Sec. 711.321. - Amount and payment of fees.

(a) The following fees shall be collected by the Director of Finance and Administration, or his designee, (with assistance from City Departments as required by said Director). Payment of all franchise fees to be made to the Director. Payments due the City under this provision shall be computed quarterly, for the preceding quarter, as of January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1. Each quarterly payment shall be due and payable no later than 30 days after the relevant computation date. Each payment shall be accompanied by a brief report to the Director showing the basis for the computation and such other relevant facts as may be required by said Director. Annual financial reports, acceptable to the Director, shall be submitted within 30 days after completion of the grantee's annual audit. Unless more detailed information is required by said Director, the grantee shall (on an annual basis) provide said Director with a revenue letter audited by grantee's independent certified public accountants verifying revenues generated in the Jacksonville franchise area. All financial and other reports shall be sent to the Director. As used in this Section 711.321 , "gross sales" includes all payments received by a utility for the sale of electricity, water, natural gas or wastewater service or for services directly related to the provision of those products, including the transportation, transmission, delivery or distribution of those products within the corporate limits of the City and including any customer charges or facilities charges. The fees are as follows: (1) Telecommunications: Not applicable, as governed by registration in Part 4 of this Chapter. (2) Gas system: The grantee, in consideration of the privilege granted under the franchise for the use or occupancy of a gas system within the public ways of the City, and the administration of said uses by the City, shall pay to the City a sum equal to five percent of the gross sales of the gas system within the municipal limits of the City. The City shall be authorized to unilaterally amend this Chapter and increase or decrease the franchise fee provided for herein and in any franchise agreement to the maximum franchise fee authorized by the laws of the state; provided that the City makes similar increases or decreases in the franchise fees for all gas system franchisees. (3) Electric system: The grantee, in consideration of the privilege granted under the franchise for the use or occupancy of an electric system within the public ways of the City and the administration of said uses by the City, shall pay to the City a sum equal to five percent of the gross sales of the electric system within the municipal limits of the City, and is hereby established at five percent. However, the preceding payment shall not be applicable to JEA as a result of JEA's financial contributions to the City. The City shall be authorized to unilaterally amend this Chapter and increase or decrease the franchise fee provided for herein and in any franchise agreement to the maximum franchise fee authorized by the laws of the state; provided that the City makes similar increases or decreases in the franchise fees for all electric system franchisees. (4) Water/sewer system: The grantee, in consideration of the privilege granted under the franchise for the use or occupancy of a water/sewer system within the public ways of the City and the administration of said uses by the City, shall pay to the City a sum equal to five percent of the gross sales of the water/sewer system within the municipal limits of the City. However, the preceding payment shall not be applicable to the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority or to JEA as a result of JEA's financial contributions to the City. The City shall be authorized to unilaterally amend this Chapter and increase or decrease the franchise fee provided for herein and in any franchise agreement to the maximum franchise fee authorized by the laws of the state; provided that the City makes similar increases or decreases in the franchise fees for all water/sewer system franchisees. (5) Cable television: Not applicable, as certain economic elements governed by registration in Part 4 of this Chapter and other elements governed by City Code Chapter 710 . (6) Other utility systems: Utility entities not set forth in items (1) through (5) above will be assessed such fees as may be recommended by the Director (with assistance from the Director of Finance and Administration) and approved by the City Council. (b) Within 30 calendar days after the close of each quarter, the grantee shall pay the franchise fee as provided in subsection (a) of this Section (for the purposes of this Chapter, the City's municipal limits excludes the beaches and Baldwin) and file with the City's Director of Finance and Administration a statement, signed by an authorized accountant or financial representative of the grantee, showing the calculation of the franchise fees. Acceptance of any franchise fee payment shall not be deemed a waiver or release of any claims the City may have for additional sums, nor be construed as an accord that the amount paid is correct. (c) The sums of money to be paid by the grantee to the City under this Section are compensation and consideration for the use or occupancy by the grantee of the City's public ways for the construction, maintenance and operation of the system and are not taxes as allowed by the Florida Constitution, the general or special laws of the State, or any other ordinances of the City. The grantee shall at all times continue to be subject to ad valorem taxes (FS § 166.211) and such other taxes, charges or fees as may be lawfully authorized by the Florida Constitution, the general or special laws of the State, the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act (FS Chapter 166) or the ordinance code or any ordinances of the City. (d) The grantee shall make available to the City or its authorized representative or agent, during normal business hours, and upon written notice, the books, records, and accounts and other documentation of the grantee (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "reports") that, as reasonably determined by the City, are necessary to audit and determine the accuracy of the franchise fee payment. In the event the reports are not made available to the City in the City's City hall (St. James Building), the grantee shall reimburse the City for the reasonable travel expense of the City's representative resulting from such representative's travel to the location where the reports are maintained and shall permit the City to make and remove copies of the reports, including computer printout or other data. Upon request by the City, or its designated representative, the grantee shall provide a copy of its annual report to the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) and a copy of all regulatory assessment fee reports required to be filed with the FPSC to the extent any such report is relevant to a determination of the appropriate fee payable to the City under the franchise. The City, or its designated representative, shall have the right during the term of the franchise to examine the reports; provided, however, that the grantee shall be obligated to maintain its billing records only for the period of time required by the FPSC and that any examination conducted after such period shall be confined to the billing records then available. No later than 30 days after the request of the City or its representative, the grantee shall supply to the City a copy of the reports. Such copy shall be in the media requested by the City provided that it is economical and practical for the grantee to do so; however, in no event shall paper copies of requested documentation be deemed uneconomical or impractical. In the event of a third party request for information obtained by audit, the City may advise grantee so that grantee may seek such relief as it may obtain to prevent the disclosure of the information to the third party. The City shall have no obligation to seek such relief. Grantee shall indemnify and hold the City harmless for any cost and expense, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys fees, incurred by the City as a result of this paragraph, whether or not suit is filed. (e) The cost of the audit will be borne by the grantee if as a result of the audit, the City determines, and such determination is upheld if challenged, that the grantee has underpaid the franchise fees owed in an amount equal to or exceeding one percent of the franchise fees actually paid. (f) Any transaction or arrangement which has the effect of circumventing payment of required franchise fees and/or evasion of payment of franchise fees by noncollection, nonreporting of gross receipts, collection of revenues by affiliates, bartering or any other means which evade the actual collection of gross revenues by a grantee for services is prohibited. (Ord. 2001-427-E, § 2; Ord. 2001-1297-E, § 1; Ord. 2003-586-E, § 6; Ord. 2016-140-E , § 16)