192481 ORDINANCE NO. 19,248
2
3 AN ORDINANCE LEVYING FRANCHISE FEES TO BE PAID FOR
4 THE YEAR 2005 BY ALL CARRIERS PROVIDING LOCAL ACCESS
5 TELEPHONE SERVICE; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT
6 THEREOF; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
7
8 WHEREAS, the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company has for decades been
9 authorized by ordinance to operate its telephone system and all business incidental to
10 or connected with the conduct of a telephone business and system in the City, and
11 WHEREAS, pursuant to Little Rock, Ark. Ordinance No. 11,345 (Dec. 17, 1962),
12 and recognizing an order of the Arkansas Public Service Commission entered on
13 December 10, 1957 in Docket U -1281 relating to the treatment by the Telephone
14 Company of all City special taxes, the City granted Southwestern Bell Telephone
15 Company the privilege to continue operation of its telephone system and related
16 business within the City and first provided for the payment of a privilege tax by that
17 company of $1.07 multiplied by the number of telephones in the City as of the end of
18 the preceding year, and
19 WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 14,981 (November 5, 1985), the City
20 Board of Directors imposed, beginning on January 1, 1986, a change in the calculation of
21 the privilege fee for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, to be in an amount equal
22 to seven and thirty -two hundredths percent (7.32 %) of the company's access line billing
23 revenues for 1985 or a minimum of One Million Seven Hundred Seventy -Five
24 Thousand Dollars ($1,775,000.00), and
[PAGE 1 OF 4]
Ordinance
To levy franchise fees for local access telephone service
1 WHEREAS, subsequent ordinances thereafter incrementally raised the amount
2 of the minimum franchise fee until, beginning with Ordinance No. 16,557 (December
3 21, 1993) it reached the amount $2,000,000, which minimum has remained in effect
4 until the present time, and
5 WHEREAS, after a review of the current market situation, the City has
6 determined that having a minimum franchise fee is no longer appropriate and is setting
7 the minimum aside, and
8 WHEREAS, SBC (formerly Southwestern Bell Telephone Company) and other
9 telephone companies similarly providing a local access telephone system in the City are
10 now and will be occupying the streets, alleys, airways and other public rights -of -way of
11 the City for the purpose of operating and maintaining such local access telephone
12 systems, and
13 WHEREAS, the City is legally authorized to impose, and all local access
14 telephone services companies are obligated to pay, a just and reasonable franchise fee in
15 connection with such company's local access telephone service operations in the City.
16 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
17 OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
18 Section 1. There is hereby imposed and each and every local access telephone
19 service carrier ( "Telephone Company ") shall pay to the City a franchise fee in an
20 amount equal to seven and thirty -two hundredths percent (7.32 %) of the respective
21 Telephone Company's local exchange access line charges collected within the City's
22 corporate limits during the previous month.
23 Section 2. Payments to the City by the Telephone Company for the franchise fee
24 shall be made monthly by the twentieth (20th) day of each month.
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Ordinance
To levy franchise fees for local access telephone service
1 Section 3. On a monthly basis, by the twentieth (20th) day of each month, the
2 auditor for each Telephone Company shall certify to the City that Telephone
3 Company's access line revenues collected during the previous month in Little Rock.
4 Section 4. The City recognizes and accepts the purposes and results of an Order
5 of the Arkansas Public Service Commission entered on February 7, 1980 in Docket U-
6 30132 relating to the treatment by each Telephone Company of all city special fees.
7 Section 5. It is acknowledged that Ordinance No. 11,345 (amended by
8 Ordinance No. 14,981), which set out the terms and conditions of the present privilege
9 authority, is the controlling document over current local access telephone service
10 franchises. Ordinance No. 11,345 specifically provided that nothing contained therein
11 was to be construed as giving Southwestern Bell Telephone Company any exclusive
12 privileges. Ordinance No. 14,981 amended Ordinance No. 11,345 to change the method
13 of calculating the fee to that method presently employed and to add a section detailing
14 the City's utility relocation policy to be complied with. That utility relocation policy
15 shall remain in effect under this Ordinance.
16 Section 6. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as altering or amending
17 any other rights or obligations of the City or each Telephone Company as provided for
18 in Ordinance No. 11,345 except the language of Section 2 of Ordinance No. 11,345
19 pertaining to the method of calculating the Telephone Company's franchise fee.
20 Section 7. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent the City from collecting from
21 Telephone Companies previously due but unpaid franchise fees.
22 Section 8. This ordinance shall be in effect on and after January 1, 2005.
23
24 PASSED: December 7, 2004
25 H
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Ordinance
To levy franchise fees for local access telephone service
1 ATTEST:
2
3
4 Nancy Wood, 6ity Clerk
5
6 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
7
9 Thomas M. Carpenter, City Mtorney
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Ordinance
To levy franchise fees for local access telephone service
APPROVED:
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Jim ,D iley, Mayor