The following words, terms and phrases, for the purpose of the is article, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning, are defined as follows:
City secretary.
The city secretary of the City of Bellville.
Consideration.
The cost for the room, sleeping space, bed or dormitory space or other facilities in such hotel, and shall not include the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant not related to cleaning and readying such room or space for occupancy, and shall not include any tax assessed for occupancy there by any other governmental agency.
Hotel.
Any building or buildings, trailer, railroad Pullman cars not being utilized for the transportation of travelers, or facilities, in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include hotels, motels, tourist homes, houses, or courts, lodging houses, inns rooming houses, trailer houses, trailer motels, railroad Pullman cars not involved in the transportation of travelers dormitory space where bedspace is rented to individuals or groups apartments not occupied by “permanent residents” as that term is herein defined, and all other facilities where rooms or sleeping facilities or spaces are furnished for a consideration, but “hotel” shall not be defined so as to include a hospital, sanitarium, nursing home or convalescent home. Hotel in the contexts of this article shall also mean the owner/operator of the business.
Occupancy.
The use or possession, or the right to use [or] possession, of any room, space or sleeping facility in a hotel for any purpose.
Occupant.
Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses, or has a right to use or possess any room or rooms, sleeping space or facility in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement.
Permanent resident.
Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy of any room or rooms or sleeping space or facility in a hotel for at least thirty (30) consecutive days during the current calendar year or preceding year.
Person.
Any individual, company, corporation, or association owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel in the city.
Quarterly period.
The regular calendar quarters of the year, the first quarter being composed of the months of January, February and March; the second quarter being the months of April, May, and June; the third quarter being the months of July, August, and September; and the fourth quarter being the months of October, November and December.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
(a) 
Effective as of July 1, 1992, there is hereby levied a tax upon the occupant of any room or space furnished by any hotel in the city, where such cost of occupancy is at the rate of two dollars ($2.00) or more per day, and is ordinarily uses for sleeping, such tax to be equal to seven percent (7%) of the consideration paid by the occupant of such room, space or facility to such hotel, exclusive of other occupancy taxes imposed by any other governmental agency.
(b) 
No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon a permanent resident.
(c) 
No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon the United States, a governmental entity of the United States, or an officer or employee of a governmental entity of the United States when traveling on or otherwise engaged in the course of official duties of the governmental entity.
(d) 
No tax shall be imposed hereunder to the state, or agency, institution, board, or commission of the state other than an institution of higher education shall pay the imposed and can seek a refund.
(e) 
No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon a state officer or employee of a state government as describe in subsection (d) for whom a special provision or exception to the general rate of reimbursement under the General Appropriations Act applies and who is provided with photo identification verifying the identity and exempt status of the person.
(f) 
A person who is described in subsection (d) shall pay the tax imposed hereunder but the state governmental entity with whom the person is associated is entitled to a refund of the tax.
(g) 
To receive a refund of tax paid under this section, the governmental entity entitled to the refund must file a refund claim on a form provided by the city secretary.
(h) 
A governmental entity may file a refund claim with the city secretary under this section only for each quarter for all reimbursements accrued during that quarter.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
(a) 
Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel in the city shall collect the tax imposed in section 11.04.002 hereof for the city and is hereby authorized to retain one percent (1%) of the hotel occupancy taxes collected as reimbursement for the costs of collecting the tax.
(b) 
However, as herein provided below this reimbursement shall be forfeited at the discretion of the city if the hotel operator fails to timely pay over the tax or timely file a report as required by the city or files a false report with the city.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
On or before the last day of the month immediately following each quarterly period, every person required by section 11.04.003 hereof to collect the tax imposed herein shall file a report with the city secretary showing the consideration paid for all room occupancies in the preceding quarter, the amount of the tax collected on such occupancies, and any other information as the city secretary may reasonably require. Such person shall pay the amount of tax collected from occupants during the period of the report at the time of filing the report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the city secretary. The city secretary is hereby authorized and directed to do all such things necessary or convenient to carry out the terms of this article. There shall also be furnished to the city secretary, at the time of payment of such tax, a copy of the quarterly tax report filed with the state comptroller in connection with the state hotel occupancy tax.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
The city secretary shall use the rules and regulations of the state, modified to fit the circumstances, to collect the tax levied herein, and shall upon reasonable notice have access to books and records necessary to enable him/her to determine the correctness of any report filed as required by this article and the amount of taxes due under the provisions of this article. The city council shall have final authority as to any modifications of state rules and regulations.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
If any person shall fail to collect the tax imposed herein or shall fail to file a report as required herein, or shall fail to pay the city secretary the taxes imposed herein, when said report or payment is due, or shall file a false report, such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be punished by a fine in accordance with the general [penalty] provision found in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each twenty-four (24) hours of any such violation shall constitute a separate offense. In addition, such person who fails to remit the tax imposed by this article within the time required shall forfeit five percent (5%) of the amount due as a penalty, and after the first thirty (30) days of the delinquency shall forfeit an additional five percent (5%) of such tax. Provided, however, that the penalty shall never be less than five dollars ($5.00). Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum beginning sixty (60) days from the due date.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
The city is hereby authorized to take the following actions against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and pay the collection over to the city and who has failed to file a report, or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due:
(1) 
Require the forfeiture of any revenue the city allowed the hotel operator to retain for its costs of collecting the tax;
(2) 
Bring suit against the hotel for noncompliance; and/or
(3) 
Bring suit against the hotel, seeking any other remedies provided under state law.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
The city attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and required to pay the collection over to the city, and who has failed to file a report, or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due. Such suit may seek to collect such tax not paid or to enjoin such person from operating a hotel in the city until the tax is paid or the report is filed or both, as applicable and as provided in the injunction.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
(a) 
The revenue derived from any hotel occupancy tax imposed and levied by this article may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry, and that use is limited to the following:
(1) 
The acquisition of sites for and the construction, improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and maintenance of convention center facilities or visitor information centers, or both (as such is defined in V.T.C.A., Tax Code, section 351.001);
(2) 
The furnishing of facilities, personnel, and materials for the registration of convention delegates or registrants;
(3) 
Advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity;
(4) 
The encouragement, promotion, improvements, and application of the arts, including instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, motion pictures, radio, television, tape and sound recordings, and other arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of these major art forms;
(5) 
Historical restoration and preservation projects or activities or advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to encourage tourists and convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites or museums:
(A) 
Which are at or in the immediate vicinity of convention center facilities; or
(B) 
Which are located elsewhere in the municipality or its vicinity that would be frequented by tourists, convention delegates, or other visitors to the municipality.
(6) 
For a municipality located in a county with a population of one million or less, expenses, including promotion expenses, directly related to a sporting event in which the majority of participants are tourist who substantially increase economic activity at hotels and motels within the municipality or its vicinity.
(b) 
Revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax shall be expended only in a manner which directly enhances and promotes tourism and the convention and hotel industry as hereinbefore delineated. Such revenue shall not be used for the general revenue purposes or general government operations of the municipality which are not directly related to promoting the hotel and convention industry or tourism in the municipality.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)
(a) 
The city council may, by contract, delegate to a person, including another governmental entity or a private organization, the management or supervision of programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy tax. The city council shall approve in writing in advance the annual budget of the entity to which it delegates those functions, and shall require the entity to make periodic reports to the city council at least quarterly listing the expenditures made by the entity of revenue from the tax provided by the municipality.
(b) 
The entity must maintain the revenue provided by the municipality from the tax in a separate account established for that purpose and may not commingle that revenue with any other money or maintain it in any other account.
(c) 
The municipality may not delegate to any person or entity the management or supervision of its convention and visitors programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy tax other than by contract as provided herein.
(d) 
The approval by the city council of the annual budget of the entity to which these functions are delegated creates a fiduciary duty in the person or entity with respect to the revenue provided by the municipality to the person or entity under the contract.
(e) 
A person or entity with whom the municipality contracts to conduct authorized activities shall maintain complete and accurate financial records of each expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue made by the person or entity and, on request of the city council or other person, shall make the records available for inspection and review.
(f) 
Hotel occupancy tax revenue may be spent for day-to-day operations, supplies, salaries, office rental, travel expenses, and other administrative costs only if those administrative costs are incurred directly in the promotion and servicing of expenditures hereinbefore authorized. The portion of the total administrative costs for activities for which hotel occupancy tax revenue may be used may not exceed the administrative costs actually incurred in conducting the authorized activities.
(g) 
Hotel occupancy tax revenue may not be spent for travel for a person to attend an event or conduct an activity the primary purpose for which is not directly related to the promotion of the person’s job in an efficient and professional manner.
(Ordinance 1552 adopted 2/20/18)