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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 1, 2003 <br />Action Agee <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: Acceptance of Report by Action Audits, LLC and adoption of 2003 Rate Order <br />for Cable Services in Unincorporated Orange County. <br />DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />(Under Separate Cover) <br />Review of Time Warner Cable's <br />FCC1240 and 1205 Rate Filings, <br />Prepared by Action Audits, LLC <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Gwen Harvey, 245 -2300 <br />Michael Patrick, Chair, Cable Advisory <br />Committee <br />Robert Sepe, Action Audits, LLC <br />2003 Rate Order TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approval of the cable consultant's review of a request by TimeWarner <br />Cable to increase rates charged for basic cable television service., installation, and equipment <br />rental for 2003, and adoption of a rate order based on that review. <br />BACKGROUND: In October 2002, per the Federal Communication Commission's rules, <br />TimeWarner Cable petitioned the County for permission to increase cable television rates for <br />2003. The County is authorized to review the material basis for the rate increases and whether <br />such increases comply with the FCC rate-making rules, then issue an order to approve or deny <br />any such increase. Bob Sepe, the County's cable consultant, as part of the Triangle J Cable <br />Consortium, has evaluated the rate forms submitted by the cable company to the County. Mr. <br />Sepe has determined that the increases comply with the FCC rate rules and recent FCC <br />decisions regarding rate matters. The consultant's report and the recommended rate order are <br />attached. <br />Orange County is composed of two federally identified cable television districts - NC 0276(a) <br />and NC-0276(b), which serve 30 and 5642 cable customers respectively, and NC 0256, which <br />serves another 702 cable households. Under the recommended rate order, the approved <br />Maximum Permitted Rate (MPR) for the Basic Service Tier (BST) NC-0276a customers is <br />$12.55 per month, and $10.40 per month for NC 0276(b) customers, and $11.74 monthly for <br />NC-0256 customers. To each of these rates the appropriate FCC1235 "Add-on" fee is <br />collected. The Add-On fee is the cable system up-grade cost recovery fee that was approved in <br />2001 and remains unchanged. <br />