(1) Cable television (CATV) companies shall as a condition of operation, pay to the county a franchise fee consisting of five percent of the gross revenue received by the CATV company for services rendered within the areas covered by their franchise.

(2) The council shall retain the authority to modify, by ordinance, the franchise fee in any particular franchise at any time during the life of the franchise. The franchise fee shall be remitted on a quarterly basis and shall be due 45 days after the close of each calendar quarter the CATV company is in operation in Snohomish County, and shall be accompanied by a quarterly report in a form approved by the department.

(3) The CATV company shall provide all necessary records so that the county may determine this fee and the county, or its authorized agents, shall have the right to inspect the books and records of the CATV company at reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the CATV company’s actual gross revenues per annum.

(4) All financial books and records of the CATV company shall be retained in their original form for a minimum of six years from the date of such records for each year the franchise is in effect, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 40.14 RCW as they apply to any agency of the state of Washington. (Added by Ord. 96-028 § 58, June 12, 1996, Eff date June 29, 1996; Amended by Ord. 21-032, July 21, 2021, Eff date Aug. 2, 2021).