§ 26-81. Statement of intent and purpose.

(a)

The City of Salisbury, North Carolina, pursuant to applicable federal and state law, is authorized to grant one or more nonexclusive franchises to construct, operate, maintain, and reconstruct cable systems within the incorporated areas of the city.

(b)

The city council finds that cable service has become an integral part of its citizens' lives, and that evolving cable systems have the potential to play an even more dramatic role in the future, providing great benefits and advanced capabilities to the city. At the same time, the council further finds that the public convenience, safety, and general welfare can best be served by establishing regulatory powers that are vested in the city or such persons as the city designates.

(c)

In order to ensure that the city and its residents receive state-of-the-art cable services and capabilities as this technology further evolves, all franchises granted pursuant to this article will be subject to periodic review and modifications to keep current with changing law, technology, and services. It is the intent of this article to help ensure that local cable operators provide the best possible cable service to residents of the city, and any franchises issued pursuant to this article shall be deemed to include this finding as an integral part thereof.

(d)

Further, it is recognized that cable systems have the capacity to provide entertainment and information services to the city's residents, and may have the capacity to provide a variety of broadband, interactive communications services to institutions and individuals. For these purposes, the following goals underlie the regulations contained herein:

(1)

Cable television services should be made available to all of the city's residents at the lowest reasonable cost.

(2)

The system should be capable of accommodating both the present and reasonably foreseeable future state-of-the-art cable television needs of the city.

(3)

The systems authorized by this article shall be responsive to the needs and interests of the local community, and shall provide the widest possible diversity of information sources and services to the public.

(4)

Each of the above-enumerated goals shall be sought to the maximum extent, taking into account the costs and benefits to the residents of the city.

(e)

The council further finds that on-going industry consolidation could result in less local accountability, and that, therefore, stringent customer service standards, including liquidated damages provisions, may be the only practical means of ensuring compliance and approximating the costs of franchise agreement non-compliance to the city and its residents.

(Ord. No. 2002-78, § 1, 12-3-02)