A. 
Every person required to have a license under this chapter shall apply to the finance director. A license certificate will not be issued until an application for a license has been completed and filed, all license fees are paid, and all city officers or departments required to investigate the application have approved such issuance. The issuance of a license certificate shall not be deemed as evidence that the person operating a business in the city is in fact in compliance with all ordinances, rules, or regulations of the city or that the person has applied for or has been issued all permits or certificates which otherwise may be required under applicable law. The issuance of a license pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not entitle the licensee to engage in any business for any reason which is in violation of any law.
B. 
Whenever the tax imposed under this chapter is measured by the number of vehicles, devices, machines or other pieces of equipment used, or whenever the license tax is measured by the gross receipts from the operation of such items, the finance director shall issue only one license; provided, that he/she may issue for each tax period for which the license tax has been paid one identification sticker, tag, plate or symbol for each item included in the measure of the tax or used in a business where the tax is measured by the gross receipts from such items.
C. 
A license certificate issued under this chapter shall include the following information:
1. 
The name of the person to whom the license is issued;
2. 
The business licensed;
3. 
The place where the business is to be conducted;
4. 
The date of the expiration of the license; and
5. 
Such other information as may be necessary for the enforcement of this chapter.
D. 
Every person required to have a license pursuant to this chapter shall produce and exhibit the license certificate whenever requested to do so by any person authorized to issue or inspect licenses or collect license taxes.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989; Ord. 04-1219 § 5, 2004; Ord. 08-1309 § 10, 2008)
A. 
Every person required to have a license under this chapter shall apply for it to the director of finance of the city. The application shall be a written statement upon a form provided by the director of finance and shall be written by the applicant under penalty of perjury, or sworn to by the applicant before a person authorized to administer oaths. The applicant shall set forth such information as may be necessary to determine the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant.
B. 
If the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant is based upon gross receipts, the application shall set forth the gross receipts for the applicable period, as provided in PMC § 5.04.020(B).
C. 
The director of finance shall impose a fee to recover the administrative costs of processing an application for the issuance and/or renewal of a license required by this chapter. Such fees shall be established by resolution by the city council. The payment of fees under this chapter shall not preclude the imposition of any administrative fees necessary to recover actual costs established by the city council by resolution or under other provisions of this municipal code, or any other fees required under applicable laws.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989; Ord. 04-1219 § 6, 2004)
Every person applying for a first license shall estimate the gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis for the period to be covered by the license to be issued. The estimate, if accepted by the director of finance as being reasonable, shall be used in determining the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant; however, the amount of the license tax so determined shall be tentative only. The person shall, within 30 days after the expiration of the period for which the license was issued, furnish the director of finance with a sworn statement, upon a form to be provided by the director of finance, setting forth any required information and showing, during the period of the license, the gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis. The license tax shall be determined and paid upon such applicable basis, credit being given for the tentative license tax previously paid.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A. 
The applicant for the renewal of a license shall submit to the director of finance for his guidance in determining the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant, a written statement, upon a form to be provided by the director of finance, written under penalty of perjury or sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths. The form shall set forth such information concerning the type of the applicant's business and the gross receipts derived or other applicable basis during the preceding year as may be required by the director of finance to enable him to determine the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant.
B. 
The director of finance shall determine the average monthly gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis and compute the license fee payable for 12 months. The license fee payable for the next period shall be the amount based upon the computed 12 months of applicable base. For the purpose of this section, a fractional part of a month is considered as a full month.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A. 
No statement is conclusive as to the basis for determining the license tax for that business, and filing a statement does not preclude the city from collecting the sum actually due and payable.
B. 
All persons subject to this chapter shall keep complete records of all business transactions and maintain these records for at least three years. The director of finance may, after five days' written notice, inspect the records of any person engaged in business within the city for the purpose of determining the true license tax of that person.
C. 
Refusal to allow an inspection at a reasonable time and place is grounds to revoke or to refuse issuance of a license.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989; Ord. 04-1219 § 7, 2004)
A. 
The information furnished or obtained under this chapter is confidential in character and shall not be subject to public inspection and shall be kept so that the contents may not become known except to the persons charged with the administration of this chapter.
B. 
Unless in compliance with judicial order or as may be required for the proper administration of this chapter, the director of finance, his agents and employees shall not divulge facts or information obtained in the administration of this chapter.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A. 
If a person fails to file a required statement within the time prescribed; or, if after demand has been made by the director of finance, he fails to file a corrected statement within 15 days after notification; or if it appears to the satisfaction of the director of finance that a statement filed does not set forth the true facts of the business for which a license is required, the director of finance shall determine the amount of license tax due by means of such information as he may be able to obtain.
B. 
In case this determination is made, the director of finance shall give notice of the amount assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the U.S. Post Office at Pittsburg, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the person so assessed at the address appearing on his last license or application. The person may, within 10 days after the serving or mailing of the notice, apply in writing to the director of finance for a hearing on the amount of the license tax. If an application is made, the director of finance shall give not less than five days' written notice, in the manner prescribed herein, to the licensee to show cause, at a time and place fixed in the notice, why the amount specified should not be fixed for the license. At the hearing the licensee may appear and offer evidence why the specified tax should not be fixed as the license tax. After the hearing, the director of finance shall determine the tax to be charged and shall give written notice to the licensee in the manner prescribed herein of such determination and the amount of such tax.
C. 
If application by the licensee for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the license tax determined by the director of finance is final.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A. 
A person aggrieved by a decision of an administrative officer or agent with respect to the issuance or refusal to issue or renew a license, or the amount of a license tax, or the revocation of a license, may appeal to the city council by filing a notice of appeal with the director of finance within 15 calendar days of the mailing of the decision. The city council shall fix a time and place for hearing the appeal and the director of finance shall give notice in writing to the person of the time and place of hearing by serving it personally or by depositing it in the U.S. Post Office at Pittsburg, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the person at the address appearing on his last license or application. The findings of the city council shall be final and conclusive and shall be served upon the applicant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing.
B. 
The amount of the license tax finally determined is due and payable on the date the original license fee was due and payable, together with penalties that may be due.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989; Ord. 04-1219 § 8, 2004)
A. 
No license issued under this chapter is transferable from person to person, unless upon transfer of the business the ultimate ownership is substantially similar to the ownership existing before transfer. For purposes of this section, stockholders, bond holders, partnerships or other persons holding an interest in a corporation or other entity are regarded as having ultimate ownership of that corporation or entity.
B. 
Upon sale or transfer of a business to a new owner, the new owner must apply for a business license as provided in PMC § 5.04.120; however, the license tax for that period will be calculated on a pro rata basis for that year, as provided in PMC § 5.04.220(C).
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A person licensed to transact business at a particular place may have the existing license amended to authorize the transaction of the same business at some other location, upon application and paying a fee of an amount fixed by resolution of city council.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A duplicate license may be issued by the director of finance to replace a license previously issued under this chapter which has been lost or destroyed upon the licensee filing statement of that fact and at the time of filing the statement paying to the director of finance a duplicate license fee of an amount fixed by resolution of city council.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)
A. 
A licensee transacting and carrying on business at a fixed place of business in the city shall keep the license posted in a conspicuous place upon the premises where the business is carried on.
B. 
A licensee transacting and carrying on business but not operating at a fixed place of business in the city shall keep the license upon his person at all times while transacting and carrying on the business for which it is issued.
C. 
Whenever an identifying sticker, tag, plate or symbol is issued for a vehicle, device, machine or other piece of equipment included in the measure of a license tax, the person to whom issued shall keep it firmly affixed upon the equipment at the location designated by the director of finance. The sticker, tag, plate or symbol shall not be removed during the period for which it is used.
D. 
No person shall give away, sell or transfer an identifying sticker, tag, plate or symbol to another person, or permit its use by another person.
(Ord. 965 § 1, 1989)