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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1074 i ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE DECLARING, FIXING AND ESTABLISHING A LIMIT AND MAXIMUM OF RATES, TOLLS AND CHARGES THAT MAY BE MADE, CHARGED OR COLLECTED FOR THE RENDITION OF TELEPHONE, SERVICE IN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, BY ANY TELEPHONE COMPANY OR COMPANIES, AND NAMING THE SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY; SETTING OUT SUCH MAXIMUM RATES ACCORDING TO THE SEVERAL CLASSES OF SERVICE RENDERED, CLASSIFYING THE SAME AND PROVIDING FOR THOSE NOT SPECIALLY ENUMERATED; PROVIDING FOR THE RESTORATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SERVICE WHICH HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED AND PRO- HIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW OR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF SERVICE, OR THE DISCONTINUANCE OF THE ESTABLISHED CLASSES OF SERVICE EXCEPT UPON COM- PLIANCE WITH CERTAIN PROVISIONS; EXPRESSLY PRO- HIBITING ANY CHARGE OR COLLECTION OF ANY RADIUS RATE WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH; PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN PROCEDURE, A HEARING AND ORDER AS AN EXPRESS CONDITION PRE- CEDENT BEFORE ANY CHANGE SHALL BE PERMITTED IN ANY RATE, TARIFF OR CHARGE AS TO ANY CLASS OF SERVICE OR ANY CHANGE IN THE CLASSES OF SERVICE RENDERED, AS PROVIDED FOR BY THIS ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE FILING OF A SCHEDULE OF RATES, TARIFFS AND CHARGES PROPOSED TO BE MADE HEREAFTER BY ANY TELEPHONE COMPANY ACCORDING TO ALL OF THE SEVERAL CLASSES OF SERVICE IN TIE OFFICE OF THE CITY SECRETARY; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE WITH ALL ORDINANCES AND PRO- VISIONS THEREOF NOT IN CONFLICT WITH IT, AND FCR THE REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS THERE- OF IN CONFLICT HEREWITH TO THE EXTENT OF SUCH CON- FLICT; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF SECTION IX, "1 t`I —-ORDINANCE NUMBER.t0 4;; PASSED DECEMBER 31ST, 1920; DECLARING THAT ANY" CHARGE FOR TELEPHONE SERVICE IN EXCESS OF THOSE PROVIDED BY THIS ORDINANCE OR ANY ALTERATION IN THE CLASSES OF SERVICE AS HEREIN PRO- VIDED TO BE UNLAWFUL, FIXING A PENALTY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY, WHEREAS, by Section 1, chapter 26, of the Chater of the City of Fort Worth, adopted on December 11th, 1924, and by the provisions of the previous charters of the City of Fort Worth, the City Council of said City has the power and duty by ordinance, to -1- fix and regulate the rates, tolls and charges of all pub- lic utilities operating in the City of Fort Worth., Texas, including the power and duty to regulate and fix the fares, tolls and charges for local telephone service; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, and its predecessors, as the governing body of said. City, have had in connection with the exercise of such power and duty, opportunity to fully investigate and examine the prices, tolls and charges being charged for telephone service in the City of Fort Worth with due re- gard for the rights of such public utilities and the rights of the public, and has particularly obtained information with reference to the prices, tolls, charges and classes of service heretofore and now being made and rendered by The Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, during and in con- nection with the trial of a certain cause in the United States District Court, for the Northern District of Texas, at Fort Worth, being Number 409-E In Equity, styled, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company v. City of Fort Worth, et al; and after such full investigation and examination find that the limitations upon and provisions concerning the fares, tolls and rates and classes of service as hereinafter contained and provided, are fair, equitable and just, NOW THEREFORE: BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH: SECTION I. It shall hereafter be unlawful for any telephone company, or companies operating and rendering telephone ser- vice within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth, to charge or collect, or attempt to charge or collect for the rendition of telephone service according to the several classes thereof hereinafter appearing from any subscriber in said City in excess of the amounts, prices, rates or tariffs per month hereinafter specified: -2- Class of Service Monthly Rates BUSINESS• Unlimited Service One--p�Stations $8.25 Extension Stations 1.00 Measured Service One-par y Stations 4.00 Message allowance 80 Additional Messages, Each .03 Extension Stations 1.00 Semi-Public Service One-party S ations - Guarantee .15 per day Local Messages - Under Guarantee .05 Local Messages - Over Guarantee .03 Extension Stations; 11 With coin collectors 1.50 Without coin collectors 1.00 Joint User Service One-party ine - Unlimited 1.00 One-party Line - Measured .41-2/3 Private Branch Exc ange 1.50 Extra Directory Listing .25 RESIDENCE• Unlimited Service One-party Stations 3.50 Two-party Stations 2.75 Extension Stations Wall .50 Desk .50 Measured Service One-pig Stations 2.00 Message Allowance 60 Additional Messages, Each .02 / Extension Stations Nall .50 Desk .50 Joint User Service One-par y ine - Unlimited .50 One-party Line - Measured .33-1/3 Extra Directory Listing .25 PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE SERVICE: n m ed Se-rvic'e 2.00 S at ions 8.25 Trunks Switchboards, Per Position Non-Multiple 3x7 Cordless ^0 30 Line Capacity 80 Line Capacity 2.00 320 Line Capacity 2.00 Multiple Boards Each Position 2.00 Additional Jacks Per Strip of Ten .50 Class of Service Monthly Rates PHYSICIANS BUREAU LISTINGS .25 TOLL TERMINALS 3.00 PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE NIGHT LISTINGS No Charge. PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE EXTENSION LINE MILEAGE Between points not on same premises 1/4 mile or fraction thereof - .25 SECTION II It is especially provided that all of the provisions and sections of this ordinance shall be ap- plicable to and controlling in the fares, tolls and charges and classes of service made and rendered by The Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, and as such shall remain and continue in effect until changed as provided herein. SECTION III It shall hereafter be unlawful for any telephone company, or companies operating and rendering telephone ser- vice within the corporate limits of the City of FortWorth, to charge or collect, or attempt to charge or collect for the rendition of any class or kind of telephone service not specifically provided for in Section I, supra, in excess of the tariff, rate and charge which was made and collected for such other class of service by such telephone company for the month of March, 1925, and the tariff, schedule and rate as it existed in said month as to such other class of service is hereby adopted and established as a fair and reasonable charge for the services rendered, which shall remain in ef- fect until changed in the manner provided herein. SECTION IV All telephone companies operating in the City of Fort Worth which have discontinued any class of telephone ser- vice which was rendered by such company prior to April 1, 1925, shall forthwith reinstate and re-establish such class of ser- vice formerly rendered and shall reinstate such class of ser- vice to subscribers who used the same in March, 1925 unless otherwise directed by such subscriber after notification, and shall afford and provide each and all of the classes of service to subscribers in the City of Fort Worth as provided for and enumerated in Section I hereof. -3- SECTION V It shall hereafter be unlawful for any tele- phone company, or companies operating and rendering tele- phone service in the City of Fort Worth to discontinue any of the classes of service rendered to subscribers as provided for herein, or to alter the classes of service without first making application to the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, for permission to make such change in accordance with the provisions of the succeeding sections hereof. SECTION VI It shall hereafter be unlawful for any tele- phone company, or companies operating and rendering tele- phone service in the City of Fort Worth, to charge or col- lect, or attempt to charge or collect, from any subscriber, any radius rate, zone rate or charge on account of the dis- tance of the subscriber's station from the telephone company's central office, and all charges made for telephone service within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth shall be uniform and without regard to the distance from the cen- tral office of such telephone company, and shall be without any other arbitrary classification, and the charge made for the particular class of service shall in no event exceed those provided by the schedule appearing in Section I hereof. SECTION VII No telephone company operating in the City of Fort Wcr th shall hereafter make any charge in excess of those provided by this ordinance or any change or alter- ation in the class of service rendered, or discontinue any class of service without first making application to the -4- City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, for an order permitting such raise in rate, or change in the class of service rendered, which application shall be made in writing, setting up the rate or class of service sought to be changed, together with the rate or change sought to be made, together with full and complete reasons therefor, the number of subscribers affected, and the amount of additional revenue which will be resultant to such com- pany annually therefrom, and such application shall be filed with the City Secretary at least thirty days before such change is proposed to be effective, and presented to the City Council at its next regular meeting. SECTION VIII After the filing of such application by any telephone company in the City of Fort Worth, and on the day of its presentment to the Council, that body shall set a day within a reasonable time thereafter, for a hearing to begin thereon, and it shall be the duty of such telephone company, or companies to be present on the day of said hearing and to afford to the Council under the rules of evidence prevailing in law and in equity, full and complete information together with all supporting data which is necessary to support its application for such raise in rate or change in class of service sought, and such full and complete hearing shall be deemed an express condition precedent to the right of such telephone company to raise its rates or change or alter any class of service rendered, directly or indirectly. SECTION IX The City Gouncil _ at the conclusion of such hearing, begun by application, or by its own order after notice to such telephone company, shall enter an order either -5- granting or refusing such application, which shall be in writing, and spread upon the minutes of such body, and un- less such order is granted, then all of the provisions of this ordinance with reference to the tariffs, rates and schedules and classes of service fixed and established hereby, shall remain in full force and effect, and if changed by said order, then such change shall be appli- cable only to the particular subject covered by the order, and all other provisions of this ordinance remain in fall force and effect. Provided however, that such telephone company shall have the right of appeal from such order, in event of refusal of the application, to any court of compe- tent jurisdiction. For the conduct of the trial and hearing on such application, the City Coiincil shall sit and act as a court for the purpose of taking evidence with full power to provide its own rules of procedure, subpoena witnesses and punish for contempt, and shall adjourn from day to day, until such hearing is fully completed. SECTION X Every telephone company operating in the City of Fort !Alorth, shall forthwith file in the office of the City Secretary of the City of Fort forth, a full and com- plete schedule of all of the tariffs, rates and charges according to the respective classes of service rendered which it is now making, and proposes to make and charge, and shall thereafter make no change in the same, except in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance. -6- SECTION XI Any person, firm or corporation, or the manager or collector or any employe for any telephone company oper- ating in the City of Fort `North who shall violate any of the provisions of the foregoing sections of this ordinance, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished. by a fine of not less than $10.00 nor more than $200.00, and for any collection made in excess of the amounts provided herein, it shall be deemed that such collection, or attempted collection from each subscriber in excess of the prices fixed by this ordinance shall, be deemed a separate and distinct offense, punishable as such. SECTION XII This ordinance shall be, and is hereby declared to be cumulative of all other ordinances and sections thereof of the City of Fort 71orth, not in direct conflict herewith, and shall not operate to repeal or affect any such ordinance or section thereof, except to the extent which it may be in direct conflict herewith, and that insofar as the same is in conflict, this ordinance and its provisions shall prevail. And it is especially provided that this ordinance shall and does hereby repeal Section IX of Ordinance No. 854, passed December 31, 1920. SECTION `. III The holding or adjudication of any section, portion or part hereof to be invalid, shall not affect the validity of any other section, portion or part of this ordinance, but all such other sections, portions and parts hereof shall be and remain valid, and in full force and effect. -7- SECTION XIV. This Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure, passed upon the ground of urgent public need for the preservation of the peace, property and welfare of both the public utilities and the citizens of this City, and shall be in force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law. AY�ROVED AS TO FORM: City Attorney.'