[Adopted 8-9-2004 by Ord. No. 8-9-04]
62.77.1.
This ordinance shall be known as the "Municipality of Bethel
Park Patron Parking Tax Ordinance."
62.78.1.
The following words and phrases when used in this ordinance
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
62.78.2.
COLLECTOR — The person or persons appointed by ordinance
of Council of the Municipality of Bethel Park to collect all taxes
imposed by this ordinance.
62.78.3.
CONSIDERATION — The payment or compensation of whatever
nature, of whatever amount, and however stated or calculated, received
by the operator from the patron, upon an express or implied contract,
or under lease, or otherwise, whether or not separately stated, and
whether paid in cash or credit to an account, for each parking or
storing of a motor vehicle by a patron. The consideration shall not
include the tax imposed and collected under this ordinance. Whenever
the consideration is not fixed in a cash amount or in a stated and
bona fide cash equivalent, the Collector shall make a reasonable determination
of its cash value. When the consideration is expressed in combination
with another product or service, it shall be presumed that the entire
consideration is attributable to the parking activity.
62.78.4.
HOTEL — A building designed for occupancy primarily as
the temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged with or
without meals.
62.78.5.
MOTEL — A building designed for occupancy primarily as
the temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged with or
without meals and which is customarily designated as a "motel."
62.78.6.
MOTOR VEHICLE or VEHICLE — Every kind of vehicle used
for transportation and conveyance and allowed for those uses on the
highways of the commonwealth.
62.78.7.
NONRESIDENT PARKING PLACE or PARKING PLACE — Any place
within the Municipality, whether wholly or partially enclosed or open,
at which motor vehicles are parked or stored for any period of time
in return for a consideration, not including:
1.
Any parking area or garage, to the extent that it is provided or
leased to occupants of a residence on the same or other premises,
for use only in connection with and as accessory to the occupancy
of such residence; and
2.
Any parking area or garage operated exclusively by an owner or lessee
of a hotel, motel, hotel utilized for occupancy and leased on a daily,
weekly or monthly basis, tourist court or trailer park, to the extent
that the parking area or garage is provided to guests or tenants of
such hotel, motel, hotel utilized for occupancy and leased on a daily,
weekly or monthly basis, tourist court or trailer park for no additional
consideration.
62.78.8.
OPERATOR — Any person conducting the operation of a parking
place and charging and collecting the consideration for the parking
or storage of motor vehicles at such parking place, including, without
limiting the generality of the above, any governmental body, governmental
subdivision, municipal corporation, public authority, nonprofit corporation,
or any other person so performing as an agent of any of the above.
62.78.9.
PATRON — Any person who drives a vehicle of his own or
of another into and upon a nonresidential parking place, as herein
defined, for the purpose of having such vehicle parked or stored for
any length of time.
62.78.10.
TOURIST COURT — A group of attached or detached buildings
containing only individual sleeping rooms or living units, designed
for temporary use by automobile tourists or transients; including
areas for the parking or storage of automobiles, motels, and the like.
62.78.11.
TRAILER PARK — Any camp, trailer camp, trailer court,
lot, parcel or tract of land designed, maintained or intended for
the purpose of supplying a location or accommodation for two or more
trailers. "Trailer park" shall not include automobile or trailer sales
lots upon which unoccupied trailers are parked for the purpose of
inspection or sale.
62.78.12.
TRANSACTION — The parking or storing on a unit-per-occurrence
basis of a motor vehicle at a nonresidential parking place, and such
parking or storing on any other basis and the consideration for the
parking or storing.
62.78.13.
Pronoun references shall be read and construed as appropriate
to the relevant circumstances.
62.79.1.
Commencing on September 1, 2004, and on a calendar-year basis
from January 1 to each of the following December 31, a tax for general
revenue purposes is hereby levied upon each and every patron for each
and every parking transaction at the rate of 10% on the consideration
thereof. Every operator with each transaction shall add said tax from
the patron as a condition for the allowance of the parking or storing.
Further, the fact of allowing the parking or storing and the fact
of collection of the consideration or charge for the parking shall
conclusively presume the collection of this tax.
62.80.1.
It shall be unlawful for any person and/or any operator to conduct,
continue to conduct, or thereafter begin to conduct any parking transaction
with reference to a nonresidential parking place within the Municipality
until or unless a parking registration certificate or certificates
shall have been issued to said operator, and unless the tax imposed
hereunder is accounted for in accordance with the provisions of this
ordinance.
62.80.2.
Every person and/or operator desiring to continue to conduct
or to begin any parking transaction, with reference to a nonresidential
parking place within the Municipality shall file annually an application
for parking registration certificate or certificates for each parking
place with the Collector. Every application for such certificate or
certificates shall be made upon a form prescribed and furnished by
the Collector and authorized by the Manager of the Municipality. Such
application shall set forth the name under which the applicant conducts
such parking transactions, the location of said parking place, the
size and vehicle capacity of said parking place and other such pertinent
information as may be required by the Collector. If the applicant
has or intends to have more than one place of such parking within
the Municipality, the applicant shall state the required information
with respect to each and every place of parking. If the applicant
is other than an individual, the names and addresses of the principal
officers thereof, and any other reasonable information required by
the Collector, shall be stated in the application. The application
shall be signed and sworn by the applicant. The Collector may require
that the application be verified by oath or affirmation.
62.80.3.
Upon a proper application being made, the Collector shall charge
a registration and certificate fee which shall be $200 plus $0.48
per vehicle space, which shall be paid by the applicant, and the Collector
shall grant and issue to such applicant a parking registration certificate
for each place of nonresidential parking as set forth in the application.
A parking registration certificate shall not be assignable and shall
be valid only for the person and/or operator in whose name it is issued,
and it shall be valid only for the conducting of nonresidential parking
at the place designated therein. Said parking registration certificate
shall at all times be conspicuously displayed at the place for which
issued.
62.80.4.
The Collector may suspend, or after a hearing, revoke a parking
registration certificate whenever the Collector finds that the holder
thereof has failed to comply with any provision of this ordinance.
Upon suspending or revoking any parking registration certificate,
the Collector shall request the holder thereof to surrender immediately
all parking registration certificates and duplicates thereof. Whenever
the Collector suspends a parking registration certificate, he shall
notify the holder thereof immediately of such action and shall afford
the holder a hearing, if one is desired and has not already been afforded.
After such hearing, the Collector may either rescind his order of
suspension, continue said suspension or revoke the registration certificate
or certificates.
62.81.1.
Each operator shall maintain, separately with respect to each
parking place, complete and accurate records of all transactions,
of the total amount of consideration received from all transactions,
and the total amount of tax collected on the basis of such consideration,
and the same shall be done on a uniform daily basis. Each operator
shall issue to the person paying the consideration such written evidence
of the transaction as the Collector may prescribe by regulations.
62.81.2.
As to all transactions otherwise than in a unit-per-occurrence
basis, the operator shall make, have and keep segregated records of
all such transactions, or if oral, then do so by a record of relevant
data as adequately describes each such transaction for calculation
of the proper tax. Records shall be made at the time of the transactions.
They shall be kept in chronological order.
62.81.3.
Each operator shall afford the Collector and his designated
agents and employees access to all such records and evidence at all
reasonable times and shall provide verification of the same as the
Collector may require. The Collector and his agents are hereby authorized
at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner to examine the books,
papers and records of any operator in order to verify the accuracy
of any return made.
62.82.1.
Each operator in collecting the tax shall do so as the agent
and trustee for the Municipality under the provisions and for the
purposes hereof; and, on the form prescribed by the Collector, shall
file with him by the 15th day of each month returns on all transactions
of the operator in the preceding calendar month. With such filing,
the operator shall pay to the Collector all taxes due hereunder for
such preceding month, such "taxes due" being the full tax that the
operator was charged hereunder to obtain from his patrons, less 2%
thereof as compensation to the operator for his services. Every operator
who fails to comply with the provisions hereof shall be deemed to
have acknowledged his intentional failure of consideration and of
his voluntary surrender of such compensation.
62.82.2.
If no return has been made, or if a false return has been made,
or if the operator's records are not properly made or kept, or if
the operator or anyone under his control in any way obstructs an orderly
audit or investigation relating to the determination of the proper
tax due, then the Collector may make such assessment of what he reasonable
determines to be the proper tax due, and in addition to the penalty
and interest thereon as may be due, may add a liquidated damages assessment
of up to 100% of the proper tax, and any fine as may be imposed shall
be in addition to the liabilities hereunder.
62.83.1.
The Collector or, on behalf of the Municipality, shall receive
and collect the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed hereunder
and shall have the power, in the event that any operator has, in the
judgment of the Collector, failed to pay over the amount of the tax
due, to collect the tax directly from the patron and charge the cost
of collection to the operator and shall maintain records showing the
amounts received and the date such amounts were received. The Collector
shall, with the approval of Council of the Municipality, adopt and
enforce regulations relating to the administration of this ordinance,
such regulations including, but not limited to, those relating to
evidence, records, forms, applications, registration certificates
and returns.
62.84.1.
All taxes, assessments, penalties and interests due from the
operators under this ordinance shall be paid to the Collector. Any
operator who fails to file a proper report as due or who fails to
make proper payment as due, shall pay also a penalty of an additional
10% of the amount of the tax, and in addition, shall pay interest
on the tax at the rate of 1% per month or fraction thereof from the
due date, the same being in addition to liabilities.
62.85.1.
Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance or any
regulations pursuant to it shall be subject to a fine of $500 per
day. Each day shall constitute a separate violation.
