(A) (1) There is hereby levied and shall be collected a charge against residential users of municipal services situated within the city for essential municipal services, including police protection, fire protection, street lighting, street maintenance, street cleaning, street improvements, ambulance service, recreation and garbage and refuse collection, (excluding sewage and sewage disposal and other essential municipal services). The charge for such services shall be at the rate of $25 per month for each single-family unit residence, per unit, and for each multiple-family dwelling or apartment house, per each residential unit or apartment, whether or not occupied; provided, that in accordance with division (F) below, the foregoing charge for municipal services may be revised without further amendment to this division (A); provided however, that on and after March 1, 2009, the record owner of the property upon which a single-family residence, multi-family dwelling or apartment house is situated shall pay the charge imposed by this section on each of those properties.
(2) There is hereby levied and shall be collected a charge against commercial users of municipal services situated within the city for essential municipal services, including police protection, fire protection, street lighting, street maintenance, street cleaning, street improvements, ambulance service, recreation and garbage and refuse collection, (excluding sewage and sewage disposal and other essential municipal services). The minimum charge for such services shall be at a rate of $25 per month for each commercial business, per unit, and in buildings where there are more than one commercial business unit, firm or corporation, each unit or business unit, firm or corporation, shall be considered as a separate unit with respect to service rendered under the terms hereof, and with the duty of subscribing for service and paying for service to the respective commercial unit; provided, that in accordance with division (F) below, the foregoing charge for municipal services may be revised without further amendment to this division (A); provided however, that on and after March 1, 2009, the record owner of the property upon which a commercial business unit or multi-business complex is situated shall pay the charge imposed by this section on each of those properties. Any business establishment requiring collection of garbage or refuse more frequently than once a week or having more than 100 pounds per week shall enter into a separate agreement with the City Treasurer for said collection. The minimum monthly charge of $25 is hereby levied and shall be collected against all business entities within the city; provided, that the minimum monthly fee levied against business entities that contracts with others for garbage and refuse collection shall be $5 less than the minimum monthly charge levied and collected against business entities within the city that use city services for garbage and refuse collection.
(B) The City Treasurer shall be charged with the duty of mailing a statement on a monthly basis to each residence and business to be charged with the municipal fee hereby imposed for the fee due for the preceding month, but failure to mail any statement for monthly charges shall not be grounds for avoiding payment. A statement shall be mailed by the Treasurer at least as frequently as once each month and any such statement may be consolidated by the Treasurer with statements for other municipal fees and services due from such person or business entity. If a monthly statement is mailed by the Treasurer, it may be mailed each month on a date selected by the Treasurer but the Treasurer shall render the monthly billing to such person or business entity in a uniform manner so that each monthly bill is mailed at intervals of approximately 30 days.
(C) Subject to such reasonable regulations as may be promulgated by the City Treasurer and approved by City Council, the record owner of the property upon which a single-family residence or business is situated shall be presumed to be the user of municipal service rendered for the benefit of such property or business and the record owner shall be liable to the city for such charges; the tenants or occupants of the business units or of the multi-business complex or residential units of a multi-family dwelling or apartment house shall be presumed to be the users of such municipal services and shall be liable to the city for such charges. However, in the event that a business unit or business unit of a multi- business complex or a residential unit of a multi-family dwelling or apartment house is temporarily unoccupied, then and in that event, the record owner of the property upon which such multi-business unit or multi-family dwelling or apartment house is situated shall be presumed to be the user of the municipal services provided to each such unoccupied unit and shall be liable to the city for such charges. Subject to such reasonable regulations as may be promulgated by the City Treasurer as aforesaid, the record owner of the property upon which such multi-business unit, multi-family dwelling or apartment house is situated shall be charged with the responsibility of collecting in advance, the charge imposed by this section from the tenants or occupants of such business units, dwelling units or apartments and properly remitting same to the City Treasurer and shall be liable to the city in the amount of such charges for failure to do so or for failure to maintain adequate records from which such liability may be ascertained; provided, that on and after March 1, 2009, the record owner of the property upon which a business unit, multi-business complex, single-family residence, multi-family dwelling or apartment house is situated is presumed to be the user of the services for which the municipal service fee is imposed and shall pay the charge imposed by this section on each of those properties, shall properly remit all municipal service fees due and payable to the City Treasurer no later than the final day of the month for which the municipal service fee was imposed, and shall be liable to the city for the amount of charges not remitted or for failure to maintain adequate records from which such liability may be ascertained.
(D) When the aggregate gross income during the preceding calendar year of all persons residing in a single-family residential unit located in the city was less than $16,000, the municipal service fee to such single-family residential unit during the current year shall be reduced to an amount that is $10 less per month than the amount charged for residential units that do not qualify for the reduced rate; provided, that in order to qualify for such reduced rate, all of the residents who occupy such single- family residential unit, and who were employed at any time during the preceding year, shall join in making an application for such reduced rate to the City Treasurer and shall file an affidavit providing all relevant facts; provided however, that all such residents shall attach to the application a copy of each Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 ES filed by and each Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 received by each of the residents demonstrating all estimated income tax payments made and all wages earned during the calendar year preceding the current year in which application is made; provided further, that in order for a previously qualified residential unit to continue to receive the reduced rate, a new application with all supporting documentation shall be filed with the City Treasurer in the manner stated in this division (D).
(1) For owner occupied single-family residences, on and after March 1, 2009, the City Treasurer shall notify the record owner if the qualifications are satisfied and, if those qualifications are satisfied, the record owner shall pay the reduced municipal service fee.
(2) For single-family residential units occupied by tenants, on and after March 1, 2009, the City Treasurer shall inform the record owner of each single-family residential unit that qualifies for the reduced municipal service fee and the record owner of that property shall pay the reduced municipal service fee for each qualified single-family residential unit.
(3) The rate and charge shall become effective retroactively to the first day of the calendar quarter in which such application is made and the affidavit with supporting documentation is filed. In the event any person making application for reduced charges shall submit any false, erroneous or untrue information relative to the eligibility or qualifications of the applicant for such reduced charges as set forth herein, any such person supplying such false, erroneous or untrue information shall be subject to a penalty equal to 150% of the prevailing rate then in effect and the property wherein that person resides shall not be eligible for the reduced municipal service fee.
(E) The City Treasurer is hereby authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for him or her to determine, and he or she shall determine, the classification of businesses, residences, multiple dwellings, business complexes and other buildings and premises for the application of rates, fees and charges established by any schedule, enacted by Council pursuant to this section; and any person or business feeling aggrieved by the application of any such rule or regulation of the City Treasurer to any rate, fee or charge sought to be collected from it or him or her by the City Treasurer shall have the burden of proof to show that the City Treasurer’s rule or regulation is erroneous.
(F) The City Treasurer shall annually, but no later than March 1, compose and provide to the City Council for Council’s authorization a schedule of rates, fees and charges to be imposed under this section and § 50.25 for the forthcoming fiscal year. Council may revise or authorize without revision the schedule of rates, fees and charges so as to assure that costs will be distributed as equitably as possible among all businesses and residents of the city on the basis of benefit received. At no time, however, shall rates be continued that are disclosed to be producing less revenue than is required to meet all obligations and costs involved in rendering services to the public.
(Prior Code, § 741.01) (Ord. 09-01, passed 2-17-2009; Ord. 15-, passed 6-16-2015)