Carefree Truth
Issue #760, June 24, 2019
Mr. Neiss said that 2-3 years ago, the Arizona Department of Revenue (DOR) instituted monumental changes. The first part didn't affect Carefree, as it is too small to self-collect sales tax revenue, which the larger cities did, and which the DOR does now. The second part concerns auditing. Carefree previously hired a 3rd party auditor. The DOR now does the auditing for all 91 of the incorporated cities and towns in Arizona. The DOR had to hire more people to handle the workload, and the local communities must pay for the increased service. The Intergovernmental Agreement is renewed each year. There were no significant changes for Carefree. Mayor Peterson noted that there was no choice but to approve the contract, which was unanimously approved.
https://vimeo.com/341204490
Gary Neiss noted that cable TV and its technology has evolved into bundling packages. The larger municipalities had started to restrict the businesses coming into their marketplaces, causing a disconnect between many of the larger cities. Cox Communications approached State lawmakers, asking to get uniform standards, as the differences from city to city presented many contradictions and the associated costs. A new State law preempts local municipalities from regulating cable TV companies. Mr. Neiss acknowledged that this does make some sense. The cable operators may opt to continue under their current agreements, or may terminate them and apply for a new Uniform Video License, which must be issued within 30 days of filing the application and affidavit.
Mayor Les Peterson asked if it would cost the Town or the residents anything additional. Mr. Neiss said it would not, but the Town must now codify the fee structure. Vice Mayor John Crane asked if this applied to providing services to the community or just to putting up antennae. Mr. Neiss explained that it applies to putting infrastructure into the Town's Rights of Way (ROW), codifying the usage and fees. The Vice Mayor and Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer remarked that the Town had no choice but to approve it, which was confirmed by Mr. Neiss.
The motion was approved unanimously.
The other part of this change involves repealing the Cable TV Code and replacing it with the State required Uniform Video Licensing Ordinance, in which the State defines the the licensing fee as a percentage of the gross revenue from customers within the community who are serviced by the provider, to help offset the costs of managing the ROW permits. Historically, Carefree has charged 5%.
Ms. Kroyer again noted that they had no choice but to make these changes. Vice Mayor Crane noted that the current fee schedule will remain unchanged at 5%. Councilman Stephen Hatcher asked if the fee is for the use of the ROW to service the Carefree residents. Mr. Neiss confirmed that and explained that the "opportunity cost" involves the cost recovery reimbursement for time spent by the Town staff doing inspections and reviewing plans. There is also a "hard" cost recovery for use of the ROW. Many times, cuts must be made in the streets which Carefree must repair if the trenches fail. Mr. Hatcher expressed surprise that there were no predefined utility access rights. Mr. Neiss explained that, unlike Master Planned Communities, much of the infrastructure here dates back to the time before Carefree was incorporated. It has developed organically, based on need and the level of service. It depends on density and the age of the infrastructure. There is a lot of random infrastructure in the ROW.
This was a first reading, so no action was taken. The second reading will take place at the July Council meeting.
https://vimeo.com/341207571
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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