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City adopts telecommunications application for fiber provider after staff says state law limits local authority
Summary
The Dalton City Council adopted resolution 25-05 to accept a telecommunications application from a fiber provider; staff said state law and Georgia Public Service Commission certification largely preempt local refusal but requires payment of a 3% local compensation fee.
The Dalton City Council voted to adopt a telecommunications application from a statewide fiber provider on June 2, approving resolution 25-05 that accepts the company’s application to place lines and facilities in the city’s right of way.
City staff told the council the request came from a company doing business in Georgia and regulated by the Georgia Public Service Commission; under the state law provision cited by staff, municipalities are largely preempted from denying such applications if the provider is certified and applies consistent with state requirements. Staff said the company must provide plans to Public Works before performing any right-of-way work and must pay due compensation of 3% of its recurring local service revenues.
"They are proposing to offer fiber optic network data services within the city limits of Dalton," a city staff member said during the presentation. The same staff member said Dalton Utilities had been briefed and that, "they would be a competitor to Dalton Utilities, but as I said earlier, we're sort of preempted by the state law."
The city attorney confirmed staff’s summary. Council members moved, seconded and voted to approve the resolution; there was no recorded public opposition in the meeting minutes.
The resolution requires the provider to comply with all applicable laws and regulations when placing lines or facilities in city rights of way and to remit the 3% due compensation consistent with the staff presentation. The council took the action after staff said the application met the procedural requirements spelled out in state law and after the city attorney affirmed that description.
No additional conditions, such as local franchise negotiations or project-specific limitations, were included in the resolution as presented to council.
