(a) Compensation. As compensation for the Municipality’s costs to administer Chapter 917, manage, administer and control the Rights of Way and maintain each Certificate of Registration issued, every Provider or any Person operating a System shall pay to the Municipality Registration Maintenance Fees beginning on or about the effective date of Chapter 917. The Registration Maintenance Fee shall be determined and assessed to Providers and other Persons operating a System or otherwise using and occupying the Rights of Way in accordance with the following process and formula:
(1) Each year the municipality shall calculate all actual and incurred costs associated with Rights of Way management, administration and control for the previous calendar year that the Municipality was not able to reasonably recover through Construction Permit Fees or other recovery mechanisms provided for in Chapter 917.
(2) Providers and Applicants, as required in Section 917.04(b), shall accurately inform the municipality upon application for a Certificate of Registration, when requested by the municipality or when changes occur, of the number of miles (rounded up to the nearest mile) of Right of Way the Provider’s System then occupied as of the immediately previous December 1st.
(3) The Municipality shall total the entire number of miles of Right of Way reported as being used or occupied by all Providers.
(6) The Municipality shall perform its annual calculation of Registration Maintenance Fees after January 1. Registration Maintenance Fees shall be invoiced to Providers during the first quarter of each calendar year and shall be due thirty (30) days following receipt.
(7) Cable companies operating under non-exclusive Cable Franchises for the purposes of providing Cable Service, Video Services Provider operating under a VSA for the purpose of providing Video Services, and providers of Open Video System services, which compensate the Municipality under other mechanisms in an amount equal to or greater than the Annual Registration Maintenance Fee that would normally be required for their Right of Way use in The Municipality, shall have the mileage of the Right of Way they use and/or occupy included in the calculations described in Section 917.05, but shall not be required to contribute to the recovery of Rights of Way Costs as defined by Chapter 917 with the exception of Permit Costs.
(8) The Municipality shall charge an individual Utility for any expense that can be attributed solely to that Utility. This charge shall be specifically identified on the Annual Registration Fee Invoice and not used in the annual Registration Fee calculations.
(9) The Municipality may by separate legislation enacted by Municipal Council on or about April 1st of each year, in accordance with the results of Section 917.05(a)(4), enact an initial and thereafter a new annual Registration Maintenance Fee (per mile) by appropriately increasing or decreasing the previous year’s Registration Maintenance Fee (per mile). Revised Registration Maintenance Fees shall be effective upon passage.
(b) Timing. Registration Maintenance Fees shall be paid in full for the first year of the registration as a condition of the Certificate of Registration becoming effective. Fees may be prorated from the effective date of the Certificate of Registration to the end of the calendar year if less than one (1) full year.
(c) Taxes and Assessments. To the extent taxes or other assessments are imposed by taxing authorities on the use of Municipality property as a result of a Provider's use or occupation of the Rights of Way, the Provider shall be responsible for payment of such taxes. Such payments shall be in addition to any other fees payable pursuant to Chapter 917 and shall not be considered an offset to, or in lieu of, the fees and charges listed in Chapter 917. The Registration Maintenance Fee is not in lieu of any tax, fee, or other assessment except as specifically provided in Chapter 917, or as required by applicable Law.
(d) Interest on Late Payments. In the event that any Registration Maintenance Fee is not paid to the Municipality by January 31, the Provider shall pay a monthly late charge of one percent (1%) of the unpaid balance for each month or any portion thereof for which payment is not made.
(e) No Accord and Satisfaction. No acceptance by the Municipality of any Registration Maintenance Fee shall be construed as an accord that the amount paid is in fact the correct amount, nor shall such acceptance of such Registration Maintenance Fee payment be construed as a release of any claim the Municipality may have for additional sums payable.
(Ord. 2021-31. Passed 4-12-21.)