Laserfiche WebLink
VK <br /> f <br /> • RESOLUTION 90-017 <br /> A RESOLUTION URGING SUPPORT FOR THE RESTORATION <br /> OF LOCAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY OVER <br /> CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS <br /> WHEREAS, the Cable Communications Acts of 1984 restricted states' <br /> and local governments' abilities to regulate the Cable <br /> Television Industry directly; and <br /> WHEREAS, since the passage of the Cable Communications Act of <br /> 1984, concentrations of ownership amounting to monopolies <br /> have increased among cable television operations though <br /> that Act was intended to "promote competition in cable <br /> communications and minimize unnecessary regulations that <br /> impose undue economic burden on cable systems;" and <br /> WHEREAS, municipalities throughout the nation, including this one, <br /> have been subjected to substantial rate increases, <br /> service reductions, and programming changes that do not <br /> reflect consumers' needs or the original intentions of <br /> their franchise agreements; and <br /> WHEREAS, more than half of the nation's households and more than <br /> • 32 percent of the residents of this City subscribe to <br /> cable, and television is increasingly becoming the main <br /> means of access to information and entertainment; and <br /> WHEREAS, cable subscribers in this City have been subjected to <br /> rate increases of over 40 percent over the past four <br /> years, as well as increases in the costs of remote <br /> control units, late fee charges, elimination of Senior <br /> Citizen rates, and installations; and <br /> WHEREAS, cable television is rapidly being priced beyond the reach <br /> of lower income people, including families with children, <br /> and the elderly who are particularly in need of <br /> information and other services that are available solely <br /> through cable television; and <br /> WHEREAS, the diversity of information services promised by the <br /> 1984 Cable Communications Act has failed to materialize; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS, the promise of universal service similarly has not been <br /> fulfilled; and <br /> WHEREAS, existing law provides this City and other franchising <br /> authorities no authority to control or question the <br /> • <br /> impositionby cable franchisees of exorbitant rates upon <br /> citizens whose rights-of-way have been placed at the <br />