Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/28/2004 - STAFF REPORTS (12) tmerge cy communcal aria toner aria Is emerge communicalron system(herein"Emergency Comor System"),the City must impose a fee for such enhanced orma.or, WHEREAS,the City's Emergency Communication Sys provides immediate access to emergency services for I phone subscribers Subscribers to telephone service de significant benefit from the operation of the integrated rem installed at the Emergency Communications Came PROOF OF PUBLICATION This is space for County the City of Springs Telephone subscribers will benefit, upgrading and then maintaining the improved Emerge (2UIS.S.C.C.P) Commummotion System so operates at a state of th level and will further benefit from maintaining the bac Emergency Communication System or providing a backup Emergency Communication System and facility can be immediately available and operational in the ever a failure The coals tv,,ro aced with upgrading and there. operating and maintaining the Emergency ommumc System and facility and backup Emergency Communice System and facility should be allocated among all toopt subscribers because telephone subscribers will reap 11 significant benefits. WHEREAS,the Emergency Communications Center is renlly staffed by fourteen(14)dispatchers and two(2) STATE OF CALIFORNIA supervisors.The dispatchers are the front line to public -CISIIat fRii'el'Slde — -_ - - _ _ safety and receive the fist call for emergency Service,I y n - to increased population and service many times swped ers must place emergency calls on hold to handle radio and telephone traffic This in turn causes delays in eme Reny response and service to the community This Emergency Response Fee may also be used to land ne _________________dispatchers and supervisors. WHEREAS,the purpose of this Ordinance is to require scribers to telephone service in the City of Palm Spin pay a service or user fee(the"Emergency Response I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of Proof of Publics jryet;mpmv mand to tend operation subscribers eupgraded the Comity aforesaid;I am over the age of eighteen ____________________improved Emergency ad systems that w U,.dead by those fee revenues The Emergency Reap years,and not a party to or interested in the Fee is the most practical and equitable revenue mocha above-entitled matter.I am the principal clerk of a m finance scrape, acquisition and at are need or land,e p p merit,finance th and sition es that are needed to proland, a printer of the,DESERT SUN PUBLISHING adequate and reliable emergency communication sy 1 and to operate that emergency communication system COMPANY a newspaper of general circulation, fee Is intended to recover all costs related to the benefit Emergency Communication Systems will provide to printed and published in the city of Palm Springs, exempt telephone subscribers, inewtlmg but net emit the operation of the Emergency Commun¢aeon Center Comity of Riverside,and which newspaper has been fees imposed by the previsions of this Ordinance she erseed the reasonable test of providing the per adjudged a newspaper of general circulation by the described. Superior Court of the County of Riverside,State of WHEREAS,the provsion5 of This Ordnance are not e California under the date of March 24,1988.Case ad for general revenue purposes The lee is not do. nor intended to recover the expense of capture,dote Number 191236;that the notice,of which the and provocation of persons charged with crimes Th annexed is a printed copy(set in type not smaller nasame pulhe p provision. dassz y uiuny UseiT xc urraairy net than non irlel,has been published in each regular ai in the City of Palm springs.The funds forme utility Ups P g /d�' are deposited into the City'.General Fund and are u and entire issue of said an an newspaper d not in for general governmental purposes,whereas fees toll y at under this Ordinance are used only for the specific purr supplement thereof on the following dates,to wit: , ; ii described harem y WHEREAS, this is not a property-based fee, nor ra Aug 7th increased is service tax,but instead is a fee based on use of a a -------_------------------------------_---------------_------- NOW,THEREFORE,the City C of the ly o Springs,California,does ordain ess follows -------_------------------------------_---------------_-------- Section 2.The City Council of the City of Palm Springs that the above recitals are true and correct All in the year 2004 1 certify(or declare)ender penalty of perjury that the hereby Amended tooaddl'a new Springs 3 Municipal m d foregoing is true and correct. entirely as follows "EMERGENCY RESPONSE FEE" Dated at Palm Springs,California this-----loth____day Sections 3.39 010 Title/Purpose 3 39 020 Definitions 339.030 Findings of --------An ll� / --------------7------,2004 3.39.0401mposi ron of Emergency Response Fee 3 39.050 Exemptions t � 3 39 060 Annual Report. _ 3.39 060 Collection of Fee x--__, 3 es ons Emergency Communications Emergency g _______-------------------------- Response Fund 3 39 100 Regilitystration, for Fee Si, 3 39 110 Interest and Reporting and Remitting. 3 39 110 Interest and Penalties 3.39 Fee 0 Failure to Collect and Resod Fee,Determmi of of Fee 0 Finance Director 3.39140 R.fhnds t 3 39,150 Administrative to Pay Fee,Agreements Remedy 3.39.160 Administrative Agreements 3 39 010 Californiau Public Utilrfes Commission Junsd 3 39 010 Title/Purpose A.In order to ensureand improve the performance City's Emergency Communication System, the Of, impose a fee This Chapter shall be known "Emergency Response Fee Ordnance"and the lee in harem shall be known as the"Emergency Response l� C Only-0ns payment of the tee hemm imposed shall ha Psi,far any access or trunk line,nc:wlihslentllny that 6 Is purpose purpose of Ihis Chapter is to requite suhscribers to __, _ _ access Imes of more Ihan one person sic used iu(urmehmg telephone service rn Ins Cly fo pay e lee which Is dlreelly J mary Public Safety Answering Point(PSAP)by which 0-1-1 local telephone service to a telephone subscriber related to iha benefit subscribers derive from the lmmove" calls from wireless telephones are geographically routed to ...to fo and operation of the Emergency Communication' the Emergency Communications Center for handing s Revenues generated by the emergency response fee System that WIII be financed by fee revenues. shall be deposited m the Emergency Response Fund esiab- Y lished pursuant to - - - ---d K."Cperat costs"means any oasis to operate,repair or G The Emergency Response Fec is the most practical and maintain the Emergency Commumcation System or backup' equitable revenue mechanism a finance the acquisition and Emergency Commumcation System,mclutlrng but not IimiF, Section 3.39.000. consiruchon of land, equipment, software, and lacllllres ed to casts for personnel,planning,framing,software and which are neetletl to provide an adequzin antl reliable hardware maintenance and upgrades, Joel" maintenance 3 39.050 Exemptions Emergency Communicalion System under a single uniform and repair, depreciation equipment replacement, lechmcal management structure and to operate that Emergency infrastructure,attorneys fees,and direct and indirect costs Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as imposing a Communication System The tee is intended to recover all fee upon the access lines of casts related to the benefits the City's Emergency L "Project costs"means any costs of acquiring,refinancing' Comm m ucation System will provide to nonexempt telephone and developing land on when to locate a Emergency A.A lifeline customer of a service supplier,or subscribers. Communication System facility or new backup Emergency B Atelephone corporation,or .The fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter IS Communication System facility,acquiring and installing tom- D putenzed call delivery processing and dispatch equipment C.Coin-operated telephones;or Intended solely to provide revenue for eligible Licht[costs and software, and/or any other acquisition or construction p p and eligible operating costs,as defined in this hapter.Fee necessary to house Emergency Communication System D.A nonprofit hospital which is exam t from federal income revenues shall be deposited by the Finance Director in the equipment and staff in a smarnrcally safe and fireproof facili- Emergency Response Fund established pLiamam tt Section ty,including any debt service payments related thereto fax under Sections501(a)of the United Stales Code,or 3,39 080 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code.The provi- sions of this Chapter are not enacted for general revenue M "Scrvics location"'means the premises of a telephone E.A nonprofit educational organizationwhich is exempt - purposes The moneys in the Emergency Response Fund , subscriber at which a working service point or pnmary station from income tax under Section 501(a)of the United States shall be used solely for the purposes set led in this Chapter set provides the subscriber with basic exchange service and Cotle,or 3 39.02o Definitions to which extension services are charged E Any person when imposition of such fee upon that par- 3 "Service supplier"means any person supplying local tale- son would violate the Constitution of the United Slates,the Except where the context or articular rovisions require Constitution of the Store of California,or preemptive federal othep P P phone service, pursuant to authority granted by the -or State law..burden of the following dahnitlons shall govern the con- Sanatoria Public iUndieson with CoheCity f to any t rings.ne sub- - - -- slruction o7 -this' , Chapter scriber at a location within the Ply of Palm Springs.Service 3 39 060 Annual Report q "Access Line" means any connection from a customer suppliers may inclutle,without hunched,local exchange car - - nere,interexchange carriers,competitive access Lawrence, A No later than March 1st of each yeaq the France Dneclor location within the City to a provider of local telephone serv- cable television providers offering telecommunications sew shall eatensin fe theMarch ISpercentage 01 access lines that were sub- ice offered to the public for compensation Within the mean- ices, and any other entity offering direct connections mg of this Chapter, and without limitation, access Imes between their premises and the premises of telephone suin jest immediately payment of the emergency a rcenta a fee ll be i the include connections pur tong iesden9al basic,exchange scribers. edathe prior ntfisag year projhisect percentage shall be rden- service,business basic exchange service,PBX service(of]- vote branch exchange), foreign exchange service antl p "Telephone corporation"shall have the same meani I that are eligible project costs and eligible operating costs for ng Cenlrex service. as defined in Section Ede of the Fuchs Utilities Code of the the following fiscal year The Finance Directors report shall State of California or the most comparable successor den- also identify the a f Sack amount of the tee cap apply in the fol- c "Eligible refl operating costs"means the portion id operating bye anion p to subsection B.of Section 3.39.0401ha1 will apply in the fol- costs rellecling the benefit estimated to be provided by the i lowing calendar year operation of the City's Emergency Communication System P"Telephone subscriber"means any person required to B No later than March 1 in each odd numbered year,the to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the lee pay a fee rmptsed under the provisions of this Chapter Finance Director will evaluate Information from industry imposed by the provisions o1 Ifis Chapter on access knee and trunk Imes subject 10 inn fee.Eligible operating costs q,^Trunk Line"means a line between a service supplier's sources,regulatory bodies and City experience to near- shall not include exempt operating costs switching device and a private branch exchange,automatic, sonablymice whether the lee rates for trunk lines continue be rea- call dislnbutmgg system,or other similar device,at a tele- Emerge palled the increased estimated access ft lna C "Emergency Communications Center"means a commum- phone subscnber location Emergency Communication System provided to trunk tine cottons facility that is assigned the responsibility to receive subscribers relative to access line subscribers. 911 calls and other emergency response calls originating In 3.39 030 Findings. 3.39.075 Callectice of Fee a given area and,as appropriate,to dispatch public safely services or to extend, transfer,or relay 911 calls or other A The Emergency Communication System provides imme A The fee imposed by this Chapter shall be collected from emergency response calls to appropriate public safety agen- diets m access to emergency services for telephone sub the telephone subscnber by the servce Supplier Service suppliers shall hold fee revenues in trust for the City and ties.Within the meaning of this Chapter,and without limits- scribers Subscribers to telephone service derive srgmfican lion, Emergency Commumcation Center shall mean the benefit from ongoing operation of the modernized integrates shall remit the lee revenues collected to the Cry Finance City of Palm Springs Emergency Communications Center system.This improved Emergency Communication System Department m a monthly basis fee or before the last day of has enhanced call delivery,call processing and call dispatch the following month for which ihefee is charged,unless such D. "Emergency Communication System" means an and has provided for more speedy and reliable emergency Direr dale is agreed to in writing between the Finance enhancetl'emmgency telephone sery ice which automatically services Telephone subscribers will benellt Irom maintaining Director and the service supplier connects a pperson dueling the dlgHs 9-1-1 to an answering and upgrading the improved Emergency Communication B The fee required to be collected b service suppliers paint sales fished within the City and shall incorporate all System so it continues to operate at a stale of the art level under this Chapter shall be added t antl staled separately aspects of the call delivery system,the call processing SyS- and will further benefit from mamlaining the backupCity p jam and the call dispatch system,Including,but not limited Emergency Communication System that can be immediate- as the vice of Palm Springs Emergency Response ers In to,selective routing,automatic number aeurincalton(ANI), Iy available and operational In the event of a failure at the the service supplier's billings It telephone subscribers automatic location and identification(ALI),Computer aided Palm Springs Emergency Communications Center.A portion Drspalchin99 Systems(CAD),and Automatic Vehicle Leader of the costs aeca olaled with operating, maintaining antl If the amount pale by a Telephone subscriber is less than Systems (A The lull amount o f VL) References herein to the Emergency upgrading the Emergency Communication System an facil h the charges for telephone service and the Communication Syelem shah, fee iha purposes of INS �ity and backup Emergency Communicalion System should emergency response has which have accrued for the billing Chapter,include wife originating to emergency hoes within allocated among all telephone subscribers because rate- Lenart,a proportionate share of both the charges for fare- bethe Emergency Commumcallon5 Center, including all phone subscribers will reap this signilcant barium phone service and the tee shell be deemed to have been aspects of the call delivery system,call processing system Ipaid ,and call dispatch system relating to such calls. B. Every telephone access line can provide independent access to the Emergency Communication System.', D The tee shall be collected in the amount designated in the E "Exempt operating costs"means the portion of operating Therefore,allocating operating casts on a per line basis fair. Resolution Selling the fee consistent with this Chapter and casts rellecling the benefits estimated to be provided by ly distributes these costs according to the benefit telephone 'shall be collected from the firs]billing cycle of the service operation of the City's emergency and Emergency subscribers derive from availability of a modernized supplier commencing on or after November 1,2004 Communication System to telephone subscribers who are Emergency Communication System. exempted from iha fee by Section 3390E0 or are other E The duty to collect the fee trom a telephone subscriber wise not required to pay any tee imposed bi provisions C The concentration of a large number of access lines in a shall commence with the first billing cycle of the supplier of this Chapter single location diminishes the marginal benefit of improved commencing on or after November 1,2004 access provided by each additional access line;therefore,it I F.The Service supplier,su r p y assess a service E"Eligible project casts"means the on portion of project costs is appropriate to place a cap on the number of access lines a at its option,may reflecting the benefit estimated to be provided by the project per account per service location on which the tee is charged charge of up to eeighlh (1/e) of one percent (1%) of to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the lee Emergency Response Fees equally collected by the Service Imposed by the provisions of this Chapter on access lines D.Subscribers who maintain trunk lines tlenve more benefit„ sup and remitted m the Ctly.The service charge may be and Trunk Imes subject to the fee.Eligible project costs shall in terms of access to emergency communication service„ tletludied from the Emergency Response Fees recorded to not Include exempt protect costs from each telephone tine than other subscribers and should i the City at the time of remission. pay a higher fee Based on information from the California's 3 39 080 Emergency Communications Emergency G "Exempt project costs"means the podtion of project costs Public Utilities Commission and the Formal g y y reflecting the benefits estimated t0 iR provided by the prof- Communications Commission, the City Council now finds net to Warrens subscribers who are exempted from the fee Thal,on average,a trunk line prwrtles 7.5 times more access Response Fund.A.Establishment of Fund.The Emergency by Section 3.39.050 01 this Chapter or are otherwise not to the Emergency Communication System than does asin-' Communications Emergency Response Fund is hereby required to pay any fee imposed by the provisions of this gle access line established l0 reserve all monies transferred pursuant to this Chapter. Chapter,and any other monies transferred into the fund. , 3 39.040 Imposition of Emergency Response Fee, Use of Fund.The lung shall be used solely for the follow- under"Fee"means the Emergency Response Fee imposed A There is hereby imposed an Emergency Response Fee B.B. purposes under the provisions of this Chapter. on every person who maintains access to the Emergency "Lifeline service"means tliscountetl telephone service Communication System by subscribing to local telephone 1.For the payment of casts of acquiring, re-financing and service within the City of Palm Springs.For purposes of this develo m land on which to locale a Emergency Sonars. Commuunication System bound,or new backup Emergency available to eligible low-Income reside be customers Chapter,with respect to mobile telecommunications Son es,a person shall be construed to subscribe to local tale- Communication System facili acquiring J "Local telephone service"means access to a local isle- phtae service within the Pry of Palm Springs If he or she y N.ac Buln and dispatch s rui coco- phone system,providing two-way telephonic quality commu- has a"place of pnmary ass",as such term is defined in the Vutenzed call delivery processing antl dispatch egwpmenl nrcallon with substanla y all persons having telephone ai Mobile Telecommunications Sao, Act, 4 U S C and software, and/or any other acquiettioa of maser ells, radio telephone stations constituting a part of the local tale- sec.124(8), within the geographic b,modules of the Ply. necessary It house Emergency ommunleasteatron System phone system,whether or not the service uses transmission equipment and staff in li seismically sale and faster,service IecM wires."Local telephone service"shall not include land mobile B The amount of the fee imposed by this Section shall be ly or new backup leanly, including any debt service pey- services or maritime mobile services as defined in Section eslabhshed annually by'a'" ti0u of the Clty Council,antl, i ments related thereto, 21 0l Title 47 0(the Code of Federal Regulations,es this shall be paiq 0n a per-tine basis,by the person paying br Section needed on January 1, 1970. Notwithstanding this such local telephone service, pro'load however, Thal no 2 For the payment of any Co, repair and maintenance nd exclusion, "local telephone service" shall inclutle wireless telephone subscnber shall be required to pay fees m excess expenses for the Emergency Communication System and telephone services In the extent that the Emergency of$10,000 par account per service location iu any-a and backup Emergency Communiel,pl System, including but Cbmmunicahans Center implAfienls and maintains a pro-' year.The amount of the cap established to Ihis subsection not limited to costs for personnel,planning,trelning software -- - shall be atljusted annually by the Consnmar Price Index Ali and hardware maintenance and upgrades, fadhty meal seemed, Urban Consumers far Lie Los Angeles, Anaheim, antl Hance and repair, depreciation,attorneys equipment replacement, Riverside Area for All Items as reported by the United States f technical infrastructure, attorneys tees and direct antl ipdi- Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insist overhead costs;C.Administration 01 Fund Expending s 3_ from the tune shall be made upon the recommendation of the Police Chief and/or Fire Chief Expenditures and encum- brances from this fund shall be subject to the budget and its 5 Following non payment of the fee by any telephone sub- cal provisions of the City ppliar so scriber the Finance Director may proceed against the lele- phonesubspnbeo pursuant to 339140 hereof In such case, 3 39.090 Liability for Fee, the subscriber shall be required to remit the payment and made m conformance w qu penalties assessed thereon direct y to the Finance Director tiler service su ilh Iha hitting procedures of a pads A Any fee reired to be paid by a telephone subscriber pursuant to 3 39140 long as the overall iasult of sa under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt agreements results in cellechon of the fee in performer, owed by the telephone subscriber to the City until if has been D,Every penalty imposed antl such interest as accrues wi lh the general purpose and scope of this Chapter A aoa paid to the City,except that payment to a service supplier I. under the provisions of this Section shall become a part of of each agreement shall be on file and available for putil sufficient to relieve the subscriber from further liability for the the fee herein required to be paid. e'burcr ton In the Finance Director's Office fee. - 3.39160 California Public fr lllms E Any penal)y imposed on the supplier or subscriber put- Commission Junsdtdlor in Any fee oequaetl to be collected under the provisions of Finartance fo this Section may,m the sole nadiscretion Dir of the in Chapter shall be tleemetl a debt owetl to the City of Fiance Director,be waived by the Finance Director upon a Nothing c rules,tl in this Chapter is mlentled to conflict wit Palm Springs by the person required to collect and remit showing of good cause for such waiver, applicable rules,regulations and tariffs of any service sup such fee 3 39 120 Failure to Collect and Report Fee;Determination of plies subject to the Jurisdiction of the California Publ� Fee by Finance Director II any service supplier shall fail or Cattle-Commission,In the event of any conflict,the prom C.Nothing in this Section shall impose any duty on a advise refuse to collect any fee imposed by this Chapter and to -tons of those rules,regulations and b effe shall control supplier to fake any legal action to enforce the collection of make,within the time provided in this Chapter,any report Section Severabib! the fee heralmdeove imposed However,whenever a advice spar remittance of said fee or any portion thereof required by that the sections,subset is the intention of the City Count supplier remits funds collected as an emergency response this Chapter, the Finance Director shall proceed in such coons,clauses and phrases of lhr fee to the City,the service supplier shall also provide the City manner as the Finance Director deems best to obtain facts Chapter are severable,bed d any Portion of this Chapter c and information on which to base an estimate of the fee due, for any reason held to rd invalid ntl or epor chair yy refu the name and address of any telephone subscriber As soon as the Finance Oil actor is able to procure facts and the v of competent robeen Lon,such Chapter shall not Cat refusing or tailing to pay the fee Poi o period of four or more s the vahtld ) billing periods and shall slate the amount of such lee remain- information upon which fe base the assessment is any tee Council would the emoted such remainder and the Cr tug unpaid Tiber The Finance a Director shall assumed the telephone imposed s this Chapter and payable he any service supple- mamtler wilaoul Ili subscriber that the Finance Duector has assumetl resonant- or who has failed remittance,refused to eoFinathe same and to make Portion(ountl Ip be mvahtl or umm�sliluliena dem to collect the lees tlue for the slaletl periods antl sued to det and andver a Finance Director shell pro- Section 5 Legal pro- demand payment of such fees the e,determine and assess provide such service supplier a Construction The provisoes Iv of they the fee,interest and io penalties ma e,the Finance by this Chaplet In Out It-Purpo shaftses, be constwhich uedare he necessary m effecively carry D.Any person owing money liable the Ci.an acts the pmw- case such celof the am is made,lire Finance Director shall out rs purposes,which are hereby found and declaredni to be e, shoos of name Chaplet shall be cable in an action brought m give ll notice of the amount he assessed to serving 0 per in furtherance of the public health,safely and convenience. the name of the City for the recovery of such amount. penally or by addressed to t it in the United States mail,postage Section 6 prepaid,business to the service supplier at its Iasi known 11 dandy The PCityas Clerk of the ptio of Palm 339.100 Registration,providing Reporting and Remervice t Each p ace of business The lied of supplier may within 10 tlays Chapter shall certify cause the passage antl adoption of this service supplier providing local telephone service to tales alter the serving ar matling of such notice make application Chapter,antl malf annerndthe same to r e posted and pub- phene subscribers within the City to which this tee applies in writing to the Finance Director for a hearing on the amount fished in the manner and the Line required by law shall register with the Finance Director upon a form pre- assessed.If application by the service supplier for a hearing ADOPTED this 2Bih da scribed by the Finance Director and shall set forth the name is not matle within the lime prescribed,ilte lee,mteresl antl Y of July,2004 under which the service supplier transacts er Intends to penabies,if any, determined by the Finance Director shall transact business, and such other information as the become final and conclusive and immediately due and AYES.Members Fast,McCulloch,Mills and Pougnet Finance Director may require, including but not limited to payable. If such application is made, the Finance Director NOES.None information regarding the number access lines and trunk shall give not less than five days'written notice in the man- ABSTAIN.None Imes serving an area as a basis for calculation of the lee.The nor prescribed herein to the service supplier to show cause ABSENT.Mayor Oden service supplier shall update such forms on a earl basis a1 a time and place fixed in the notice why the amounts ec- ATTEST Pp p y y h p CITY OF wllh any changes as may be applicable iced therein should not be fixed for such fee,interest and PALM SPRINGS,CALIFORNIA penalties At the hearing,the service supplier may appear Cry ClerkPr E.Each service supplier shall,rn or before the lair working and offer evidence why the fixed.After ti fee,mteresl and penal- Mayor Pro rem for s each month,make a return to therecto Rtance Director, nt ties should not to mi athe After the hearing,the Finance forms coveted by the Finance Director,stating e p amount Duector shall determine the proper fee to be remitted and PUB:Augwed and,2004 ear as to Form m fees collected xe the service supplier during the preceding shall inner prescribed give written notice a the service supplier t to� PUB:August],2004 month (For example [e t amounts later ttad during the manner prescribed harem of the es The and the - - -- --- 29,200bet At will be due to the City no valet than October amount of the fee,shall be and payable penalties The amount deleo t 2Q 2mlla At the time the return d tiled,the lull amount of the mined to to dna shall i e payable after 15 days unless han e I lee collected shall be de pay le the Finance Director, appeal is taken as provided hereinafter.The decision of the Payments shall be made payable to the City of Palm Finance Director shall be final Springs The Fiance Director may require further reatlrty 339130 Refunds. y all informationin the retain.Returns and remittances arere due tlue immediately upon cessation of business for any rea- son A A service supplier may claim n refund or claim n credit againstfees to be collected and remitted of the amount ovet- 3.39 110 Interest and Penalties Paid of paid more than once, a erroneously or Illegally with tatted or received al faring a claim in accordance wuh A Fees requited to be cto the from a telephone subscriber Chapter,that of the Palm fund o a credit Code; showed ed, which are not remitted to the Finance Director on t before however,the that neither t refund era octet shall it er been the due date provided m this Chapter are delinquent unless the amount person the nee so collected has either been chary redu ed to the person payable thereto person ntocredited to the D retinae Suppliers Interest and penalties for assessed as charges subsequently payable by such person to the service in remittance of any fee not remitted shall be zssessetl as ler.B. i for paid subscriber may obtain a refund of follows fees overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously orin ille- gally collected or received by the City by Wing a dorm al 1.Any service supplier who fails to remtl any tee Imposed by Coe,but o with Chapter 316 of the Palm Springs Municipal this Chapter by the last working day p the month following sop e,but arty when the fee was paid by the when sub- (10 month being reported shall pay a penalty of ID percent scriber directly to Iha Finance Director, or when the pj (10%)of the amount o1 the fee phone establishes tt having.Isaid the fee to the service tortha- e5 telephones to the see has0oe of the Fiance Director that 2.y the Finance Director determines to the fraud,a pemenl of the lelephoee subscriber has been unable to fee a refund any re rcent(1 due of the a ou due to fees a penally of shin the service supplier who collected the tee The City 100 percent(100 to of the amount to the fee shall be added shall be solely responsible for administering refund claims thereto inaddition tothe penally stated in paragraph of this arising out ol39 tact that the telephone cesof$10,000pursuant in subsection. to Section?.39 (B), has paid is excess le dar year in Emergency Response Fees during a angle calendar year. 3 In addition to the penalties imposed in this subsection S, any service supplier who tars to taint any fee imposetl by 3.39 140 Failure to Pay Fee;Administrative Remedy. this Chapter, shall pay Interest on the amount of the fee, first became of delinquent from the dale on which the re paid t iWhenever the Finance rely wit detpeer the a that a telephone the became tl percent until paitl.Interest shall eo paid al subscriber has deliberately withheld the amount of the fee the rate of one percent per month,or traction thereof. owed by hem for the uamountsbscube temrpetl to a services mount or Thal a telephone subsonber has failed Ic pay Ise amount s Telephone Subscribers.Partite e a telephone sub- of the fee fora period of lour or more the periods,interest wharl the lowlier to pay any fee harem tmposetl shall result m the foe- ,ever the Finance Director deems s In the best erof th of the lowing interest and penalties on the telephone subscriber gCity,all the palest shall relieve the service supplier of lire main name to collect fees due under this Chaplet from ell The 1 Any telephone subscriber who fans to pay any lea named service users for the lot tiling periods The imposed by this Chapter within 120 days of the date of the Ftnance Director shall mdfy the telephone subscriber that receipt of notice of the amount of tee due from the service the Finance Director has assumed responsibility to collect supplier shall pay a penalty of 10 percent 0%)of the the fees due for the staled periods and demand payment of amount of the tee. such fees The notice shall be served on the telephone sub- scriber personally or by United Stales mall,postage prepaid 2 Any telephone subscriber who fails to pay any tongued Thereon, addressed to the telephone subscriber at the remittance within 180 days after the date of the receipt of address to which billing was made by the canards suppllan,or, notice of the amount of lee due from the service supplier should the telephone subscriber have changed addreea,to shall pay a second delinquency penalty of 10 percent the subscriber's last known address It a telephone eutr (10%)el the amount of the fee in addition to the ten per- scriber fails to remit the fee to the Finance Director.]thin 15 cent penalty first imposed days from the date of the service of the notice,which shall be the dale of mailing it service is not accomplished in person, S.In addition to the penalues imposed in this subsection C a penalty of 100 percent(100%)of the amount of the fee set any feltphone subscriber who tars to pay any fee imposed forth in lire notice,but not less than$5,shall be imposed. by this Chapter,shall pay interest on the amount of the fee, The penalty shall become a part of the lee herein required to exclusive of penalties,from the date on which the fee first be paid.Such penally shall be In addition to any other penal- became delinquent until paid plus an additional collection ly imposed by this Chapter. charge for each delinquent account in an amount to be deter- mined by rules and regulations of the Finance Director.The 3 39 150 Admen is.rative Agreements j Finance Director shall establish colleebon charges which reimburse the costs incurred by the City for collecting deco- The Finance Director may make admmrstrewe agreements quent lees Interest shall be paid sit the rate of one percent .,in..name aupplrea to Lary the steel r.go meals oftars per month,or Iradion thereof Chapter so that collecuon of any lee imposed herein may be q.The penalties,-interest and collappe n charge Imposed inthis subsection C shall not be colled art by the service sup- plier,but shall be determined and collected by the City all set forth hereinafter y ORDINANCE NO. ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ADDING SECTION 3.39 TO CHAPTER 3 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO THE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM RESPONSE FEE The City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California does hereby find and ordain as follows: Section 1. Recitals WHEREAS, in order to improve the performance and ensure the continued enhanced performance of the City's Emergency Communications Center and its emergency cormmunication system (herein "Emergency Communication System"), the City must impose a fee for such enhanced performance. WHEREAS, the City's Emergency Communication System provides immediate access to emergency services for telephone subscribers. Subscribers to telephone service derive significant benefit from the operation of the integrated system installed at the Emergency Communications Center in the City of Springs. Telephone subscribers will benefit from upgrading and then maintaining the improved Emergency Communication System so it operates at a state of the art level and will further benefit from maintaining the backup Emergency Communication System or providing a new backup Emergency Communication System and facility that can be immediately available and operational in the event of a failure. The costs associated with upgrading and thereafter operating and maintaining the Emergency Communication System and facility and backup Emergency Communication System and facility should be allocated arnong all telephone subscribers because telephone subscribers will reap these significant benefits. WHEREAS, the Emergency Communications Center is currently staffed by fourteen (14) dispatchers and two (2) supervisors. The dispatchers are the front line to public safety and receive the first call for emergency service. Due to increased population and service many times dispatchers must place emergency calls on hold to handle radio and telephone traffic. This in turn causes delays in emergency response and service to the community. This Emergency Response Fee may also be used to fund new dispatchers and supervisors. WHEREAS, the purpose of this Ordinance is to require subscribers to telephone service in the City of Palm Springs to pay a service or user fee (the "Emergency Response Fee") that is directly related to the benefit subscribers derive from the improvements to and operation of the upgraded and improved Emergency Communication Systems that will be financed by those fee revenues. The Emergency Response Fee is the most practical and equitable revenue mechanism to finance the acquisition and construction of land, equipment, software, and facilities that are needed to provide an adequate and reliable emergency communication system and to operate that o vs q emergency communication system. The fee is intended to recover all costs related to the benefits the Emergency Communication Systems will provide to non-exempt telephone subscribers, including but not limited to the operation of the Emergency Communication Center. The fees imposed by the provisions of this Ordinance shall not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the services described. WHEREAS, the provisions of this Ordinance are not enacted for general revenue purposes. This fee is not designed nor intended to recover the expense of capture, detention and prosecution of persons charged with crimes. The fee imposed by the provisions of this Ordinance does not serve the same purpose as any Utility User Tax currently in effect in the City of Palm Springs. The funds for the Utility User Tax are deposited into the City's General Fund and are utilized for general governmental purposes, whereas fees collected under this Ordinance are used only for the specific purposes described herein. WHEREAS, this is not a property-based fee, nor is it an increased tax, but instead is a fee based on use of a specific service. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, does ordain as follows: Section 2. The City Council of the City of Palm Springs finds that the above recitals are true and correct. Section 3. Chapter 3 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is hereby amended to add a new Section 3.39 to read in its entirety as follows: "EMERGENCY RESPONSE FEE" Sections: 3.39.010 Title/Purpose. 3.39.020 Definitions. 3.39.030 Findings. 3.39.040 Imposition of Emergency Response Fee. 3.39.050 Exemptions. 3.39.060 Annual Report. 3.39.070 Collection of Fee. 3.39.080 Emergency Communications Emergency Response Fund. 3.39.090 Liability for Fee. 3.39.100 Registration, Reporting and Remitting. 3.39.110 Interest and Penalties. 3.39.120 Failure to Collect and Report Fee; Determination of Fee by Finance Director. 3.39.130 Refunds. 3.39.140 Failure to Pay Fee; Administrative Remedy 3.39.150 Administrative Agreements. 2 3.39.160 California Public Utilities Commission Jurisdiction. 3.39.010 Title/Purpose A. In order to ensure and improve the performance of the City's Emergency Communication System, the City must impose a fee. This Chapter shall be lanown as the "Emergency Response Fee Ordinance" and the fee imposed herein shall be known as the "Emergency Response Fee." B. The purpose of this Chapter is to require subscribers to telephone service in the City to pay a fee which is directly related to the benefit subscribers derive from the improvements to and operation of the Emergency Communication System that will be financed by fee revenues. C. The Emergency Response Fee is the most practical and equitable revenue mechanism to finance the acquisition and construction of land, equipment, software, and facilities which are" needed to provide an adequate and reliable Emergency Communication System under a single uniform management stricture and to operate that Emergency Communication System. The fee is intended to recover all costs related to the benefits the City's Emergency Communication System will provide to nonexempt telephone subscribers. D. The fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter is intended solely to provide revenue for eligible project costs and eligible operating costs, as defined in this Chapter. Fee revenues shall be deposited by the Finance Director in the Emergency Response Fund established pursuant to Section 3.39.080 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code. The provisions of this Chapter are not enacted for general revenue purposes. The moneys in the Emergency Response Fund shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in this Chapter. 3.39.020 Definitions. Except where the context or particular provisions require otherwise, the following definitions shall govern the constriction of this Chapter. A. "Access Line" means any connection from a customer location within the City to a provider of local telephone service offered to the public for compensation. Within the meaning of this Chapter, and without limitation, access lines include connections providing residential basic exchange set-vice, business basic exchange service, PBX service (private branch exchange), foreign exchange service and Centrex service. B. "Eligible operating costs" means the portion of operating costs reflecting the benefit estimated to be provided by the operation of the City's Emergency Communication System to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter on access lines and trunk lines subject to the fee. 3 Eligible operating costs shall not include exempt operating costs. C. "Emergency Communications Center" means a communications facility that is assigned the responsibility to receive 911 calls and other emergency response calls originating in a given area and, as appropriate, to dispatch public safety services or to extend, transfer, or relay 911 calls or other emergency response calls to appropriate public safety agencies. Within the meaning of this Chapter, and without limitation, Emergency Communications Center shall mean the City of Palm Springs Emergency Communications Center. D. "Emergency Communication System" means an enhanced emergency telephone service which automatically connects a person dialing the digits 9- 1 - 1 to an answering point established within the City and shall incorporate all aspects of the call delivery system, the call processing system and the call dispatch system, including, but not limited to, selective routing, automatic number identification (ANI), automatic location and identification (ALI), Computer aided Dispatching Systems (CAD), and Automatic Vehicle Locater Systems (AVL). References herein to the Emergency Communication System shall, for the purposes of this Chapter, include calls originating to emergency lines within the Emergency Communications Center, including all aspects of the call delivery system, call processing system and call dispatch system relating to such calls. E. "Exempt operating costs" means the portion of operating costs reflecting the benefits estimated to be provided by operation of the City's emergency and Emergency Communication System to telephone subscribers who are exempted from the fee by Section 3.39.050 or are otherwise not required to pay any fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter. F. "Eligible project costs" means the portion of project costs reflecting the benefit estimated to be provided by the project to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter on access lines and trunk lines subject to the fee. Eligible project costs shall not include exempt project costs. G. "Exempt project costs" means the portion of project costs reflecting the benefits estimated to be provided by the project to telephone subscribers who are exempted from the fee by Section 3.39.050 of this Chapter or are otherwise not required to pay any fee imposed by the provisions of this Chapter. H. "Fee" means the Emergency Response Fee imposed under the provisions of this Chapter. I. "Lifeline service" means discounted telephone service available to eligible low-income residential customers. J. "Local telephone service" means access to a local telephone system, providing two-way telephonic quality communication with substantially all persons 4 having telephone or radio telephone stations constituting a part of the local telephone system, whether or not the service uses transmission wires. "Local telephone service" shall not include land mobile services or maritime mobile services as defined in Section 2.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as this Section existed on January 1, 1970. Notwithstanding this exclusion, "local telephone service" shall include wireless telephone services to the extent that the Emergency Communications Center implements and maintains a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) by which 9-1-1 calls from wireless telephones are geographically routed to the Emergency Communications Center for handing. K. "Operating costs" means any costs to operate, repair or maintain the Emergency Communication System or backup Emergency Communication System, including but not limited to costs for personnel, planning, training, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades, facility maintenance and repair, depreciation equipment replacement, technical infrastructure, attorneys fees, and direct and indirect costs. L. "Project costs" means any costs of acquiring, refinancing and developing land on which to locate a Emergency Communication System facility or new backup Emergency Communication System facility, acquiring and installing computerized call delivery processing and dispatch equipment and software, and/or any other acquisition or constriction necessary to house Emergency Communication System equipment and staff in a seismically safe and fireproof facility, including any debt service payments related thereto. M. "Service location" means the premises of a telephone subscriber at which a working service point or primary station set provides the subscriber with basic exchange service and to which extension services are charged. N. "Service supplier" means any person supplying local telephone service, pursuant to authority granted by the California Public Utilities Commission, to any telephone subscriber at a location within the City of Palm Springs. Service suppliers may include, without limitation, local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, competitive access providers, cable television providers offering telecormnumcations services, and any other entity offering direct connections between their premises and the premises of telephone subscribers. O. "Telephone corporation" shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code of the State of California or the most comparable successor definition. P. "Telephone subscriber" means any person required to pay a fee imposed under the provisions of this Chapter. Q. "Trunk Line" means a line between a service supplier's switching device and a private branch exchange, automatic call distributing system, or other similar device, at a telephone subscriber location. 5 3.39.030 Findings. A. The Emergency Communication System provides immediate access to emergency services for telephone subscribers. Subscribers to telephone service derive significant benefit from ongoing operation of the modernized integrated system. This improved Emergency Communication System has enhanced call delivery, call processing and call dispatch and has provided for more speedy and reliable emergency services. Telephone subscribers will benefit from maintaining and upgrading the improved Emergency Communication System so it continues to operate at a state of the art level and will farther benefit from maintaining the backup Emergency Communication System that can be immediately available and operational in the event of a failure at the Palm Springs Emergency Communications Center. A portion of the costs associated with operating, maintaining and upgrading the Emergency Communication System and facility and backup Emergency Communication System should be allocated among all telephone subscribers because telephone subscribers will reap this significant benefit. B. Every telephone access line can provide independent access to the Emergency Communication System. Therefore, allocating operating costs on a per line basis fairly distributes these costs according to the benefit telephone subscribers derive from availability of a modernized Emergency Communication System. C. The concentration of a large number of access lines in a single location diminishes the marginal benefit of improved access provided by each additional access line; therefore, it is appropriate to place a cap on the number of access lines per account per service location on which the fee is charged. D. Subscribers who maintain trunk lines derive more benefit, in terms of access to emergency communication service, from each telephone line than other subscribers and should pay a higher fee. Based on information from the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, the City Council now finds that, on average, a trunk line provides 7.5 times more access to the Emergency Communication System than does a single access line. 3.39.040 Imposition of Emergency Response Fee. A. There is hereby unposed an Emergency Response Fee on every person who maintains access to the Emergency Commnunication System by subscribing to local telephone service within the City of Palm Springs. For purposes of this Chapter, with respect to mobile telecommunications services, a person shall be construed to subscribe to local telephone service within the City of Palm Springs if he or she has a "place of primary use", as such term is defined in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, 4 U.S.C. § 124(8), within the geographic boundaries of the City. B. The amount of the fee imposed by this Section shall be established annually by resolution of the City Council, and shall be paid, on a per-line basis, by the 6 person paying for such local telephone service; provided, however, that no telephone subscriber shall be required to pay fees in excess of $10,000 per account per service location in any calendar year. The amount of the cap established by this subsection shall be adjusted amorally by the Consumer Price Index; All Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Riverside Area for All Items as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. C. Only one payment of the fee herein imposed shall be required for any access or truiIlc line, notwithstanding that access lines of more than one person are used in furnishing local telephone service to a telephone subscriber. D. Revenues generated by the emergency response fee shall be deposited in the Emergency Response Fund established pursuant to Section 3,39.080. 3.39.050 Exemptions Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as imposing a fee upon the access lines of A. A lifeline customer of a service supplier; or B. A telephone corporation; or C. Coin-operated telephones; or D. A nonprofit hospital which is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the United States Code; or E. A nonprofit educational organization which is exempt from income tax under Section 501(a) of the United States Code; or F. Any person when imposition of such fee upon that person would violate the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of California, or preemptive federal or State law. 3.39.060 Annual Report. A. No later than March 0 of each year, the Finance Director shall estimate the percentage of access lines that were subject to payment of the emergency response fee during the iimnediately prior fiscal year. This percentage shall be identified as the percentage of project costs and operating costs that are eligible project costs and eligible operating costs for the following fiscal year. The Finance Director's report shall also identify the adjusted amount of the fee cap established by subsection B. of Section 3.39.040 that will apply in the following calendar year. B. No later than March 1 in each odd numbered year, the Finance Director 7 will evaluate information from industry sources, regulatory bodies and City experience to determine whether the fee rates for trunk lines continue to reasonably reflect the increased estimated access to the Emergency Communication System provided to trunk line subscribers relative to access line subscribers. 3.39.070 Collection of Fee. A. The fee imposed by this .Chapter shall be collected from the telephone subscriber by the service supplier. Service suppliers shall hold fee revenues in trust for the City and shall remit the fee revenues collected to the City Finance Department on a monthly basis on or before the last day of the following month for which the fee is charged, unless such other date is agreed to in writing between the Finance Director and the service supplier. B. The fee required to be collected by service suppliers under this Chapter shall be added to and stated separately as the City of Palm Springs Emergency Response Fee in the service supplier's billings to telephone subscribers. C. If the amount paid by a telephone subscriber is less than the full amount of the charges for telephone service and the emergency response fee which have accrued for the billing period, a proportionate share of both the charges for telephone service and the fee shall be deemed to have been paid. D. The fee shall be collected in the amount designated in the Resolution setting the fee consistent with this Chapter and shall be collected from the first billing cycle of the service supplier commencing on or after November 1, 2004. E. The duty to collect the fee from a telephone subscriber shall commence with the first billing cycle of the supplier commencing on or after November 1, 2004. F. The service supplier, at its option, may assess a service charge of up to one-eighth (1/8) of one percent (1%) of Emergency Response Fees actually collected by the service supplier and remitted to the City. The service charge may be deducted from the Emergency Response Fees remitted to the City at the time of remission. 3.39.080 Emergency Communications Emergency Response Fund. A. Establishment of Fund. The Emergency Communications Emergency Response Fund is hereby established to receive all monies collected pursuant to this Chapter, and any other monies transferred into the fund. B. Use of Fund. The fund shall be used solely for the following purposes: 1. For the payment of costs of acquiring, re-financing and developing land on which to locate a Emergency Communication System facility or new backup Emergency Communication System facility, acquiring and installing computerized call delivery 8 processing and dispatch equipment and software, and/or any other acquisition or construction necessary to house Emergency Communication System equipment and staff in a seismically safe and fireproof facility or new backup facility, including any debt service payments related thereto; 2. For the payment of operating, repair and maintenance expenses for the Emergency Communication System and backup Emergency Communication System, including but not limited to costs for personnel, plaiming, training, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades, facility maintenance and repair, depreciation, equipment replacement, technical infrastructure, attorneys fees and direct and indirect overhead costs; C. Administration of Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made upon the recornrnendation of the Police Chief and/or Fire Chief. Expenditures and encumbrances from this fund shall be subject to the budget and fiscal provisions of the City. 3.39.090 Liability for Fee. A. Any fee required to be paid by a telephone subscriber under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the telephone subscriber to the City until it has been paid to the City, except that payment to a service supplier is sufficient to relieve the subscriber from further liability for the fee. B. Any fee required to be collected under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt owed to the City of Palm Springs by the person required to collect and remit such fee. C. Nothing in this Section shall impose any duty on a service supplier to take any legal action to enforce the collection of the fee hereinabove imposed. However, whenever a service supplier remits funds collected as an emergency response fee to the City, the service supplier shall also provide the City with the name and address of any telephone subscriber refusing or failing to pay the fee for a period of four or more billing periods and shall state the amount of such fee remaining unpaid. The Finance Director shall notify the telephone subscriber that the Finance Director has assumed responsibility to collect the fees due for the stated periods and demand payment of such fees. D. Any person owing money to the City under the provisions of this Chapter shall be liable in an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount. 3.39.100 Registration, Reporting and Remitting. A. Each service supplier providing local telephone service to telephone subscribers within the City to which this fee applies shall register with the Finance Director upon a form prescribed by the Finance Director and shall set forth the name 9 under which the service supplier transacts or intends to transact business, and such other information as the Finance Director may require, including but not limited to information regarding the number access lines and trunk lines serving an area as a basis for calculation of the fee. The service supplier shall update such fornis on a yearly basis with any changes as may be applicable. B. Each service supplier shall, on or before the last working day of each month, make a returni to the Finance Director, on forms provided by the Finance Director, stating the amount of fees collected by the service supplier during the preceding month. (For example the amounts collected during September 2004 will be due to the City no later than October 29, 2004). At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the fee collected shall be remitted to the Finance Director. Payments shall be made payable to the City of Palm Springs. The Finance Director may require further readily attainable information in the return. Returns and remittances are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason. 3.39.110 Interest and Penalties. A. Fees required to be collected from a telephone subscriber which are not remitted to the Finance Director on or before the due date provided in this Chapter are delinquent. B. Service Suppliers. Interest and penalties for delinquency in remittance of any fee not remitted shall be assessed as follows: 1. Any service supplier who fails to remit any fee imposed by this Chapter by the last working day of the month following the month being reported shall pay a penalty of 10 percent (10%) of the amount of the fee. 2. If the Finance Director determines that the nonpayment of any remittance due hereunder is due to fraud, a penalty of 100 percent (100%) of the amount of the fee shall be added thereto in addition to the penalty stated in paragraph 1 of this subsection. 3. In addition to the penalties imposed in this subsection B, any service supplier who fails to remit any fee imposed by this Chapter, shall pay interest on the amount of the fee, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid. Interest shall be paid at the rate of one percent per month, or fraction thereof. C. Telephone Subscribers. Failure by a telephone subscriber to pay any fee herein imposed shall result in the following interest and penalties on the telephone subscriber: 1. Any telephone subscriber who fails to pay any fee imposed by this Chapter within 120 days of the date of the receipt of notice of the amount of fee due from the service supplier shall pay a penalty of 10 percent(10%) of the amount of the fee. 10 2. Any telephone subscriber who fails to pay any delinquent remittance within 180 days after the date of the receipt of notice of the amount of fee due from the service supplier shall pay a second delinquency penalty of 10 percent (10%) of the amount of the fee in addition to the ten percent penalty first imposed. 3. In addition to the penalties imposed in this subsection C any telephone subscriber who fails to pay any fee imposed by this Chapter, shall pay interest on the amount of the fee, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the fee first became delinquent until paid plus an additional collection charge for each delinquent account in an amount to be determined by rules and regulations of the Finance Director. The Finance Director shall establish collection charges which reimburse the costs incurred by the City for collecting delinquent fees. Interest shall be paid at the rate of one percent per month, or fraction thereof. 4. The penalties, interest and collection charges imposed in this subsection C shall not be collected by the service supplier, but shall be determined and collected by the City as set forth hereinafter. 5. Following non payment of the fee by any telephone subscriber, the Finance Director may proceed against the telephone subscriber pursuant to 3.39.140 hereof In such case, the subscriber shall be required to remit the payment and penalties assessed thereon directly to the Finance Director pursuant to 3.39.140. D. Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this Section shall become a part of the fee herein required to be paid. E. Any penalty imposed on the supplier or subscriber pursuant to this Section may, in the sole discretion of the Finance Director, be waived by the Finance Director upon a showing of good cause for such waiver. 3.39.120 Failure to Collect and Report Fee; Determination of Fee by Finance Director. If any service supplier shall fail or refuse to collect any fee imposed by this Chapter and to make, within the time provided in this Chapter, any report and remittance of said fee or any portion thereof required by this Chapter, the Finance Director shall proceed in such manner as the Finance Director deems best to obtain facts and information on which to base an estimate of the fee due. As soon as the Finance Director is able to procure facts and information upon which to base the assessment of any fee imposed by this Chapter and payable by any service supplier who has failed or refused to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, the Finance Director shall proceed to determine and assess against such service supplier the fee, interest and penalties provided by this Chapter. In case such determination is made, the Finance Director shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by 11 depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the service supplier at its last known place of business. The service supplier may within 10 days after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in writing to the Finance Director for a hearing on the amount assessed. If application by the service supplier for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the fee, interest and penalties, if any, determined by the Finance Director shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable. If such application is made, the Finance Director shall give not less than five days' written notice in the manner prescribed herein to the service supplier to show cause at a time and place fixed in the notice why the amount specified therein should not be fixed for such fee, interest and penalties. At the hearing, the service supplier may appear and offer evidence why the specified fee, interest and penalties should not be so fixed. After the hearing, the Finance Director shall determine the proper fee to be remitted and shall thereafter give written notice to the service supplier in the manner prescribed herein of the determination and the amount of the fee, interest and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable after 15 days unless an appeal is taken as provided hereinafter. The decision of the Finance Director shall be final. 3.39130 Refunds. A. A service supplier may claim a refund or claim a credit against fees to be collected and remitted of the amount overpaid or paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected or received by filing a claim in accordance with Chapter 3.16 of the Patin Springs Municipal Code; provided, however, that neither a refund or a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the fee so collected has either been refunded to the person entitled thereto or credited to the charges subsequently payable by such person to the service supplier. B. A telephone subscriber may obtain a refund of fees overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City by filing a claim in accordance with Chapter 3.16 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code, but only when the fee was paid by the telephone subscriber directly to the Finance Director, or when the telephone subscriber, having paid the fee to the service supplier, establishes to the satisfaction of the Finance Director that the telephone subscriber has been unable to obtain a refund from the service supplier who collected the fee. The City shall be solely responsible for administering refund claims arising out of the fact that the telephone subscriber, pursuant to Section 3.39.040(B), has paid in excess of$10,000 in Emergency Response Fees during a single calendar year. 3.39.140 Failure to Pay Fee; Administrative Remedy. Whenever the Finance Director determines that a telephone subscriber has deliberately withheld the amount of the fee owed by him for the amounts remitted to a service supplier or that a telephone subscriber has failed to pay the amount of the fee for a period of four or more billing periods, or whenever the Finance Director deems it in the best interest of the City, the Director shall relieve the service supplier of the obligation to collect fees due under this Chapter from certain named service users for specified billing 12 periods. The Finance Director shall notify the telephone subscriber that the Finance Director has assumed responsibility to collect the fees due for the stated periods and demand payment of such fees. The notice shall be served on the telephone subscriber personally or by United States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the telephone subscriber at the address to which billing was made by the service supplier, or, should the telephone subscriber have changed address, to the subscriber's last known address. If a telephone subscriber fails to remit the fee to the Finance Director within 15 days from the date of the service of the notice, which shall be the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty of 100 percent (100%) of the amount of the fee set forth in the notice, but not less than $5, shall be imposed. The penalty shall become a part of the fee herein required to be paid. Such penalty shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed by this Chapter. 3.39.150 Administrative Agreements. The Finance Director may make administrative agreements with service suppliers to vary the strict requirements of this Chapter so that collection of any fee imposed herein may be made in conformance with the billing procedures of a particular service supplier so long as the overall result of said agreements results in collection of the fee in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this Chapter. A copy of each agreement shall be on file and available for public examination in the Finance Director's Office. 3.39.160 California Public Utilities Corrunission Jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this Chapter is intended to conflict with applicable ides, regulations and tariffs of any service supplier subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. In the event of any conflict, the provisions of those rules, regulations and tariffs shall control. Section 4. Severability. It is the intention of the City Council that the sections, subsections, clauses and phrases of this Chapter are severable, and if any portion of this Chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or the remainder of the Chapter, and the City Council would have enacted such remainder without the portion found to be invalid or unconstitutional. Section 5. Legal Construction. The provisions of this Chapter shall be construed as necessary to effectively carry out its purposes, which are hereby found and declared to be in furtherance of the public health, safety and convenience. Section 6. Publication. The City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Chapter, and shall cause the same to be posted and published in the manner and the time required by law. 13 ADOPTED this day of July, 2004 AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: ATTEST: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA City Clerk Mayor Reviewed and Approved as to Form: 14