SR-8-A (199)
F:atty\muni\strpts\mjm\taxpen.sr
City Council Meeting 6-27-95
8A
Santa Monica, California
JUN 2 7 1995
TO: Mayor and city Council
FROM: city Attorney
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending sections 2 and 3 of Ordinance
Number 725 (CCS) Reestablishing A Penalty for
Nonpayment of Assessments Due in the Downtown
Parking and Business Improvement Area
Introduction
The Finance Department has requested that Ordinance Number 725
(CCS) be amended to include a penalty provision for businesses
which do not pay on time the assessment created by Ordinance Number
725 (CCS).
In response to this direction, the accompanying
ordinance has been prepared and is presented to the City Council
for its consideration.
Discussion
The Downtown Parking and Business Improvement Area was created by
Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) at the request of the Santa Monica
Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the downtown merchants. Ordinance
Number 725 (CCS) established an assessment to be levied on the
businesses within the district, which is used for the general
promotion of retail trade activities in the area. The city acts as
the collector of the assessment and retains 1% of assessments to
offset collection costs.
Ninety-nine percent
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(99%) of the
JUN 2 7 1995
8A
..
assessment funds go to the Chamber of Commerce which administers
them on behalf of the downtown merchants.
Currently Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) provides that for failure to
pay the assessment on the due dates penalties will be exacted as
set forth in Municipal Code Sections 6109 and 6112. since the
adoption of this Ordinance on November 22, 1966, the Municipal Code
has undergone revision and renumbering. In addition, in a general
revision to the City's business license code, sections 6109 and
6112 were repealed by ordinance on May 8, 1990. Therefore,
although Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) is still in effect, the penalty
provision has been rendered ineffective.
According to the Business License Office, 506 businesses pay the
assessment created by Ordinance Number 725 (CCS). As of June,
1995, 50 of those businesses were delinquent in paying the
assessment due on March 10, 1995. The Business License Office
would like to collect these assessments and believes that it would
have a better chance of doing so if a penalty was included in
Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) for nonpayment. The two other Parking
and Business Improvement Areas, Main street and Montana Avenue,
have the penalty incorporated into the ordinances which establish
them. Penalties are charged as prescribed by each of those
ordinances.
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The accompanying ordinance amends section 2 of Ordinance Number 725
(CCS) by addinq a sentence which creates a penalty for nonpayment
(15% of the amount of the assessment plus an additional 5% for each
month or portion of a month thereafter that the assessment is not
paid). The ordinance also amends Sections 2 and 3 to reflect that
Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) created an assessment, not an additional
business license tax.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be
introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY:
Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Claudia Thompson, Legal Admin. Staff Asst.
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F:atty\muni\laws\mjm\taxpen
city Council Meeting 6-27-95
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(city Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SECTIONS 2 AND 3 OF ORDINANCE
NUMBER 725 (CCS) REESTABLISHING A PENALTY
FOR NONPAYMENT OF ASSESSMENTS DUE IN THE
DOWNTOWN PARKING AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREA
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of Ordinance Number 725 (CCS) is hereby
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 2 .
That in addi tion to the
general business license tax (sometimes called
busl'ness ll'cense fee) an _..::I..3~.~___' 1..n~~__~~
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li.::::::~=::: ~::.:: ~~aa..:..:n("'r&t is hereby imposed upon
merchants holding a retails sales tax permit
and occupying premises in the area. The
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~~~u5~~cnL shall be at
the rate of 1/15 of 1% of taxable sales
(taxable sales as defined by the Sales and Use
Tax Law), subject to an annual maximum
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fee of $1,000.
Said
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shall be payable March
10
and
1
October 10 of each year and shall be computed
on the taxable sales occurring during the six
month periods, January 1 through June 30 and
July 1 through December 31, preceding the
payment dates of March 10 and October 10
respectively.
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ncq: ti':"'u:'nt of tht' .1~i~~('~~:i .l(~I':r.. on t:-.(; C";.l.(' 1,.,'LC
fitul1 ut.. ti!tr-(",i"1 }'JI.::n;..mt \l:.i, cr 'tt:L: .;-.)',nt
or tl:c .HLI n::."':: a .nt I' llu; an ....Jd 1 t i 01..' 1 t: o/c"
pct"cc..nt (~Jt J 01 tl':c u.r.cuil~ c...l tl1C .t,j.:.::C'.:H.~.-'..nt.
[CC oach month or p:>rt i en thcl"("IC f tho]!; t~~c
cu;~;c.c..i!~..mt id: unt,..ll i ;.:ft!?r ~hC' duc: datr.!'",
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no Cdca sh~11 the totrll pcn~lty ~xc(rJ LlTt~
pc::c..::cnt (~::t) vt tt:c ori~.:Jlnc.il ~':'o...n~ duoJ.
SECTION 2. section 3 of Ordinance Number 725 (ees) is hereby
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 3,
That the use to which the
proceeds of the
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~=.:: ;M:.ofo~[:r"ont, less one percent (1%) thereof
as the cost of collection, shall be put is the
payment of contract fees to the Santa Monica
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Chamber of Commerce for general promotion of
retail trade activities in the area as
prescribed by contract between the City and
said Chamber of Commerce.
SECTION 4. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code
or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this
Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is
hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the
provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The city Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
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within 15 days after its adoption.
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
!l~<t~~~
MARSHA JO~~~MOUTRIE .
city Attorney
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This Ordinance shall become