The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/21/2009 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 076, 2009, DISSOLV 1 ITEM NUMBER: 9 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: July 21, 2009 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Tom Vosburg SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 076, 2009, Dissolving the Telecommunications Board and Amending City Code by Repealing Sections Relating to the Telecommunications Board. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of this Ordinance on Second Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on July 7, 2009, dissolves the Telecommunications Board. Because of the current state of the telecommunications and cable TV regulatory environment and the City's limited role in either providing or regulating any form of data and telecommunications services, the charter and mission of the Telecommunications Board is no longer aligned with City needs and priorities. In light of that assessment,the Telecommunications Board can be dissolved without adversely affecting the City. ATTACHMENTS 1. Copy of First Reading Agenda Item Summary - July 7, 2009. (w/o original attachments) ATTACHMENT 1 ITEM NUMBER: 19 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: July 7, 2009 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Tom Vosburg SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No%076, 2009,, Dissolving the -Telecommunications Board and /: 'i '/ 11 ) � �A // Amending City Code by RepealingSect-ions Relating the Te ecommunications Board. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. FINANCIAL IMPACT Dissolution of the Telecommunications�Board will 7RK in savings to the City by eliminating the incidental costs and staff support time associated in the Board. A precise dollar amount of savings is difficult to quanfify�� J IL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance will dissolve the Telecommunications Board. Because of the current state of the telecommunications and cable TV regulatory environment and the City's limited role in either providing or regulating any form of data and telecommunications services,the charter and mission of the Telecommunications Board'i ns o longer aligned with City needs and priorities. In light of that assessment,the Telecommunications ca be dissolved out adversely affecting the City. Jl_ BACKGROUND Earlier this year, the Telecommunications Board began a review of the focus and format of its meetings and work plan to determine if there were ways it could be more effective in supporting City Council. Boardmembers expressed concern that the current function of the Board did not appear to be making a significant contribution to the City. munications Board d�ne�its r le primarily as advising Council The current bylaws of the Telecom on telecommunication policy(issues. The Board fulfilled this role in a tangible way during the Comcast cable TV franchise pr6cess to 2006, when the Board gave input to the public needs assessment and provided a forum for public input on the franchise. However,work to support the next renewal of the cable franchise will not begin until sometime in 2013 at the earliest, July 7, 2009 -2- Item No. 19 so ongoing involvement with the Comcast franchise is not seen as a significant focus of the Board in the near term. Because the City of Fort Collins neither provides nor is empowered to regulate telecommunications services,telecommunications policy related items virtually never come to Council for consideration. As a result, there appears to be no significant need for the City to maintain a standing Board solely for the purpose of advising Council on policy in this area. Board members expressed concerns their volunteer time commitment to the Board has not been providing appropriate benefit to Council and the community as the Board currently functions. Me � /� I 11�. � Telecommunications Board members contacted other commumties to understand what role similar boards fulfill in other cities. Their observation/based on that review is that telecommunications boards generally have a very limited policy advisory role arthe local level. In some small communities these boards can be very operationally focused. In larger cities that allocate funding for community telecommunications projects,these boards can play a strong advocacy and program management role. It is not clear that any of these models respond to current Fort Collins community needs. In light of this review, the Telecommunications Board recommended to Council that the Board's role and charter should be revisited to determine if there is a continuing need for the Fort Collins Telecommunications Board and if=so�how iVrnight best=serve-the Council and the community.Based on those discussions, it is recomm�'tha�Tel�muny ions Board as it is now chartered be dissolved. Councilmembers have expressed an interest in exploring the degree to which there may be technology related issues and opportunities confronting the Fort Collins community to which some form of City sponsored standing commission or task force might appropriately respond. To that end, Council has requested staff to submit a budget proposal to conduct a community needs assessment to determine if some successor to the Telecommunications Board should be established to fulfill a new and more clearly focused mission. ATTACHMENTS ( I `7� I I J/77 ' V I I 1 1. Memo from the Telecommu`nications`Board'Chair, April-24, 2009. 2. Telecommunications Board minutes. ORDINANCE NO. 076, 2009 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS DISSOLVING THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD AND AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS BY REPEALING SECTIONS RELATING TO THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD WHEREAS,the Telecommunications Board is a City board established by ordinance for the purpose of advising the City Council and staff on policies, rules, regulations and other matters related to telecommunications issues,including but not limited to cable television and telephony;and WHEREAS,beginning in November 2008,members of the Telecommunication Board(the "Board") began a review of the focus and format of its meetings and work plan; and WHEREAS,the Board contacted other communities to understand what role similar boards play in their respective communities and the Board concluded that those boards did little policy advising at the local level; and WHEREAS, boards in municipalities larger or smaller than the City have substantial management duties for community telecommunications projects, including allocating funding,that does not fit with the City goals for the Board; and WHEREAS,on April 20,2009 the Board sought input from the City Council about revising the role of the Board; and WHEREAS, the City Council directed staff to investigate other methods of obtaining community input on telecommunication matters and to initiate the dissolution of the Telecommunications Board; and WHEREAS, the Board has requested that it be dissolved. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the Telecommunications Board is hereby dissolved. Section 2. That Sections 2-418 through 2-422 of Article III of Chapter 2 of the City Code are hereby repealed in their entirety. Introduced,considered favorably on first reading,and ordered published this 7th day of July, A.D. 2009, and to be presented for final passage on the 4Mayo uly, A.D. 2009. ATTEST: Z&4w/tw_' - DIt eput 61YClerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21st day of July, A.D. 2009. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk