[ Council Communication ]  [ Resolution ]

Council Communication

Title:	Cable TV Rate Resolution
Dept:	Electric & Telecommunication
Date:	June 18, 2002
Submitted By:	Dick Wanderscheid, Lee Tuneberg
Reviewed By: ........................	Greg Scoles, City Administrator

Synopsis:	Since AFN CATV was launched in February 2000, there have been 13 new non-premium channels added to the lineup. CATV rates have not increased during this time period. The AFN programming business plan assumes a 7% rate increase in FY 2002-2003. In this proposal, the various programming tier totals would be increased as follows: Tier 1--2%    Tier 3--9% Tier 2--8%    Tier 4--10%
Recommendation:	Staff recommends the Council adopt the resolution.
Fiscal Impact:	This rote increase should raise an additional $48,000 per year based on the current TV subscriber count.
Background:	AFN CATV service began on February 2000. Since that time the program committee has added 13 standard channels and a number of additional premium channels. The initial retail rotes have remained unchanged since inception. The AFN business plan was revised fall 2001 in conjunction with the AFN Advisory Committee. The previous plans assumed a 3.5% CATV rate increase every year beginning with FY 2000-01. The revised plan assumed a 7% rate increase in FY 2002-03. This increase which would be effective for the August billing, would require, 30 days advance notice prior to implementation. This would be done via direct mail to all affected customers. The main reason for this increase is to cover increased programming costs. The city has incurred annual increases in these costs and we have not passed these increases on to the customers since launching services in early 2000. Staff proposes a modest 2% increase in the Tier 1 Community Level of service because this Tier includes minimal programming costs and also because this level of service is probably selected by households with lower income levels whose ability to pay increased costs are more limited. The following table illustrates the proposed increase: Rate of Increase Old Rate New Rate Tier 1 2% $ .14 $ 6.86 $ 7.00 Tier 2 8% $ .85 $10.61 $11.46 Tier 3 9% $2.35 $26.11 $28.46 Tier 4 10% $3.44 $34.48 $37.97 Premium packages would increase by 7% and the above rates include the PEG rates and franchise fees. For reference, the latest advertised rate by Charter for a service that is comparable to Tier 3, the most selected tier, is $32.40 plus $2.41 in franchise and PEG fees for a total customer cost of $34.81.

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RESOLUTION NO. 2002-

A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING CABLE TELEVISION RATES FOR THE ASHLAND FIBER NETWORK, READOPTING ALL OTHER RATES WITHOUT CHANGE & REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2001-32.

THE CITY OF ASHLAND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. The attached rate schedule is adopted as the rates and fees for AFN Internet and AFN Cable Television provided by the City of Ashland Electric Utility Department, Ashland Fiber Network Division. These rates are effective with the Cycle 5 billing in August 2002.

SECTION 2. Installation charges, equipment rental, bulk rates, and other charges may be set administratively. To the extent practicable, such fees shall be set to recover, over a fiscally prudent period, the incremental cost of providing such service by taking into account all costs actually incurred.

SECTION 3. Nothing in Section 1 or Section 2 shall preclude AFN staff from 1) temporarily reducing or waiving rates or charges in conjunction with promotional campaigns, 2) establishing different and nondiscriminatory rates and charges for commercial customers, as allowed by federal law and regulations, or 3) establishing different and nondiscriminatory rates and charges for AFN high speed data and wholesale high speed data commercial customers, as allowed by federal law and regulations.

SECTION 4. Resolution No. 2001-32 is repealed as of the effective date of the new rates.

SECTION 5. This resolution takes effect upon signing by the Mayor.

This resolution was read by title only in accordance with Ashland Municipal Code § 2.04.090 and duly PASSED and ADOPTED this __ day of June,2002.
Barbara Christensen, City Recorder

SIGNED and APPROVED this ___day of June, 2002.
Alan W. DeBoer, Mayor

___________________________________

The rate schedule for this Resolution is available in PDF format.  Please click the link below to view the document:

RESO Cable TV Rates.pdf (162.7KB)

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