Franchise fee requirement; monthly franchise fee payment; approval by city commission as a prerequisite to issuance; financial statements, list of accounts; account permit fees; roll-off permit fees

(a)

No person shall engage in the business of removing or disposing of garbage, trash, or waste from any premises in the city or transport garbage, trash or waste through the public rights-of-way of the city without first having secured a franchise for such activities and paying all fees associated with the operation of the franchise as determined by the city. All persons shall be required to obtain a franchise from the city in order to engage in commercial solid waste collection and disposal from any streets, public rights-of-way or property in the city. These fees shall be in addition to the occupational permit tax ordinance of the city.

(b)

Effective October 1, 1994, all city-franchised commercial solid waste haulers will be required to pay to the city a franchise fee of eight percent of the franchisee's monthly total gross receipts. Said franchise fee shall be increased to 12 percent effective October 1, 1995, and to 15 percent effective October 1, 1996. Said franchise fee shall be further increased to 22 percent, effective October 1, 2004. Said franchise fee shall be further increased to 24 percent, effective October 8, 2009. The franchisee shall, on or before the last day of each month, deliver to the solid waste department a true and correct statement of gross receipts generated during the previous month from its services rendered within the city on or before the last day of each month. Payments of said fee shall be made on a monthly basis to the solid waste department, on or before the last day of each month, representing gross receipts collected the previous month. The franchisee shall on or before 90 days following the close of each fiscal year deliver to the director a certified statement of its annual gross receipts and charge-offs generated from accounts within the city prepared by an independent certified public accountant ("CPA"), admitted to practice in the state, reflecting gross receipts within the city for the preceding fiscal year. The CPA statement shall render an unqualified opinion, based on the result of the audit, relative to the franchisee's accounting of all revenues, fees and charge-offs generated from accounts and activities within the city limits. The franchisees will allow city auditors, during regular business hours after reasonable notice, to audit, inspect and examine the franchisees' fiscal books and records and tax returns, insofar as they relate to city accounts, to confirm the franchisees' compliance with this section. In the event the franchisee fails to pay the full franchise fee percentage of the franchisee's total monthly gross receipts, the city shall charge a penalty of one and one half percent per month on the outstanding balance until paid and additionally the franchisee shall have to pay all expenses of collection, including court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.

(c)

To effectively provide for the payment of said franchise fee by the franchisees to the city, any person seeking to renew his/her annual local business tax receipt pursuant to the provisions of chapter 31 of this Code shall, in addition to the requirements set forth therein, provide the city finance department with evidence of all fees imposed by the provisions of this chapter as a condition to reissuance or renewal of said business permit.

(d)

Issuance of a franchise shall require city commission approval for the franchise referenced in section 22-47 of this chapter.

(e)

The director is authorized to suspend, revoke, or cancel any such franchise for failure to comply with any of the terms hereof, in accordance with the same practice and procedures as are set forth in section 22-48 of this chapter; providing, however, that the director shall afford an existing franchisee a written notice reasonably specifying the reason(s) for the proposed revocation or suspension of an existing franchise, and the franchisee shall be afforded 14 business days to cure the noncompliance stated in such notice.

(f)

Any decision of the director under the terms of this section may be reviewed, upon written request of the aggrieved franchisee made to the city manager in accordance with the same time period and procedure as are set forth by section 22-49, City Code.

(Ord. No. 10440, § 7, 5-19-88; Ord. No. 11184, § 6, 10-27-94; Code 1980, § 22-18.12; Ord. No. 11444, § 2, 2-20-97; Ord. No. 11634, § 1, 4-14-98; Ord. No. 11837, § 2, 9-28-99; Ord. No. 12258, § 2, 7-25-02; Ord. No. 12599, § 2, 10-14-04; Ord. No. 12885, § 1, 2-8-07; Ord. No. 13108, § 5, 10-8-09; Ord. No. 13194, § 2, 9-27-10; Ord. No. 13531, § 2, 7-9-15; Ord. No. 13676, § 2, 4-27-17; Ord. No. 13693, § 2, 7-13-17)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 13194, § 2, adopted September 27, 2010, changed the title of section 22-56 from "Franchise fee requirement; monthly franchise fee payment; approval by director as a prerequisite to issuance; financial statements, list of accounts; account permit fees; roll-off permit fees" to "Franchise fee requirement; monthly franchise fee payment; approval by city commission as a prerequisite to issuance; financial statements, list of accounts; account permit fees; roll-off permit fees." The historical notation has been preserved for reference purposes.