This chapter shall be known as the "Utility User's Fee of the
City of Rancho Cucamonga."
(Code 1980, § 3.48.010; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993)
The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter,
shall be construed as follows:
means the City of Rancho Cucamonga.
means the director of administrative services, or designee,
of the city.
means natural or manufactured gas or any alternate hydrocarbon
fuel which may be substituted therefor.
means a calendar month.
means:
A service supplier, other than an electrical corporation franchised
to serve within the city, which generates electrical energy in capacities
of at least 50 kilowatts for its own use or for sale to others; or
A gas supplier, other than a gas corporation franchised to serve
the city that sells or supplies gas for its own use or for sale to
others within the city.
means any domestic or foreign corporation, firm, association,
syndicate, joint stock company, partnership of any kind, joint venture,
club, trust, society or individuals.
means any entity required to collect or self-impose and remit
a fee as imposed by this chapter.
means a person required to pay a fee imposed by this chapter.
have the same meanings as defined in Sections 234, 218, 222,
and 241, respectively, of the Public Utilities Code, except the terms
"electrical corporation," "gas corporation" and "water corporation"
shall also be construed to include any municipality, public agency
engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical power or gas or
water to a service user.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.020; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a fee
upon any person when imposition of such fee upon that person would
be in violation of state statute, the Constitution of the state, or
the Constitution of the United States.
A.
Fee;
exemption.
1.
The
fee imposed by this chapter shall not apply to any service user that
uses electric, gas, water or telephone services in or upon any residence
occupied by such service user when the combined total gross income
(as used for purposes of the California Personal Income Tax Law) of
all members of the household in which such service user resided was
less than the current amount established for San Bernardino/Riverside
Counties by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
for very low income families for the applicable family size for the
calendar year prior to the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) and
for which an application for exemption as provided in this chapter
is sought.
2.
The
fee imposed by this chapter shall not apply to the state, any county
or city or any district or political subdivision thereof.
3.
The exemption granted by subsection (A)(1) of this section shall not eliminate the duty of the service supplier from collecting fees from such exempt service users or the duty of such exempt service users from paying such fees to the service supplier, unless an exemption is applied for by the service user and granted in accordance with the provisions of subsection B of this section.
B.
Fee;
application for exemption; renewal; notification.
1.
Any service user exempt from the fees imposed by this chapter because of the provisions of subsection A of this section may file an application with the finance director for an exemption. Such applications shall be made upon forms supplied by the finance director and shall recite facts under oath which qualify the applicant for an exemption. The finance director shall review all such applications and certify as exempt those applicants determined to qualify therefor, and shall notify all service suppliers affected that such exemption has been approved, stating the name of the applicant, the address to which such exempt service is being supplied, and such other information as may be necessary for the service supplier to remove the exempt service user from its fee billing procedure. Upon receipt of such notice, the service supplier shall not be required to continue to bill any further fee imposed by this chapter from such exempt service user until further notice by the finance director is given. The service supplier shall eliminate such exempt service user from its fee billing procedure not later than 60 days after receipt of such notice from the finance director.
2.
All
exemptions shall continue and be renewed automatically by the finance
director so long as the requisite facts supporting the initial qualification
for exemption shall continue; provided, however, that the exemption
shall automatically terminate with any change in the service address
or residence of the exempt service user; further provided such service
user may, nevertheless, apply for a new exemption with each change
of address or residence.
3.
Any
service user exempt from the tax shall notify the finance director
within ten days of any change in fact or circumstance which might
disqualify such service user from receiving such exemption. It shall
be a misdemeanor for any service user to knowingly receive the benefits
of the exemptions provided by this section when the basis for such
exemption either does not exist or ceases to exist.
C.
Notwithstanding
any of the provisions of this section, however, any service supplier
who determines by any means that a new or nonexempt service user is
receiving service through a meter or connection exempt by virtue of
an exemption issued to a previous user or exempt user of the same
meter or connection, such service supplier shall notify the finance
director of such fact and the finance director shall conduct an investigation
to ascertain whether or not the provisions of this section have been
complied with, and, where appropriate, order the service supplier
to commence collecting the fee from the non-exempt service user.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.030; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Effective
August 1, 2001, all fees are reduced to zero.
B.
To qualify
for such maximum aggregate payment, a service user shall submit an
application to the finance director, together with sufficient evidence
demonstrating payment exceeding the maximum aggregate amount provided
in this section. Upon receipt and acceptance of such application,
the finance director shall notify each service supplier not to impose
the utility fees required by this chapter upon such service user.
Such accepted and approved service user shall remit the maximum aggregate
utility user fee directly to the city in a form and in installment
amounts consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the finance
director.
C.
Any
service user who has been approved and accepted to pay the maximum
aggregate amount that pays more than the maximum aggregate fee provided
in this section during one calendar year may claim a refund or credit
for such overpayment as provided in this chapter.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.035; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 1, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 1, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 1, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 1, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 1, 2000; Ord. No. 558E, § 1, 2001)
A.
Effective
August 1, 2001, all fees are reduced to zero.
B.
As used
in this section, the term "charges" shall not include charges for
services paid for by inserting coins in coin-operated telephones,
except that where such coin-operated service is furnished for a guaranteed
amount, the amounts paid under such guarantee, plus any fixed monthly
or other periodic charge, shall be included in the base for computing
the amount of fee due; nor shall the term "charge" include charges
for any type of service or equipment furnished by a service supplier
subject to public utilities commission regulations during any period
in which the same or similar services or equipment are also available
for sale or lease from persons other than a service supplier subject
to public utilities commission regulations; nor shall the term "telephone
communication services" include land mobile service or maritime mobile
services as defined in 47 CFR 2.1, as said section existed on January
1, 1970. The term "telephone communication services" refers to that
service which provides access to a telephone system and the privilege
of telephone quality communication with substantially all persons
having telephone stations which are part of such telephone system.
The telephone user's fee is in-tended to, and does, apply to all charges
billed to a telephone account having a situs in the city, irrespective
of whether a particular communication originates and/or terminates
within the city.
C.
The
fee imposed by this section shall be collected from the service user
by the person providing the intrastate telephone communication services
or the person receiving payment for such services. The amount of the
fee collected in one month shall be remitted to the finance director
on or before the last day of the following month; or, at the option
of the person required to collect and remit the fee, an estimated
amount of fee collected, measured by the fee bill in the previous
month, shall be remitted to the finance director on or before the
last day of each month.
D.
Notwithstanding the provision of subsection A of this section, the fee imposed under this section shall not be imposed upon any person for using intrastate telephone communication services to the extent that the amounts paid for such services are exempt from or not subject to the tax imposed under Division 2, Part 20, of the Revenue and Taxation Code, of the tax imposed under Section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.040; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 2, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 2, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 2, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 2, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 2, 2000; Ord. No. 558E, § 2, 2001; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Effective
August 1, 2001, all fees are reduced to zero.
B.
As used
in this section, the term "using electrical energy" shall not be construed
to mean the storage of such energy by a person in a battery owned
or possessed by him or her for use in an automobile or other machinery
device apart from the premises upon which the energy was received;
provided, however, that the term "using electrical energy" shall include
the receiving of such energy for the purpose of using it in the charging
of batteries; nor shall the term "using electrical energy" include
electricity used and consumed by an electric utility supplier in the
conduct of its business as an electric public utility; nor shall the
term include the mere receiving of such energy by an electric corporation
or governmental agency at a point within the city for resale; nor
shall the term "using electrical energy" include the use of such energy
in the production or distribution of water by a water utility or a
governmental agency.
C.
The fee imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the energy service supplier or non-utility supplier. The tax imposed in this section on use supplied by self-generation or from a non-utility supplier not subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter shall be collected and remitted to the finance director in the manner set forth in section 3.48.080. The amount of fee collected by a service supplier or a non-utility supplier in one month shall be remitted by United States mail to the finance director, postmarked on or before the last day of the following month, or at the option of the person required to collect and remit the fee, an estimated amount of fee measured by the fee billed in the previous month, or based upon the payment pattern of the customers.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.050; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 3, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 3, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 3, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 3, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 3, 2000; Ord. No. 558E, § 3, 2001; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Notwithstanding the rate provisions in section 3.48.050, the fee imposed on every person using cogenerated electrical energy in the city shall be at the rate of 4.66 percent of the value of the cogenerated electrical energy consumed in the city. Cogenerated electricity shall be valued at the electric utility supplier's combined avoided cost energy pricing and avoided cost capacity pricing which is filed with the state public utilities commission.
B.
The
co-generator shall install and maintain an appropriate metering system
which will enable compliance with this section.
C.
The fee shall be collected and paid by the co-generator under section 3.48.065 if the co-generator consumes the energy. If the co-generator sells the energy for consumption in the city, the fee will be imposed on the charges made for such service and shall be collected and paid by the person to whom the energy is sold.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.055; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Effective
date; definition.
1.
Effective
August 1, 2001, all fees are reduced to zero.
2.
The
term "charges," as used in this section, shall include:
a.
The charge for gas which is delivered through mains of pipes or mobile
transports;
b.
Gas transportation charges; and
c.
Demand charges, services charges, customer charges, minimum charges,
annual and monthly charges, and any other authorized by the state
public utilities commission of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
B.
The
fee otherwise imposed by this section is not applicable to:
1.
Charges
made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through mains and
pipes;
2.
Charges
made for gas used and consumed by a public utility or governmental
agency in the course of its business;
3.
Charges
made by a gas public utility or gas used and consumed in the course
of its public utility business; or
4.
Charges
made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle, as authorized
in the Vehicle Code.
C.
The fee imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling or transporting the gas. A person selling only transportation services of gas to a service user for delivery of gas through mains or pipes shall collect the fee from the service user based on the cost of transporting the gas. The person selling or transporting the gas shall, on or before the last day of each calendar month, commencing on the 20th day of the calendar month after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, make a report to the finance director stating the amount of fees billed during the preceding calendar month. At the time such reports are filed, the person selling or transporting the gas shall remit fee payments to the finance director in accordance with schedules established or approved by the finance director. The fee imposed in this section on use supplied by self-production or a non-utility supplier not subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter, shall be collected by and remitted to the finance director in the time and manner set forth in section 3.48.080.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.060; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 4, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 4, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 4, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 4, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 4, 2000; Ord. No. 558E, § 4, 2001; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of this chapter, a service user receiving gas,
electricity or telephone service directly from a non-utility supplier
not under the jurisdiction of this chapter, or otherwise not having
the full fee due on the use of gas, electricity or telephone service
in the city directly billed and collected by the service supplier,
shall report said fact to the finance director within 30 days of said
use and shall directly remit to the city the amount of fee due.
B.
The
finance director may require said service user to provide, subject
to audit, filed tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting
the quantity of gas, electricity or telephone service used and the
price thereof.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.065; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
Effective
August 1, 2001, all fees are reduced to zero.
B.
There
shall be excluded from the base on which the fee imposed in this section
is computed charges made for water which is to be resold and delivered
through mains or pipes; and charges made by a municipal water department,
public utility or a city or municipal water district for water used
and consumed by such department, utility or district.
C.
The
fee imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user
by the person supplying the water. The amount collected in one month
shall be remitted to the finance director on or before the last day
of the following month.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.070; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 5, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 5, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 5, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 5, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 5, 2000; Ord. No. 558E, § 5, 2001)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no tax
shall be imposed on the use of energy produced through the use of
fuel cell technology.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.075; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993)
The duty to collect and remit the fees imposed by this chapter
shall be performed as follows:
A.
The
fee shall be collected, insofar as practicable, at the same time as,
and along with, the charges made in accordance with the regular billing
practices of the service supplier. Where the amount paid by a service
user to a service supplier is less than the full amount of the energy
charge and fee which has been accrued for the billing period, such
amount and any subsequent payments by a service user shall be applied
to the utility charge first until such charge has been fully satisfied.
Any remaining balance shall be applied to fees due.
B.
The
duty to collect fees from a service user shall commence with the beginning
of the first full regular billing period applicable to the service
user where all charges normally included in such regular billing are
subject to the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Where
a person receives more than one billing, one or more being for different
periods than another, the duty to collect shall arise separately for
each billing period.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.080; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993)
A.
Fees
collected from a service user which are not remitted to the finance
director on or before the due dates provided in this chapter are delinquent.
B.
Penalties
for delinquency in remittance of the fee collected, or any deficiency
determination, shall attach and be paid by the person required to
collect and remit at the rate of 15 percent of the total fee collected
or imposed by this chapter.
C.
The
finance director shall have power to impose additional penalties upon
persons required to collect and remit fees under the provisions of
this chapter for fraud or negligence in reporting or remitting at
the rate of 15 percent of the amount of the fee collected or as recomputed
by the finance director.
D.
Every
penalty imposed under the provisions of this chapter shall become
a part of the fee required to be remitted.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.090; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
Any fee required to be paid by a service user under the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the service user to
the city. Any such fee collected from a service user which has willfully
been withheld from the finance director shall be deemed a debt owed
to the city by the person required to collect and remit. Any person
owing money to the city under the provisions of this chapter shall
be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery
of such amount.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.100; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993)
A.
The
finance director shall have the power and duty, and is directed, to
enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The
finance director shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations
not inconsistent with provisions of this chapter for the purpose of
carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance
of the fees imposed in this chapter.
C.
The
finance director may make administrative agreements to vary the requirements
of this chapter so that collection of any fee imposed may be made
in conformance with the billing procedures of the particular service
supplier so long as said agreements result in collection of the fee
in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this chapter.
D.
The
finance director shall determine the eligibility of any person who
asserts a right to exemption from the fee imposed by this chapter.
The finance director shall provide the service supplier with the name
of any person who the finance director determines is exempt from the
fee imposed hereby, together with the address to which service is
supplied to any such exempt person. The finance director shall notify
the service supplier of termination of any person's right to exemption
hereunder, or the change of any address to which service is supplied
to any exempt person.
E.
The
finance director shall provide written notice to all service suppliers
of any change in the city's boundaries at least 90 days prior to any
annexation or other change in the city's boundaries. Said notice shall
set forth the revised boundaries by street and address along with
a copy of the final annexation order from LAFCO.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.110; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
A.
The
finance director may make an assessment for fees not remitted by a
person required to remit.
B.
Whenever
the finance director determines that a service user has deliberately
withheld the amount of the fee owed by him or her from the amounts
remitted to the service supplier who is required to collect the fee,
or that a service user has refused to pay the amount of the fee to
such person, or whenever the finance director deems it in the best
interest of the city, he or she may relieve such person of the obligation
to collect the fees due under this chapter from certain named service
users for specified billing periods.
C.
The
service supplier shall provide the city with amounts refused, along
with the names and addresses of the service users refusing to pay
the fee imposed under provisions of this chapter. Whenever the service
user has failed to pay the amount of the fee for a period of two or
more billing periods, the service supplier shall be relieved of the
obligation to collect fees due.
D.
The
finance director shall notify the service user that he 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 service
user by handing it to him or her personally or by deposit of the notice
in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the service
user at the address to which billing was made by the person required
to collect the fee; or, should the service user have changed his or
her address, to his or her last known address. If a service user fails
to remit the fee to the finance director within 15 days from the date
of the service of the notice upon him or her or her, which shall be
the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty
of 25 percent of the amount of the fee set forth in the notice shall
be imposed but not less than $5.00. The penalty shall become part
of the fee herein required to be paid.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.120; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
It shall be the duty of every person required to collect and
remit to the city any fee imposed by this chapter to keep and preserve,
for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine
the amount of such fee as he or she may have been liable for the remittance
to the finance director, which records the finance director shall
have the right to inspect at all reasonable times.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.130; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993)
A.
Whenever the calculation of the amount of any fee due and owing under this chapter is alleged to have resulted in an overpayment or a payment more than once, it may be refunded by the finance director as provided in subsections B and C of this section, provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the finance director within one year of the date of the claimed overpayment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the finance director.
B.
A service
supplier may claim a refund or take as credit against fees collected
and remitted an amount overpaid or paid more than once when it is
established that the person from whom the fee has been collected did
not owe the fee.
C.
Any service user may obtain a refund of fees overpaid or paid more than once by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection A of this section, but only when the service user having paid the fee to the service supplier establishes to the satisfaction of the finance director that the service user has been unable to obtain a refund from the service supplier who collected the fee.
D.
Notwithstanding
other provisions of this section, whenever a service supplier, pursuant
to an order of the state public utilities commission or a court of
competent jurisdiction, makes a refund to service users of charges
for past utility services, the fees paid pursuant to this chapter
on the amount of such refunded charges shall also be entitled to claim
a credit for such refunded fees against the amount of the fee which
is due upon the next monthly returns. In the event this chapter is
repealed, the amounts of any refundable fees will be borne by the
city.
(Code 1980, § 3.48.140; Ord. No. 510, § 1, 1993; Ord. No. 558, § 6, 1996; Ord. No. 558-A, § 6, 1997; Ord. No. 558-B, § 6, 1998; Ord. No. 558C, § 6, 1999; Ord. No. 558D, § 6, 2000; Ord. No. 870 (Recodification), 2014)
