civil disturbances, the franchisee shall:
A. Limit system failure to minimum time duration by locating and correcting malfunctions promptly, but in no event longer than twenty-four hours after occurrence;
B. Upon request, demonstrate to the board that any subscriber signal meets the appropriate standards of the Federal Communications Commission;
C. Render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible;
D. Maintain an office or service center within the area served, or maintain telephone service available during normal business hours;
E. Maintain a written record of subscriber complaints, identifying the subscriber and describing the nature of the complaint and the action taken by the grantee in response thereto, with such records to be kept by the franchisee for a period of five years and made available for inspection by the board upon request. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. Any franchise granted pursuant to this chapter shall authorize and permit the franchisee to:
1. Engage in the business of operating and providing a cable system in the area designated, and for that purpose to erect, install, construct, repair, replace and maintain in, on, over, under, upon, across and along any street, such poles, wires, cables, ducts, conduits, vaults, amplifiers and appliances, attachments and other property as may be necessary to the cable system;
2. Use, operate and provide similar facilities or properties rented or leased from other persons, including but not limited to any public utility or other franchisee permitted to do business in the county.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to negate the franchisee’s duty to obtain the necessary consent of affected property owners and all necessary licenses and permits. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. The franchise granted by the board under this chapter shall be for a term of fifteen years.
B. In addition to all rights and powers retained by the county under this chapter, the franchise or otherwise by written agreement, the board may terminate any franchise granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter in the event of any of the following acts or omissions:
1. Willful failure, refusal or neglect by the franchisee to comply with any provision contained in this chapter or in the franchise;
2. Material misrepresentation by the franchisee to the county in any information required to be provided under the franchise;
3. Failure to acquire or maintain all bonds or insurance required by this chapter and/or the franchise.
C. The procedures for termination shall be as follows:
1. The board gives the franchisee sixty days’ written notice of the termination proceedings;
2. The board conducts a public hearing, with opportunity for the franchisee to present its argument against termination;
3. At the close of the hearing, the board shall issue a preliminary finding of no good cause for the failure, refusal, neglect or misrepresentation, unless the failure, refusal, neglect or misrepresentation has been cured prior to the hearing. The franchisee shall have one hundred twenty days’ written notice to cure the failure, refusal, neglect or misrepresentation from the date of decision;
4. If the franchisee does not cure within one hundred twenty days, the preliminary finding of no good cause shall become final and the franchise shall be terminated at once. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. The board may charge the franchisee the maximum percentage permitted by federal law, or a lesser percentage, of the franchisee’s gross revenues for each twelve-month period as a franchise fee, with that amount to be specified in the franchise. The fee shall be paid annually to the county on the anniversary of the effective date of the franchise.
B. The board shall have the right to inspect the franchisee’s revenue records under the franchise and the right of audit and recomputation of any and all amounts due under this chapter.
C. The franchisee shall submit a duly verified statement to the county, accompanying the annual franchise fee payment, showing in detail the total gross receipts received by the franchisee during the preceding twelve-month period. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409A § 1, 1989; Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. Each application for a new franchise to construct, operate or maintain any cable system within the county shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors and shall contain or be accompanied by the following:
1. The applicant’s name, address and telephone number;
2. A detailed statement of the corporate or other business entity organization of the applicant, listing all officers and all stockholders or partners owning forty percent or more of the business interest, and also listing the names and addresses of any parent or subsidiary organizations;
3. A detailed description of all previous experience of the applicant in providing cable service and in related fields;
4. A detailed and complete financial statement of the applicant;
5. A statement identifying by place and date any other cable television franchises awarded to the applicant, its parent or subsidiary and the status of those franchises with respect to completion.
B. A detailed description of the plan of operation of the applicant shall be contained in the application, including:
1. A detailed map of the areas to be served;
2. A proposed schedule of service of those areas, including proposed time schedules and any limitations of service;
3. A schedule setting forth all proposed classification of rates and charges to be made against subscribers and all rates and charges as to each of those classifications;
4. A detailed, informative and referenced statement describing the actual equipment and operational standards proposed by the applicant.
C. The application shall include any other details, statements, information or references pertinent to the subject matter of the application which shall be required or requested by the board.
D. Upon receipt of any application for a franchise, the clerk of the board shall refer the application to the board for consideration and determination.
E. The following procedure shall be done for considering and determining whether to grant a franchise:
1. The board shall decide and specify the terms and conditions of any franchise to be granted hereunder;
2. The board shall hold a public hearing wherein any person having an interest therein or objection to the granting thereof may be heard;
3. Thereafter the board shall make one of the following determinations:
a. That the franchise be denied,
b. That the franchise be granted as originally specified and requested,
c. That the franchise be granted but upon terms and conditions different from or in addition to those specified in the original request, to the extent permitted by federal law.
F. The determination of the board shall be expressed by resolution, and the franchise shall be issued in the form of a county contract, with the application incorporated therein.
G. If the board later determines to modify any term or condition of the franchise, including but not limited to adjustments of subscriber rates, it shall hold a public hearing before making any such determination.
H. This section shall not apply to renewals of franchises. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. As a condition of the franchise, the franchisee shall indemnify and hold harmless the county, the board and county employees against any claims, actions, suits, damages, costs or liabilities arising out of the exercise of any franchise hereunder by the franchisee.
B. During the entire duration of the franchise, the franchisee shall maintain a general comprehensive liability insurance policy of not less than five hundred thousand dollars, and such other policies as may be required by state and/or federal law and the terms of the franchise. The county, the board and county employees shall be named as additional insureds in all of the insurance policies.
C. The franchisee shall, for the duration of the franchise, maintain a corporate surety bond as security for performance in an amount to be specified in the franchise, at its own expense, and shall file such bond with the clerk of the board. Neither the provisions of this section, nor any bond accepted by the county pursuant to this section, nor any damages recovered by the county thereunder shall excuse faithful performance by the franchisee or limit the liability of the franchisee under its franchise or for damages whether to the full amount of the bond or otherwise.
D. In the event that the franchisee abandons service in any area, the franchisee shall remove all unused portions of the cable system from that area within one hundred days of abandonment. For purposes of this chapter, abandonment occurs when the franchisee has discontinued the use of a material portion of the cable system in the area in question, for any reason, for a continuous period of twelve months.
E. Any trenches, road cuts, excavations or other damage to county easements incurred by the franchisee during the construction or operation of the cable system shall be repaired to standard, entirely at the franchisee’s expense. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1(part), 1975).

A. From and after the effective date of this chapter it shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install or maintain, within any public street within any area of the county, any equipment for distributing any signals through a cable system unless a franchise authorizing such use of public streets has been obtained pursuant to this chapter, except that any person operating a cable system within the county prior to the effective date of this chapter shall not be deemed to be in violation of this chapter; provided the person makes application for a franchise within ninety days of the effective date of this chapter.
B. It is unlawful for any person to make or use any unauthorized connection, whether physical, electric, acoustic, inductive or otherwise, with any part of a franchised cable system within the county for purpose of enabling himself or others to receive cable service or any other signal without payment to the franchisee.
C. It is unlawful for any person, without the consent of the franchisee, to willfully tamper with, remove or injure any cables, wires or other equipment used for a cable system or cable service, except in the case of county employees or agents acting within the course and scope of their employment. (Ord. 405B § 1(part), 2004: Ord. 409 § 1 (part), 1975).