97-052 Ordinance - Laserfiche WebLink

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That existing Article XI of the Charter be amended to read as follows: ARTICLE XI FRANCHISE SECTION I: FRANCHISES The Council may by ordinance grant anon-exclusive franchise to any person, firm, or corporation to construct or operate a public utility on, across, under, over, or above any public street or real estate within the City for a period not in excess of twenty-five (25) years; and it may prescribe in the ordinance the kind or quality of service or product to be furnished, the rate or rates to be charged therefor, and such other terms as Council shall deem conducive to the public interest. Such franchise agreements may be amended or renewed in a manner subject to the provisions established by this Charter for original grants. No consent of any owner of property abutting on any public street or real estate shall be necessary to the effectiveness of any such grant, amendment, or renewal. All grants, amendments, and renewals shall be made subject to the continuing right of the Council to provide reasonable regulations for the operation of such utilities with reference to such streets and public real estate, including the right to require such reconstruction, relocation, alteration, or removal of structures and equipment used in such streets or public real estate as shall, in the opinion of Council, be necessary in the public interest. SECTION 2: AGGREGATE BARGAINING The Council may by ordinance create aggregations of utility consumers located within the City for the purposes of aggregate, collective, or conjunctive billing and bargaining with utility providers providing utility services. Such aggregations may consist of all or some of the utility consumers within the City, if the ordinance so provides. The consent of individually affected utility consumers within the City shall not be necessary in order to establish such aggregations. SECTION 2: If the foregoing proposal receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the electors voting thereon, then existing Article XI shall be and the same is hereby repealed effective as of the date on which such amendment becomes effective. SECTION 3: It is the desire of the Council that the ballot for said question shall be in substantially the following form: