(A) (1) There is levied and established an annual occupational license fee, in the respective sums or amounts hereinafter specified, upon all persons doing or conducting any business in the City, which business may be herein or hereafter subject to the fee; and no person shall conduct any such business within the corporate limits of the City without first having paid the established fee and having obtained the prescribed license therefor.
(2) The license shall be required of any business entity residing outside the City or having a place of business outside the City limits, if the business entity shall engage in business as mentioned in this division in the City and who actually solicits and accepts business by holding himself out as engaging in the business, trade, occupation, vocation, calling or activity the same as any business entity residing in the City and engaged in a similar business, trade, occupation, vocation, calling or activity.
(B) Each operator of a farmer/flea market shall secure a business license under this section. Any business entity renting a booth space in a farmer/flea market shall also secure a separate business license. The license may be obtained either by paying a license fee at the rate of $25 per day or if longer than 3 consecutive days paying a fee for the City’s entire fiscal year or portion thereof.
(C) (1) Any business entity performing general contracting or sub-contracting services may obtain a temporary occupational license for $25 under the following conditions:
(a) The dollar value of the work performed is less than $2,500;
(b) The contractor did not have any occupational license in the City during the last fiscal year;
(c) The duration of time needed to complete the work is 3 days or less;
(d) The contractor’s business location is not in the City; and
(e) Any license issued under these conditions will only be valid for 3 days. If the work performed lasts longer than 3 days or if the contractor receives additional work in the City during the same fiscal year, he or she will pay the prorated amount of the annual fee minus the initial $25 fee.
(2) On work valued at more than $21,428, any person engaging in the business of contractor or builder under this section, who was not licensed as such for the preceding fiscal year, shall pay a tentative license fee based upon the total amount of contracts for work within the City held by him or her minus the dollar amount of the work contracted to other sub- contractors and shall furnish detailed information to the City’s Chief Financial Officer as to the exact amount. On or before April 15 for any year, the licensee shall furnish information to the Chief Financial Officer as to the exact amount of the Newport gross business receipts for the preceding year. The final license fee for the preceding year shall be based on this amount. If the final license fee is less than the tentative license fee, the excess amount shall be refunded to the licensee, but if it is more than the tentative fee, the licensee shall pay the excess amount on or before the appropriate due date. Before issuing this tentative license, the Chief Financial Officer may, in his or her discretion, require the applicant to execute bond to the City with good and sufficient surety to the effect that the final license fee will be paid in full.
(3) On work valued at more than $50,000, any person engaging in the business of contractor or builder under this section, who currently holds a valid City occupational license, shall pay a tentative license fee based upon the total amount of contracts for work within the City held by him or her minus the dollar amount of the work contracted to other sub-contractors and shall furnish detailed information to the City’s Chief Financial Officer as to the exact amount. On or before April 15 for any year, the licensee shall furnish information to the Chief Financial Officer as to the exact amount of the Newport gross business receipts for the preceding year. The final license fee for the preceding year shall be based on this amount. If the final license fee is less than the tentative license fee, the excess amount shall be refunded to the licensee, but if it is more than the tentative fee, the licensee shall pay the excess amount on or before the appropriate due date.
(4) Neither the Building Inspector or the Historic Preservation Officer of the City shall issue a permit or a certificate of appropriateness for the erection, construction, alteration of a building or a permit for any other operation for which a permit or a certificate of appropriateness is required, to a contractor who has not paid the license fee prescribed by this section, nor shall any officer, agent or employee of the City execute any contract with or purchase any material from a contractor or vendor who has not paid the license fee prescribed by this section.
(5) The Building Inspector or Historic Preservation Officer shall not issue any permit or Certificate of Appropriateness without first securing an affidavit of the cost from the contractor or builder and this affidavit or copy of it shall be made available by the building inspector to the City’s Chief Financial Officer. General contractors shall be required to give to the Building Inspector or Historic Preservation Officer a list of all subcontractors, the mailing address and the amount of their gross contracts when they are issued a building permit or a certificate of appropriateness for the job. A copy of the list shall be furnished to the City’s Chief Financial Officer. In the event all subcontractors and the amounts of their contracts have not been determined at the time the building permit is first issued, it shall be the duty of the general contractor to furnish the information immediately as it becomes available. Failure by the general contractor to provide this list of subcontractors or any use of unlicensed subcontractors by a general contractor shall be sufficient grounds for the City’s Building Inspector or Historic Preservation Officer to temporarily suspend all building permits or certificates of appropriateness until the time as all license fees are paid in full or the unlicensed subcontractors are removed from the job site.
(6) In addition, no permit or certificate of appropriateness will be issued to any general contractor who has indicated his or her intention to employ any other subcontractor who has failed, after appropriate notice on previous occasions, to pay any license fees prescribed by this division, by other ordinance or subsequent amendments to the ordinance. In the event any general contractor is observed employing any other subcontractor who has failed to pay previous license fees, this shall be sufficient grounds for the City’s Building Inspector or Historic Preservation Officer to temporarily suspend all building permits or certificates of appropriateness until the time as all license fees are paid in full or the subcontractor in violation is no longer employed on the job site.
(7) (a) Upon notice from the Chief Financial Officer that work on any building or structure is being performed in violation of this division, the work shall be immediately stopped. The stop-work order shall be in writing and shall be given to the owner of the property involved or to the owner’s agent or to the person doing the work and shall state the conditions under which work may be resumed.
(b) Any person who shall continue any work in or about the structure after having been served with a stop-work order, except the work as he or she is directed to perform to remove a violation or unsafe conditions, or anyone who alters, defaces or removes a stop-work order, shall be liable for the restraints provided in § 37.091.
(1995 Code, § 3.20.070) (Ord. O-94-27, passed - -; Am. Ord. O-2012-020, passed 9-24-2012)
Penalty, see § 37.999