§ 44. TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMISSION.

(a)

The Telecommunications Advisory Commission (Commission) shall advise the City and the Grantee concerning programming, community access, service programs and any other telecommunications matter pertinent to the City. The Grantee shall cooperate with the Commission on cable-related matters and any other cable communications service which may be offered, in the future, to the subscribers of the City.

(b)

The Telecommunications Advisory Commission shall consist of five (5) members. Membership on the Commission shall be appointed by the City Council. All appointed citizens must be residents of the City of Burlington. The term of office of the members of the Telecommunications Advisory Commission shall be three (3) years. The members of the Telecommunications Advisory Commission shall not succeed themselves after serving three (3) full terms of three (3) years each without an intervening period of one (1) year. Each member's term shall commence on July first of the year of appointment and shall expire on June thirtieth of the last year of said member's term. In the event a commission member shall be appointed to serve a partial term, such partial term shall not be considered as having served a full term for the purposes of the limitation of succession as hereinabove set forth. If a sufficient number of qualified applicants are not available to fill the vacant seats, then the City Council in its discretion may extend the term of a current member for a term of one (1) year and such other one (1) year terms until a sufficient number of qualified candidates are available for service and are duly appointed by the City Council.

It is further provided that an individual shall be eligible to serve on only one City board or commission at any one time; it is therefore expressly provided that concurrent membership on City boards and commissions shall not be permitted.

(Ord. No. 99-17, § 1, 5-4-99)

ADOPTED AND EFFECTIVE THIS THE THIRD DAY OF DECEMBER 1996, after being introduced, read and adopted during the two regularly scheduled meetings of November 5, 1996 and December 3, 1996.

FOR THE CITY OF BURLINGTON

/s/         Mayor

City Seal

ATTEST:

/s/         City Clerk

Approved as to form and legal sufficiency:

/s/         City Attorney

FOR TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT-ADVANCE/NEWHOUSE COMPANY, d/b/a TIME WARNER CABLE

	BY: /s/	Jack W. Stanley       Jack W. Stanley, Vice President
	DATE:	12/30/96
ATTEST:	BY:	Dianne K. Blackwood
	TITLE:	VP, OPERATIONS
	DATE:	1/2/97

 

Notary Certification:
/s/ _____

APPENDIX A

CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

1. Subscriber Privacy.

In accordance with the Act, the company shall abide by the provisions of the Act; and no less than annually, provide notice in the form of a separate written statement to subscribers the provision of the Act.

2. Employee Identification.

When calling in person, on subscribers or other residents, all employees or authorized representatives of the Grantee, including subcontractors, are required to display an employee identification card with their name, photograph and signature, and a telephone number that can be used for verification of the representative capacity with the Grantee. All vehicles, including subcontractors, shall display the name of the cable-telecommunication company.

3. Office and Telephone Availability.

A.

Knowledgeable, qualified company representatives shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries Monday through Friday during normal business hours. Additionally, based on community needs, system shall staff telephone for supplemental hours on weekdays and/or weekends.

B.

Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer service representative, including wait time required to transfer the call, shall not exceed 30 seconds. This standard shall be met not less than ninety percent of the time measured on an annual basis.

C.

Under normal operating conditions, the customer shall receive a busy signal less than three percent of the total time that the cable office is open for business.

D.

Customer service center and bill payment locations shall be open for transactions Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

E.

Each franchise shall be responsible for adopting, publishing and implementing subscriber complaint procedures. The procedures shall be designed to resolve subscriber complaints in a timely and satisfactory manner; to develop sensitivity and responsiveness to subscriber needs on the part of the franchise management; and to improve the quality and dependability of services to subscribers by the Grantee.

Established Complaint Procedures shall include specific provisions for registering subscriber repair service complaints received by telephone twenty-four (24) hours each day and seven (7) days each week; for permitting subscriber repair service complaints to be received at the Grantee's business office from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday of each week; and the address of the Grantee's business office.

4. Installations, Outage and Service Calls.

Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards shall be met no less than 95% of the time measured on an annual basis.

A.

Standard installation shall be performed within seven business days after, an order has been placed. "Standard" installations are up to 188 feet from the existing distribution system.

B.

Excluding those situations beyond the control of the Grantee, the Grantee shall respond to service interruptions promptly, and no later than 24 hours after the interruption becomes known to the Grantee. Grantee must begin actions to correct service problems unrelated to outages the next business day after notification to the Grantee of the service problem.

C.

The appointment window alternatives for installations, service calls and other installation activities shall be (a) morning, (b) afternoon, or (c) all day during normal business hours. Additionally, based upon community needs, the Grantee shall schedule supplemental hours during which appointments can be set.

D.

If, at any time, an installer or technician is running late, an attempt to contact the customer shall be made and the appointment reschedule[d] as necessary at a time which is convenient for the customer.

E.

The Grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible.

F.

Grantee shall receive customer calls twenty-four (24) hours per day and respond to single customer outage complaint calls until 900 p.m. on normal business days. After 9:00 p.m. on any day, trained technicians shall respond to calls if three (3) or more complaints are received by subscribers served by a common system.

5. Communication, Statements, Refunds and Credits.

A.

The cable company shall provide written information in each of the following areas at the time of installation and at any future time upon request:

• products and services offered;

• prices and service options;

• installation and service policies;

• how to use the cable service

B.

Statements (billing) shall be clear, concise and understandable.

The itemized charges identified on the subscriber bill as the total charge for cable service must include all fees and costs.

C.

Refund checks shall be issued promptly, but no later than the earlier of 45 days or the customer's next billing cycle following the resolution of the request, and the return of the equipment supplied by the cable company.

D.

Customers shall be notified in writing a minimum of 30 days in advance of any rate or channel change, provided the change is within the control of the Grantee.

E.

Outage credit granted to subscribers as follows:

Should Grantee fail to correct a service problem, other than a service interruption, within 24 hours after having been provided notice, upon request of the subscriber, Grantee shall credit 1/30 th of the monthly charge for the affected tier or premium service program to the subscriber for each 24-hour period or fraction thereof following the first 24-hour period during which the subscriber experiences reduced service.

6. Complaint—Appeals.

A.

Upon notification by a subscriber of an unresolved complaint, the City Manager shall determine the facts of the compliant by obtaining information from the subscriber and the franchisee; and shall act to resolve the complaint in a manner consistent with the authority granted the City Manager by the Council and as prescribed by the current FCC regulations.

B.

The City reserves the right to regulate the rates to the maximum extent allowed by law, to include the filing of complaints at the FCC, as may be permitted by applicable law.