Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout16196 1 RESOLUTION NO. 16,196 2 3 A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH THAT FRANCHISE FEES FOR THE 4 USE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY BY UTILITIES WITHIN THE CITY 5 OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, WILL CONTINUE IN THE SAME 6 AMOUNT IN 2024; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 7 8 WHEREAS, the City will continue Franchise Agreements with various utilities including Water 9 Service, Sanitary Sewer Services, Electricity Services, Telephone Service, Long Distance 10 Telecommunications Services and Natural Gas Services,among others,and has done so since 1957;and, 11 WHEREAS, Arkansas State Law suggests a Franchise is not effective until it has been on public 12 display for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to its adoption, but, the last scheduled meeting for the 13 Little Rock Board of Directors for 2023 is scheduled to be December 12,2023,during a special meeting of 14 that body;and, 15 WHEREAS, it is important to avoid any ambiguity about the continuance of Franchise Agreements 16 with the City,and about the collection of Franchise Fees with the City. 17 NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 18 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 19 Section 1. The following Franchise Agreements, and Franchise Fees payments, attached below as 20 Exhibit A, shall be in effect from and after January 1,2024: 21 A. Entergy Corporation, in the amount of 5.2%of the company's gross revenue collection as 22 paid to it by industrial,commercial and residential users located within the corporate limits 23 of the City of Little Rock,Arkansas,or the sum of Eight Million,Eight Hundred Thousand 24 Dollars,($8,800,000.00),whichever is greater;and, 25 B. Local Access Telephone Service carriers, in the amount of 7.32% of the respective 26 company's local exchange access charges collected within the corporate limits of the City 27 of Little Rock,Arkansas;and, 28 C. Long Distance Instrastate or Interstate Telecommunication Service providers, in the 29 amount of$0.004 cents per minute for toll charges charged to a service address within the 30 corporate limits of the City of Little Rock,Arkansas;and, 31 D. Summit Utilities,for Natural Gas Service,in an amount equal to 5.2%of the gross revenues 32 paid to it during Calendar Year 2024 and each year thereafter by all of its customers 33 including, but not limited to industrial, residential and commercial customers located !Page 1 of 121 1 within the corporate limits of the City of little Rock, Arkansas,or the sum of Two Million, 2 One Hundred Thousand Dollars($2,100,000.00), whichever is greater; and, 3 E. Central Arkansas Water for Water Service within the corporate limits of the City of Little 4 Rock, Arkansas, as currently established; and, 5 F. Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority for Sanitary Sewer Service within the corporate 6 limits of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, as currently established. 7 Section 2. Copies of the various annual ordinance or resolution provisions for each of the entities set 8 forth in Section 1 above shall be on file with the City Clerk, and will be listed on the City of Little Rock, 9 Arkansas, website, for a period of not less than tell (10)days prior to the end of 2023. 10 Section 3. If not passed or adopted prior to the first regular meeting on January 9, 2024, formal 11 legislation for the 2024 Fiscal Year shall be on the agenda for approval at the January 9, 2024, regular 12 meeting,provided that the rates set forth in such legislation shall not exceed the amounts set forth in Section 13 1 above; provided, that Section 1 sets only the rates, so any other terms and conditions of the Franchise 14 Agreements may be set forth more fully at that time. 15 Section 3. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or 16 word of this resolution is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 17 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the resolution which shall remain in full force and 18 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of the 19 resolution. 20 Section 4. Repealer. All laws,ordinances, resolutions, or parts of the same that are inconsistent with 21 the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 22 PASSED: December 12,2023 23 A .,41/11 APPROVED: 24 N 25 _„. 4 , 26 'isa a gle City Clerk Frank Scott,Jr., 27 PPR V i S TO LEGAL FORM: 28 29 30 Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorne 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // (Page 2 of 121 1 Exhibit A 2 3 ORDINANCE NO. 4 5 AN ORDINANCE TO FIX AND IMPOSE THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT 6 OF FEES AND CHARGES TO BE PAID TO THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, 7 ARKANSAS, BY ENTERGY CORPORATION AND THE METHOD OF 8 PAYMENT THEREOF; TO AMEND SECTION 9 OF LITTLE ROCK, 9 ARK.,ORDINANCE NO. 11,683 (DECEMBER 6, 1965); AND FOR OTHER 10 PURPOSES. 11 12 WHEREAS,Entergy Corporation is duly authorized by a Franchise Agreement to,among other things, 13 construct, operate, maintain, and extend an electric system within the City of Little Rock, Arkansas (the 14 "City"), and to sell. furnish, transmit and distribute electric power and energy to the City and citizens 15 residing therein;and, 16 WHEREAS, Entergy is now providing electric service to the City and its inhabitants and occupying 17 the streets, alleys, airways, and other public rights-of-way within the City pursuant to said franchise 18 agreement, and making certain payments to the City in lieu of all other taxes, fees, charges, impositions, 19 and licenses,except general taxes; and, 20 WHEREAS, the City is legally authorized to impose, and Entergy is obligated to pay a just and 21 reasonable Franchise Fee in connection with its operations in the City. 22 NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 23 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 24 Section 1. Section 9 of the Franchise Agreement, which is Little Rock, Ark., Ordinance No. 11,683 25 (December 6, 1965)as amended, is hereby amended to include the following: 26 For the year beginning January 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, Entergy shall pay in 27 monthly installments,the sum of 5.2%of the Company's gross revenue collection as paid 28 to it by industrial, commercial, and residential users located within the corporate limits of 29 the City of Little Rock or the sum of Eight Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars 30 ($8,800,000.00), whichever is greater. The Company's Auditor shall certify such gross 31 revenues. 32 Section 2. Payments to the City by Entergy Corporation of the amounts as provided for in Section 1 33 hereof shall be made monthly on or before the 15`x'of each month. 11'agc 3 of 121 1 Section 3. Entergy Corporation shall also be subject to the relocation policy set forth in Little Rock, 2 Ark.,Rev.Code§§2-350—357(1988). 3 Section 4. Effective Date. Because an ordinance of this nature remains in effect until abandoned,and 4 in light of the language of the current Section 1 of this ordinance, it is noted that the Franchise Fees set 5 forth in Section 1 of this ordinance shall be in full force and on January 1,2024. 6 Section 5. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or . 7 word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 8 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and 9 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of the 10 ordinance. 11 Section 6. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances that conflict herewith are hereby repealed; 12 provided, however, only to the extent that the same are in direct conflict herewith. Except as provided, 13 nothing herein shall be construed to alter or change the terms or conditions of the present franchise under 14 which Entergy Corporation is operating, as set forth in Ordinance No. 11,683 (December 6, 1965), as 15 amended. 16 PASSED: December 5,2023 17 ATTEST: APPROVED: 18 19 20 Susan Langley,City Clerk Frank Scott,Jr.,Mayor 21 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 22 23 24 Thomas M.Carpenter,City Attorney 25 /I 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // [Page 4 of 121 ORDINANCE NO. 2 3 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND LITTLE ROCK, ARK., ORDINANCE NO. 4 11,366(MARCH 4, 1963),AS AMENDED,TO PROVIDE FOR LEVYING A 5 FRANCHISE FEE TO BE PAID BY SUMMIT UTILITIES (FORMERLY 6 KNOWN AS CENTERPOINT ENERGY ARKLA);TO PROVIDE FOR THE 7 PAYMENT THEREOF; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 8 9 WHEREAS,Summit Utilities(formerly known as CenterPoint Energy ARKLA)("the Gas Company") 10 is authorized by franchise ordinance to operate a Gas Distribution System and appurtenances thereto,used 11 in or incident to the rendition of gas service to the City of Little Rock, Arkansas ("the City") and the 12 inhabitants residing therein;and, 13 WHEREAS,the Gas Company is now and will be occupying the streets, alleys and rights-of-way of 14 the City for the purpose of operating, maintaining and extending its gas services to the City and supplying 15 the City and consumers therein gas service;and, 16 WHEREAS,the City is legally authorized to impose, and the Gas Company is obligated to pay a just 17 and reasonable Franchise Fee in connection with the operations in the City. 18 NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 19 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 20 Section 1. Section 1 of Little Rock, Ark., Ordinance No. 11,366 (March 4, 1963) is hereby amended 21 to read as follows: 22 Summit Utilities (the Gas Company) shall on a monthly basis pay a Franchise Fee in an 23 amount equal to 5.2% of the Gas Company's gross revenues as paid to it during the 24 Calendar Year 2024 and each year thereafter by all of its customers, including but not 25 limited to industrial, residential and commercial customers located within the corporate 26 limits of the City of Little Rock or the sum of Two Million,One Hundred Thousand Dollars 27 ($2,100,000.00) per year, whichever is greater. The Auditor of the Gas Company shall 28 certify said gross revenues. 29 Section 2. Payments to the City by Summit Utilities of the amounts as provided for in Section 1 hereof 30 shall be made monthly on or before the 15th day of each month. 31 Section 3. Summit Utilities shall also be subject to the relocation policy set forth in Little Rock,Ark., 32 Rev.Code§§2-350—357(1988). 33 Section 4. Effective Date. Because an ordinance of this nature remains in effect until abandoned, and (Page 5 of 121 1 in light of the language of the current Section I of this ordinance, it is noted that the Franchise Fees set 2 forth in Section 1 of this ordinance shall be in full force and on January 1,2024. 3 Section 5. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or 4 word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 5 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and 6 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of the 7 ordinance. 8 Section 6. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances that conflict herewith are hereby repealed; 9 provided, however, only to the extent that the same are in direct conflict herewith. Except as provided, 10 nothing herein shall be construed to alter or change the terms or conditions of the present franchise under 11 which Summit Utilities is operating,as set forth in Ordinance No. 11,366(March 4, 1963),as amended. 12 PASSED: December 5,2023 13 ATTEST: APPROVED: 14 15 16 Susan Langley,City Clerk Frank Scott,Jr., Mayor 17 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 18 19 20 Thomas M.Carpenter,City Attorney 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // Wage 6 of 121 1 ORDINANCE NO. 2 3 AN ORDINANCE TO FIX AND IMPOSE THE AMOUNT OF FEES AND 4 CHARGES TO BE PAID TO THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, 5 BY ALL COMPANIES THAT PROVIDE INTERSTATE OR INTRASTATE 6 LONG DISTANCE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES, AND ALL 7 BUSINESS INCIDENTAL TO, OR CONNECTED WITH, THE 8 CONDUCTING OF SUCH TELEPHONE BUSINESS IN THE CITY OF 9 LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS; TO AMEND SECTION 3 OF LITTLE 10 ROCK,ARK.,ORDINANCE NO. 15,706 (JULY 5, 1989); AND FOR OTHER 11 PURPOSES. 12 13 WHEREAS, the City entered into a franchise agreement with Southwestern Bell Telephone on 14 December 17, 1962; and, 15 WHEREAS, the City has had the authority to require such franchises for public utilities utilizing the 16 City rights-of-way since 1935 by virtue of Act 324 of 1935,and upon any other statutory or legal authority; 17 and, 18 WHEREAS, the transmission of communications by telephone or telegraph meets the definition of 19 public utility under Arkansas law by virtue of Act 324 of 1935; and, 20 WHEREAS, subsequent to the passage of the original Franchise Agreement, and its subsequent 21 amendments, there have been monumental changes in the telecommunications industry, including the 22 divestiture of the long distance telephone service monopoly once enjoyed by Southwestern Bell Telephone 23 and American Telephone and Telegraph Companies so that numerous companies compete to provide 24 customers with Long Distance Telecommunication Services within the City of Little Rock; and, 25 WHEREAS, the City is entitled to receive such just and reasonable fees from the providers of Long 26 Distance Telecommunication Services for their use of the City streets, alleys, airways, and other public 27 rights-of-way, which the City may lawfully impose and the companies are obligated to pay. 28 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 29 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 30 Section 1. Section 3 of Little Rock, Ark., Ordinance 15,706 (July 5, 1989), as amended, is hereby 31 amended to include the following: 32 For the year beginning January 1, 2024, there is hereby levied against, and shall be 33 collected from, all providers of Long Distance Telecommunication Services a fee in the [Page 7 of 121 I 1 amount of$0.004 per minute for toll calls charged to a service address within the corporate 2 limits of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas. The provider of Long Distance 3 Telecommunication Services shall be responsible for assuring that this fee is paid to the 4 City. This fee is levied as a Franchise Fee and shall be collected by the provider of Long 5 Distance Telecommunication Services in accordance with Arkansas State Law. 6 Section 2. Payments to the City by companies providing Long Distance Telecommunication Services 7 in accordance with the franchise fee imposed herein shall be made monthly within thirty (30)days of the 8 end of each month commencing January 1,2024. 9 Section 3. The City reserves the right to perform any necessary public works or make any necessary 10 public improvements to the City's rights-of-way or airways (to the extent airways are related to facilities 11 attached to or between poles)during the term of this Agreement. If, as a result of any action by the City, 12 or by any action authorized by the City for the benefit of the public good,relocation of any of the Company's 13 conduit or other facilities is required, such relocation shall be accomplished at the sole expense of the 14 Company. Nothing in this Franchise shall be deemed a waiver of the City's right to require the Company 15 to comply with all applicable zoning and other applicable regulatory ordinances or to pay any reasonable 16 permit fees or to seek appropriate authorizations from the Company to perform any work in connection 17 with the Franchise. Should the City close,eliminate,or discontinue use of any public street during the term 18 of this Franchise,or any renewal term,this Franchise shall cease with respect to such streets upon the date 19 of final action by the City with respect to the closure,elimination or discontinuance of such streets. 20 Section 4. Effective Date. Because an ordinance of this nature remains in effect until abandoned,and 21 in light of the language of the current Section 1 of this ordinance, it is noted that the Franchise Fees set 22 forth in Section 1 of this ordinance shall be in full force and on January 1,2024. 23 Section 5. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or 24 word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 25 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and 26 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of the 27 ordinance. 28 Section 6. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances that conflict herewith are hereby repealed; 29 provided, however, only to the extent that the same are in direct conflict herewith. Except as provided, 30 nothing herein shall be construed to alter or change the terms or conditions of the present franchise under 31 which the providers of Long Distance Telecommunication Services are operating, pursuant to Ordinance 32 No. 15,706(July 5, 19889) and Ordinance No. 15,729(August 1, 1989). 33 PASSED: December 5,2023 'Page 8 of 121 I ATTEST: APPROVED: 2 3 4 Susan Langley,City Clerk Frank Scott,Jr., Mayor 5 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 6 7 8 Thomas M. Carpenter,City Attorney 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // (Page 9 of 121 1 ORDINANCE NO. 2 3 AN ORDINANCE TO LEVY FRANCHISE FEES TO BE PAID BY ALL 4 CARRIERS PROVIDING LOCAL ACCESS TELEPHONE SERVICE; TO 5 PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT THEREOF; AND FOR OTHER 6 PURPOSES. 7 8 WHEREAS,the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company,now AT&T,has for decades been authorized 9 by ordinance to operate its telephone system and all business incidental to or connected with the conduct 10 of a telephone business in the City;and, 11 WHEREAS, pursuant to Little Rock, Ark. Ordinance No. 11,345 (December 17, 1962), and 12 recognizing an order of the Arkansas Public Service Commission entered on December 10, 1957,in Docket 13 U-281 relating to the treatment by the Telephone Company of all City special taxes,the City granted AT&T 14 the privilege to continue operation of its telephone system and related business within the City and first 15 provided for the payment of a Privilege Tax by that company of One and 07/100 Dollar($1.07)multiplied 16 by the number of telephones in the City as of the end of the preceding year;and, 17 WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 14,981 (November 5, 1985), the City Board of Directors 18 imposed, beginning on January 1, 1986, a change in the calculation of the Privilege Fee for AT&T, to be 19 in an amount equal to 7.32%of the company's access line billing revenues for 1985 or a minimum of One 20 Million,Seven Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars($1,775,000.00);and, 21 WHEREAS, subsequent ordinances thereafter incrementally raised the amount of the minimum 22 Franchise Fee until,beginning with Ordinance No. 16,557(December 21, 1993)it reached the amount Two 23 Million Dollars($2,000,000.00),which minimum has remained in effect until the present time;and, 24 WHEREAS, after a review of the current market situation, the City has determined that having a 25 minimum Franchise Fee is no longer appropriate and is setting the minimum aside; and, 26 WHEREAS, AT&T and other telephone companies similarly providing a local access telephone 27 system in the City are now and will be occupying the streets,alleys,airways and other public rights-of-way 28 of the City for the purpose of operating and maintaining such Local Access Telephone Systems; and, 29 WHEREAS,the City is legally authorized to impose,and all local access telephone services companies 30 are obligated to pay, a just and reasonable Franchise Fee in connection with such company's local access 31 telephone service operations in the City. 32 NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 33 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: [Page 10 of 121 1 Section 1. There is hereby imposed and each and every Local Access Telephone Service Carrier 2 ("Telephone Company")shall pay to the City a Franchise Fee in an amount equal to 7.32%of the respective 3 Telephone Company's local exchange access line charges collected within the City's corporate limits during 4 the previous month. 5 Section 2. Payments to the City by the Telephone Company for the Franchise Fee shall be made 6 monthly by the 20th day of each month. 7 Section 3. On a monthly basis,by the 20'h day of each month,the auditor for each Telephone Company 8 shall certify to the City that Telephone Company's access line revenues collected during the previous month 9 in Little Rock. 10 Section 4. The City recognizes and accepts the purposes and results of an Order of the Arkansas Public 11 Service Commission entered on February 7, 1980, in Docket U-30132 relating to the treatment by the 12 Telephone Company of all City special fees. 13 Section 5. It is acknowledged that Ordinance No. 11,345 (amended by Ordinance No. 14,981),which 14 set out the terms and conditions of the present privilege authority, is the controlling document over current 15 Local Access Telephone Service Franchises. Ordinance No. 11,345 specifically provided that nothing 16 contained therein was to be construed as giving AT&T any exclusive privileges. Ordinance No. 14,981 17 amended Ordinance No. 16,557 to change the method of calculating the fee to that method presently 18 employed and to add a section detailing the City's utility relocation policy to be complied with.That Utility 19 Relocation Policy shall remain in effect under this ordinance. The Telephone Company shall also be subject 20 to the Utility Relocation Policy set forth in Little Rock,Ark., Rev. Code §§2-350 to 357(1988). 21 Section 6. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as altering or amending any other rights or 22 obligations of the City or each Telephone Company as provided for in Ordinance No. 11,345 except the 23 language of Section 2 of Ordinance No. 11,345 pertaining to the method of calculating the Telephone 24 Company's annual Franchise Fee. 25 Section 7. Nothing in this ordinance shall prevent the City from collecting from Telephone Companies 26 previously due but unpaid Franchise Fees. 27 Section 8. Effective Date. Because an ordinance of this nature remains in effect until abandoned,and 28 in light of the language of the current Section 1 of this ordinance, it is noted that the Franchise Fees set 29 forth in Section 1 of this ordinance shall be in full force and on January 1,2024. 30 Section 9. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or 31 word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or 32 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and 33 effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of the 34 ordinance. [Page 11 of 121 1 Section 10. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances that conflict herewith are hereby 2 repealed; provided, however, only to the extent that the same are in direct conflict herewith. Except as 3 provided,nothing herein shall be construed to alter or change the terms or conditions of the present franchise 4 under which AT&T is operating,as set forth in Ordinance No. 11,345(December 17, 1962),Ordinance No. 5 14,981 (November 5, 1985), and Ordinance No. 16,557 (December 21, 1993) 6 PASSED: December 5,2023 7 ATTEST: APPROVED: 8 9 10 Susan Langley,City Clerk Frank Scott,Jr.,Mayor 11 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 12 13 14 Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorney 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 /1 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // 'Page 12 of 121