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ORDINANCE NO. 19,662
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3 AN ORDINANCE TO LEVY FRANCHISE FEES TO BE PAID FOR THE YEAR
4 2007 BY ALL CARRIERS PROVIDING LOCAL ACCESS TELEPHONE
5 SERVICE; PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT THEREOF; AND FOR OTHER
6 PURPOSES.
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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 or
10 connected with the conduct of a telephone business in the City; and
11 WHEREAS, pursuant to Little Rock, Ark. Ordinance No. 11 ,345 (Dec. 17, 1962), and
12 recognizing an order of the Arkansas Public Service Commission entered on December 10,
13 1957 in Docket U -281 relating to the treatment by the Telephone Company of all City
14 special taxes, the City granted Southwestern Bell Telephone Company the privilege to
15 continue operation of its telephone system and related business within the City and first
16 provided for the payment of a privilege tax by that company of $1.07 multiplied by the
17 number of telephones in the City as of the end of the preceding year; and
18 WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 14,981 (November 5, 1985), the City Board of
19 Directors imposed, beginning on January 1, 1986, a change in the calculation of the
20 privilege fee for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, to be in an amount equal to seven
21 and thirty -two hundredths percent (7.32%) of the company's access line billing revenues
22 for 1985 or a minimum of One Million Seven Hundred Seventy -Five Thousand Dollars
23 ($1,775,000), and
24 WHEREAS, subsequent ordinances thereafter incrementally raised the amount of the
25 minimum franchise fee until, beginning with Ordinance No. 16,557 (December 21, 1993) it
26 reached the amount $2,000,000, which minimum has remained in effect until the present
27 time, and
28 WHEREAS, after a review of the current market situation, the City has determined
29 that having a minimum franchise fee is no longer appropriate and is setting the minimum
30 aside, and
31 WHEREAS, SBC (formerly Southwestern Bell Telephone Company) and other
32 telephone companies similarly providing a local access telephone system in the City are
33 now and will be occupying the streets, alleys, airways and other public rights -of -way of the
34 City for the purpose of operating and maintaining such local access telephone systems,
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1 systems, and
2 WHEREAS, the City is legally authorized to impose, and all local access telephone
3 services companies are obligated to pay, a just and reasonable franchise fee in connection
4 with such company's local access telephone service operations in the City.
5 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF
6 LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
7 Section 1. There is hereby imposed and each and every local access telephone
8 service carrier ( "Telephone Company ") shall pay to the City a franchise fee in an amount
9 equal to seven and thirty -two hundredths percent (7.32%) of the respective Telephone
10 Company's local exchange access line charges collected within the City's corporate limits
11 during the previous month.
12 Section 2. Payments to the City by the Telephone Company for the franchise fee
13 shall be made monthly by the 20th day of each month.
14 Section 3. On a monthly basis, by the twentieth (20th) day of each month, the
15 auditor for each Telephone Company shall certify to the City that Telephone Company's
16 access line revenues collected during the previous month in Little Rock.
17 Section 4. The City recognizes and accepts the purposes and results of an Order
18 of the Arkansas Public Service Commission entered on February 7, 1980, in Docket U-
19 30132 relating to the treatment by the Telephone Company of all city special fees.
20 Section 5. It is acknowledged that Ordinance No. 11,345 (amended by Ordinance
21 No. 14,981), which set out the terms and conditions of the present privilege authority, is
22 the controlling document over current local access telephone service franchises. Ordinance
23 No. 11,345 specifically provided that nothing contained therein was to be construed as
24 giving Southwestern Bell Telephone Company any exclusive privileges. Ordinance No.
25 14,981 amended Ordinance No. 1 1 ,345 to change the method of calculating the fee to
26 that method presently employed and to add a section detailing the City's utility relocation
27 policy to be complied with. That utility relocation policy shall remain in effect under this
28 Ordinance.
29 Section 6. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as altering or amending
30 any other rights or obligations of the City or each Telephone Company as provided for in
31 Ordinance No. 1 1 ,345 except the language of Section 2 of Ordinance No. 11,345
32 pertaining to the method of calculating the Telephone Company's annual franchise fee.
33 Section 7. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent the City from collecting from
34 Telephone Companies previously due but unpaid franchise fees.
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1 Section 8. This ordinance shall be in effect on and after January 1, 2007.
2 PASSED: December 19, 2006
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4 ATTEST:
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7 Nancy Wood, c ty Clerk
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9 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
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12 Thomas M. Carpenter, City t rney
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APPROVED: `
Jim iley, Mayor