HomeMy WebLinkAboutMC-297U
.
;
'.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
. I
ORDINANCE NO. "C-.2 9 7
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 3.44
OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCREASE THE SERVICE USERS
TAX FROM SIX PERCENT TO EIGHT PERCENT, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 1983,
TO PROVIDE THAT REFUNDS OF LOW INCOME SERVICE USERS TAXES SHALL
TERMINATE ON DECEMBER 31, 1983, TO PROVIDE FOR EXEMPTION OF LOW
INCOME SERVICE USERS FROM SERVICE USERS TAXES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1,
1984, TO PROVIDE FOR CAPPING OF CHARGES AND ESTABLISHING SUNSET
PROVISIONS, AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF.
THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3.44.030 Subsection A is amended to read
as follows:
"A. A tax is imposed upon every person in the City using
intrastate telephone communication services in the City. The tax
imposed by this section shall be at the rate of eight percent of
the charges made for such services and shall be paid by the person
paying for such services."
SECTION 2. Section 3.44.040 Subsection A is amended to read
as follows:
"A. A tax is imposed upon every person in the City using
services from a closed circuit system (CATV services) of a
television cable company in the City. The tax imposed by this
section shall be at the rate of eight percent of the charges made
for such services and shall be paid by the person paying for such
services."
SECTION 3. Section 3.44.050 Subsection A is amended to read
as follows:
"A. A tax is imposed upon every person in the City using
electrical energy in the City. The tax imposed by this section
shall be at the rate of eight percent of the charges made for such
energy and shall be paid by the person paying for such energy.
MC-297
"
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
,
'Charges', as used in this section, shall include charges made for
(1) metered energy and (2) minimum charges for services, including
customer charges, service charges, demand charges, standby charges
and annual and monthly charges."
SECTION 4. Section 3.44.060 Subsection A is amended to read
as follows:
"A. A tax is imposed upon every person in the City using gas
which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by
this section shall be at the rate of eight percent of the charges
made for such gas and shall be paid by the person paying for such
gas. "
SECTION 5. Section 3.44.140 Subsection A of the San
Bernardino Municipal Code is amended to read:
"A. A refund of all taxes due and paid under the provisions
of this chapter for utility services rendered on and after July 1,
1975, and through June 30, 1983, and a refund based on the average
monthly payment of taxes for utility services rendered from
July 1, 1983 through December 31, 1983, shall be made whenever all
of the following occur:
1. The annual gross income of the household in which one
person lives is less than six thousand dollars for the claimant's
last preceding federal or state personal income tax reporting
period; or
2. The annual gross income of the household in which a
married couple or family lives is less than nine thousand dollars
for all household occupants' last preceding federal or state
personal income tax reporting period; and
3. Claimant makes application and files a verified
-2-
.
MC-297
,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
claim in writing with the Director of Finance at City Hall for
such refund upon a claim form provided by said director; and
4. The claim is approved by said director as being in
conformance with this subsection.
Only one member of each household may file a claim
and only one claim may be filed for each individual household."
SECTION 6. Section 3.44.140 Subsection D of the San
Bernardino Municipal Code is amended to read:
"D. The claim for such refund, for the preceding twelve-
month period ending on June 30th, shall be made only during the
month of September or October of each year, and must be
accompanied by a copy of the utility bills, together with proof
that the utility taxes have been paid by the claimant or some
member of the household.
In order to convert from the refund procedure
established by this section to the exemption procedure established
in Section 3.44.144, the claim for a refund for the preceding six-
month period ending December 31, 1983, shall also be made during
the months of September and October, 1983. The amount of refund
shall be computed by the Finance Director and shall be based on
the average monthly payment of utility taxes paid during the
preceding twelve months ending June 3D, 1983. The decision of the
Finance Director as to the amount of refund to be made shall be
final.
No refund shall be made on any claim made pursuant to
this section which is filed or postmarked later than the thirty-
first day of October, 1983."
SECTION 7. Section 3.44.144 is added to the San Bernardino
-3-
MC-29r
1 Municipal Code to read:
2 "Section 3.44.144 Exemption for household service users -
3 Low income.
4 A. Effective January 1, 1984, the tax imposed by this
5 chapter shall not apply to any individual who uses telephone,
6 electric, gas or cable television services in or upon any premises
7 occupied by such individual provided that the following conditions
8 are satisified.
9 1. The annual gross income of the household in which
10 one person lives is less than nine thousand dollars for the
11 claimant's last preceding federal or state personal income tax
12 reporting period; or
13 2. The annual gross income of the household in which a
14 married couple or family lives is less than twelve thousand
15 dollars for all household occupants' last preceding federal or
16 state personal income tax reporting period; and
17 3. The conditions of Section 3.44.140 Subsection A,
18 paragraphs 3 and 4, and Subsections B, C, and F are satisfied,
19 with the word 'claimant' therein referring to the individual
20 applying for exemption.
21 B. Any person claiming exemption pursuant to this section
22 shall file a claim for exemption during the months of September or
23 October of 1983, and each year thereafter, for exemption for the
24 subsequent calendar year.
25 An application for exemption shall be made upon forms
26 supplied by the Finance Director and shall declare facts under
27 oath which qualify the applicant for the exemption.
28 C. The Finance Director or his designee shall review all
-4-
KC-297
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
applications for exemption, certify as exempt those applicants who
qualify, and notify all service suppliers affected that such
exemptions have been approved, stating the name of the exempt
applicant, the account number shown on the utility bill, the
address to which exempt service is being supplied, and any other
information necessary for the service supplier to remove the
exempt service user from its tax billing procedure.
Upon receipt of notice from the Finance Director, the
service supplier shall not be required to collect any further tax
imposed by this chapter from such exempt service user until
further notice from the Finance Director.
D. All exemptions shall expire on December 31st of the year
for which they are issued unless application for renewal is made
before the preceding October 31st. The Finance Director shall
notify each service supplier by January 1st of each year to resume
taxing the accounts of those service users who have not applied
for renewal of their exempt status or whose applications for
renewal have been denied. Upon receipt of the written
notification, these service suppliers shall resume taxing those
accounts affected commencing with the first billing period
beginning on and after January 1.
Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section,
any service supplier who determines during any calendar year by
any means readily available to it that a nonexempt service user is
receiving service through a meter or connection exempt by virtue
of an exemption issued to a previous user of the same meter or
connection, the service supplier shall forthwith resume the
collection of taxes imposed by this chapter upon the nonexempt
-5-
MC-297
1 service user.
2 E. Any individual who has been exempted from the tax shall
3 notify the Finance Director within ten days of any change of
4 address or any other change in fact or circumstance which might
5 disqualify that individual from receiving the exemption. If it is
6 determined by the Finance Director that the individual is no
7 longer qualified, the Finance Director shall give notice to the
8 service supplier who shall resume collection of the tax imposed by
9 this chapter commencing with the next billing period. If the user
10 is entitled to exemption at a new address, the Finance Director
11 shall notify affected service suppliers of that fact.
12 F. It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly
13 receive the benefits of the exemptions provided by this section
14 when the basis for the exemption either does not exist or ceases
15 to exist.
16 The Finance Director may from time to time, or at any
17 time, demand evidence of continued eligibility of a service user
18 for exemption under the provisions of this section. Such evidence
19 may include, without limit, copies of business records, letters or
20 statements from the Social Security Administration, copies of
21 income tax returns, and other evidence concerning the service user
22 or members of his household which may tend to prove or disprove
23 eligibility. Failure to provide sufficient evidence to establish
24 eligibility when requested by the Finance Director shall be
25 grounds for denial or discontinuance of the service users'
26 exemption, but evidence voluntarily provided to the Finance
27 Director may only be used as grounds for termination of the
28 exemption and not as evidence of violation of the provisions of
-6-
MC-2~7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
.' ,
this section.
If the Finance Director determines that an application
for exemption is faulty or untruthful, the application shall be
denied in writing and the applicant may file an amended
application or appeal the decision of the Finance Director to the
City Administrator, whose decision shall be final.
G. No individual shall be exempt from the tax imposed by
this chapter except in accordance with this section. The
provisions of this section shall not apply retroactively, and no
refund shall be made for any taxes paid prior to the issuance and
effective date of an exemption granted by the Finance Director,
nor shall any refund be made for any taxes collected during any
period in which an exemption from the Finance Director was not in
effect or had lapsed by failure to apply for renewal."
SECTION 8. Section 3.44.160 is added to the San Bernardino
Municipal Code to read:
"3.44.160 Setting aside increase (Sunset provision).
In the event the beginning undesignated fund balance for the
City of San Bernardino's General Fund in the 1984-1985 preliminary
or final budget, as in effect on July 1, 1984, is more than five
percent of the proposed expenditures and obligations of the
General Fund for that budget, as determined by a written
declaration filed by the Director of Finance with the City Clerk,
the tax imposed in this chapter shall be reduced to six percent
for all services effective upon the first billings after July 1,
1984."
SECTION 9. Effect of increase in charges (capping). The tax
increase imposed by this ordinance is intended to meet the fiscal
needs of the City based upon current rates and charges for
-7-
MC-29'l
, ,
.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
"
telephone, cable television, electrical and gas services to
inhabitants of the City.
In the event these rates and charges, or
any combination thereof, are increased significantly above current
levels, the Director of Finance shall report such fact to the
Mayor and Common Council, which shall consider appropriate action.
SECTION 10. Urgency. This ordinance is adopted as an
urgency measure, inasmuch as it provides for a tax levy for the
usual and current expenses of the City, and shall take effect and
become operative on October 1, 1983. The facts constituting such
urgency are that an increase in the rate of the service users tax
to eight percent is necessary to provide sufficient revenue to
balance the 1983-1984 fiscal budget of the City of San Bernardino
which was approved July 1, 1983 and so that sufficient revenue can
be collected to meet the financial obligations and indebtedness of
the City being incurred. Without urgent adoption, this tax would
not be effective as of October 1, 1983.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly
adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San
Bernardino at an adlourned reqular
meeting thereof, held on
the 3rd
day of
August
, 1983, by the following vote,
to wit:
AYES:
Council Members Castaneda, Reilly, Marks,
Quiel, Frazier, StrickJ.er
NAYS:
Council Me~her Hernandez
ABSENT:
none
~&/?d/ U.d1b'
/ City Clerk
. . . . .
-8-
MC-.2~7
.' , .
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
.
.
. .
. '~.
The foregoing ordinance is
of P\'ugust
, 1983.
Approved as to form:
//f~~~
City A torney
day
-9-