(A) A registrant that places or maintains communications facilities in the public rights-of-way shall be required to pay fees and taxes as required by applicable law and ordinances of the city, including this chapter.
(1) Pass-through providers shall pay to the city on an annual basis an amount equal to $500 per linear mile or portion thereof of communications facilities placed and/or maintained in the public rights-of-way. The amounts charged pursuant to this chapter shall be based on the linear miles of public rights-of-way or portion thereof, where communications facilities are placed, not based on a summation of the lengths of individual cables, conduits, strands or fibers.
(2) The city shall discontinue charging pass-through provider fees to a person that has ceased being a pass-through provider. Any annual amounts charged shall be reduced for a prorated portion of any 12-month period during which the pass-through provider remits communications services taxes imposed by the city pursuant to F.S. Chapter 202, as amended.
(3) The initial amount of pass-through provider fees shall be paid prior to issuance of a permit to a pass-through provider based on the facilities authorized to be installed in the public rights-of-way pursuant to the permit. The amount due may be modified based upon the as-builts submitted by the pass-through provider. Subsequent annual payments of pass-through provider fees shall be due and payable on October 1 of each year. Fees not paid within ten days after the due date shall bear interest at the rate of 1% per month from the date due until paid. The acceptance of any payment required hereunder by the city shall not be construed as an acknowledgement that the amount paid is the correct amount due, nor shall such acceptance of payment be construed as a release of any claim which the city may have for additional sums due and payable. All fee payments shall be subject to audit by the city, and assessment or refund if any payment is found to be in error. If such audit results in an assessment by and an additional payment to the city, such additional payment shall be subject to interest at the rate of 1% per month until the date payment is made. A pass-through provider shall provide an annual notarized statement identifying the total number of linear miles of pass-through facilities in the city's rights-of-way. Upon request from the city, limited to no more than once annually, a pass-through provider must provide reasonable access to maps of pass-through facilities located in the rights-of-way of the city. The scope of the request shall be limited to only those maps of pass-through facilities from which the calculation of the linear miles of pass-through facilities in the public rights-of-way can be determined. The request shall be accompanied by an affidavit that the person making the request is authorized by the city to review tax information related to the revenue and mileage calculations for pass-through providers.
(B) If the payments required by this section are not made within 90 days after the due date, the city may withhold the issuance of any permits to the registrant until the amount past due is paid in full, in addition to any other remedies available pursuant to this chapter and applicable law, including but not limited to drawing upon a registrant's permanent performance bond.
(C) The city shall not charge fees for registrations and to process applications for permits pursuant to this chapter to the extent such fees are not authorized by applicable law.
(Ord. O-2020-14, passed 10-7-20)