§ 1. Regulation of authorized providers.

[A.

Authorization; fee.] To the extent permitted by the 2007 Video Services Providers Act, the city council hereby ratifies all existing agreements, franchises, and ordinances regulating cable television operators and other telecommunications and data transmission service providers and approves imposition of a fee of four percent imposed on the gross revenues of all such providers regulated under the authority of the state public service commission or other state or federal agency of competent jurisdiction.

It shall be unlawful for any person to provide video or other telecommunications and data transmission services within the city without such authorization.

"Gross revenues" shall mean the total amounts billed to subscribers or received from advertisers for the provision of video, telecommunications and/or data transmission services within the city, including (a) recurring charges for video, data and telecom service, (b) event-based charges for service, including but not limited to pay-per-view and other on-demand charges, (c) rental of set top boxes, modems, routers, splitters, antennae, and other service equipment, (d) service charges related to the provision of video or other transmitting service, including but not limited to activation, installation, repair, and maintenance charges, (e) administrative charges related to the provision of video or other transmitting service, including but not limited to service order and service termination charges, and (f) a pro rata portion of all revenue derived, less refunds, rebates, or discounts, by a service provider for advertising over any network to subscribers, where the numerator is the number of subscribers within the city and the denominator is the total number of subscribers reached by such advertising; all of which shall be computed using generally accepted accounting principles.

B.

General regulations.

1.

A video service provider shall provide written notice to the city at least ten days before commencing video, cable or wireless telecommunications service within the city. Such notice shall also include:

(a)

The name, address and legal status of the provider;

(b)

The name, title, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and fax number of individual(s) authorized to serve as the point of contact between the city and the provider so as to make contact possible at any time (i.e., 24 hours per day, seven days per week); and

(c)

A copy of the provider's video service authorization issued by the state public service commission.

2.

A video service provider shall also notify the city, in writing, within 30 days of (a) any changes in the information set forth in or accompanying its notice of commencement of video service or (b) any transfer of ownership or control of the provider's business assets.

3.

A video service provider shall not deny access to service to any group of potential residential subscribers because of the race or income of the residents in the area in which the group resides. A video service provider shall be governed in this respect by RSMo 67.2707. The city may file a complaint in a court of competent jurisdiction alleging a germane violation of this subsection, which complaint shall be acted upon in accordance with RSMo § 67.2711.

4.

A video service provider shall comply with all Federal Communications Commission requirements involving the distribution and notification of emergency messages over the emergency alert system applicable to cable operators. Any video service provider other than an incumbent cable operator serving a majority of the residents within a political subdivision shall comply with this section by December 31, 2007.

5.

A video service provider shall, at its sole cost and expense, indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the city, its officials, boards, board members, commissions, commissioners, agents, and employees, against any and all claims, suits, causes of action, proceedings, and judgments ("claims") for damages or equitable relief arising out of (i) the construction, maintenance, repair or operation of its video services network, (ii) copyright infringements, and (iii) failure to secure consents from the owners, authorized distributors, or licenses or programs to be delivered by the video service network. Such indemnification shall include, but is not limited to, the city's reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in defending against any such claim prior to the video service provider assuming such defense. The city shall notify the provider of a claim within seven business days of its actual knowledge of the existence of such claim. Once the provider assumes the defense of the claim, the city may at its option continue to participate in the defense at its own expense. This indemnification obligation shall not apply to any claim related to the provision of public, educational, or governmental channels or programming or to emergency interrupt service announcements.

C.

Video service provider fee.

1.

Each video service provider shall pay to the city a video service provider fee in the amount of four percent of the provider's gross revenues on or before the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The city may adjust the video service provider fee as permitted in RSMo § 67.2689.

2.

The city, not more than once per calendar year and at its own cost, may audit the gross revenues of any video service provider as provided in RSMo § 67.2691. A video service provider shall make available for inspection all records pertaining to gross revenues at the location where such records are kept in the normal course of business.

3.

Late payments shall accrue interest due to the city compounded monthly at one and one-half percent or such other maximum rate as may be established by law.

D.

Customer service requirements. All video service providers and telecommunications and data transmission service providers operating and/or providing service to customers in the city shall meet or exceed all minimum customer service requirements set forth in the Act or in any other state or federal statutory or regulatory standards for customer service and consumer protection.

E.

Reserved.

F.

Compliance with other regulations. All providers of video and other data, image, audio and worldwide web access service shall comply with all restrictions and requirements of this Code pertaining to access to and use of public rights-of-way (hereinafter sometime referred to as "ROW") and to land use in the various zoning districts of the city.

(Ord. No. 4459, § 3, 10-16-17)