Item 7A - Ordinance 45-16-22AGENDA ITEM:
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
ORDINANCE NO. 45~16-22
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 20, TAXATION; ARTICLE
1 II, LOCAL BUSINESS TAX; SECTION 20-53, HALF YEAR
RECEIPTS CHANGING CITY CLERK TO CITY MANAGER
OR DESIGNEE; AND SECTION 20-54, DUE DATES AND
DELINQUENCIES; PENALTIES CHANGING CITY CLERK
TO CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE AND DELETING THE
REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY CLERK SHALL
DISCONNECT WATER SERVICE FOR NON PAYMENT; AND
SECTION 20-56, COMPLIANCE BY RECEIPT HOLDERS TO
CHANGE THE CITY MANAGER TO FINANCE DIRECTOR
OR DESIGNEE; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
SUBMITTED BY: Nelson Van Liere, Ci ty Manager c:z::?
DATE: March 2, 20 16
STRATEGIC PLAN LINK: Succession Planning
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
MARCH 28, 20L6
BACKGROUND: Tn an effo1t to streamline operations of the Ci ty to continua lly do more with
fewer resources, I am proposing a s hift: in responsibilities of the daily duties of managing t11e
Business Tax Receipts fi:om the City Clerk to the City Manager, more specifi cally to the Finance
Department. ln my opinion, the j ob duties are better s uited for the Finance Department than for the
Clerk's Offlce due to the nature of the duties. Reasons for this change are highlighted below:
l . One of the most significant reasons to implement a change is that a lthough tho code indicates
that the Clerk's Office is responsible, a significant portion of the work is not s upervised by the
Clerk. The zoning approvals, inspections and the co llection of the fees are all perfonned by other
departments. When problems arise, the C lerk has no authority over the persons outside her
department perfonning the tasks. There should be one person responsible for the total process to
insure that the treatment of customers is unifonn and consistent, the fees are applied cotTe ctly and
the inspections are petformcd t im e ly.
2. According to the C lerk, the Clerk's Office has been experiencing great difficulty performing
this function at a front counter, taki ng up much needed time that sh ould be d evoted to records
management. The C lerk has repeatedly brought it to my attention that her Records Clerk has
di fflculty working on reco rd s with the interrup t ion s of the front counter. Moving the Business Tax
Receipt function across the hall should alleviate some of this pressure. The Record's Clerk would be
better utilized assis ting the City C lerk with public records requests a nd processing records that need
to be scanned and indexed for future reference.
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
MARCH 28,2016
3. The Finance Department already processes tax receipt payments, the Building and Planning
Department performs a zoning review and the Building Official coordinates any inspections that
need to be done. The Finance Department has front counter support and is capable of performing the
remaining required procedures of taking the applications and verifying once trained.
4. The software that the Clerk's Office has been using has proven to be troublesome and time
consuming. The software will be upgraded in the near future and will require many hours of
training. By transferring these duties now, the Finance Department will have time to train and
migrate to the new software and unburden the Clerk's Office with this responsibility. Finance
personnel have more resources to go through the conversion and get the programs running smoothly.
They will have the support of the Finance Director and two Accountants and a Billing Specialist.
Having people trained and cross trained should make the process work more efficiently. This will
also mean that the Clerk's Office will never need to spend resources on the City's integrated
software except for requisition input.
5. When there is a critical function in a small department and only the person assigned the task
knows how to perform the task or has time to perform the tasks and that person leaves employment,
it puts the City in a difficult position to recover, especially when the process is complicated and
involves specific software. These types of duties would be better off with a pool of employees that
are familiar with the program.
6. This code revision also removes language that requires the City Clerk to cut off water
services to those businesses that do not pay by January 31st. The City Clerk has never enforced this
section of the code. The business may be closed for non-payment, but utilities may need to remain
on if paid for.
7. This revision of the code also clarifies the dates for half year tax receipts and removes the
provision that asks for hardship consideration before a partial year tax receipt would be given. This
is not a necessary provision when partial year receipts are allowed. Declaring a hardship is very
subjective and difficult to apply.
For these reasons, the transfer of the responsibility of managing the Business Tax Receipts from the
City Clerk to the City Manager or his designee by amending Section 20 of Chapter 20, Article III, of
The Atlantic Beach Code of Ordinances would be in the best interest of the City.
BUDGET: None
RECOMMENDATION: To approve Ordinance 45-16-22 as read by title.
ATTACHMENT: Ordinance No. 45-16-22
ORDINANCE NO, 45-16-22
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 20, TAXATION;
ARTICLE III, LOCAL BUSINESS TAX; SECTION 20-53,
HALF YEAR RECEIPTS CHANGING CITY CLERK TO
CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE; AND SECTION 20-54,
DUE DATES AND DELINQUENCIES; PENALTIES
CHANGING CITY CLERK TO CITY MANAGER OR
DESIGNEE AND DELETING THE REQUIREMENT THAT
THE CITY CLERK SHALL DISCONNECT WATER
SERVICE FOR NON PAYMENT; AND SECTION 20-56,
COMPLIANCE BY RECEIPT HOLDERS TO CHANGE
THE CITY MANAGER TO FINANCE DIRECTOR OR
DESIGNEE; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
MARCH 28, 2016
WHEREAS, the City Clerk is currently assigned the duties related to the issuance and
renewal of business tax receipts and is accomplishing this task with the support of a records
clerk; and,
WHEREAS, there are significant records of the City that have not been scanned and
indexed for future reference and increases in public records requests are taking up more time
than in the past; and,
WHEREAS, the City Manager, through the realignment of some other job duties
proposes to perform the duties of the management of the business tax receipts and bring that
function into the Finance Department. The collection of fees is already performed by the
Finance Department and they have front counter support for this function.
WHEREAS, the City Commission now finds that it is in the best interest of the City to
transfer the responsibility of managing the Business Tax Receipts from the City Clerk to the City
Manager or his designee and therefore desires to amend Section 20 of Chapter 20, Article III, of
the Atlantic Beach Code of Ordinances.
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
MARC H 28, 2016
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON
BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE ClTY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION I Code Amended. That Section 20 of the Code of Ordina nces, relatin g to the
Business Tax Receipts of the C ity of Atla ntic Beach, F lotida, is hereby amend ed as fo ll ows:
Sec. 20-53.-Half-year receipts.
Tke oity elerk, Hpon proper skewing that tile iss\:lanee of a reeeipt fer a full year 'NOuld work
a fl:ardsllip in any instaRee EiHring the period from April tirst to Oetober first, may issue a llalf
year's reeeipt. Persons applying fer a reeeipt after Oetober first may be issued a fl:alf year's
reoeipt.
No receipt shall be issued for more than one year. For each receipt obtained from October I
t hrough M arch 31 , the fu ll tax for one year shall be paid; for each receipt obtained from April 1
through September 30, one-half of the fu ll tax shall be paid.
Sec. 20-54. -Due dates and delinquencies; penalties.
(a) All receipts shall be so ld by the city manager or designee eity elerlc beginning September
firs t of each year a nd s ha ll be due and payable on o r before October firs t of each year and
sh a ll expire o n Septemb e r th irti e th of the s ucceeding year . lf October fi rst falls on a
weekend or ho liday, the tax sh all b e du e and payable on or before the first wo rking d ay
following October first. Those recei pts not renewed when due and payable sh all be
considered delinquent an d subj ect to a delinquency penalty often (1 0) percent for the month
of October, plus an add iti onal five (5) percent penalty for each month of delinquency
thereafter until p aid . H owever , the total delinquency penalty s ha ll not exceed t wenty-five
(25) p er cent of the loca l bu siness tax fee for the delinquent establishment. If reeeipt is not
paid by January thirty first, the oity c lerk shall ha·te eity water seF¥iee diseofl:fleeted until
b~siness ta* fee plHs delinq~ertt eharges are paid in full .
(b) Any person en gagin g in o r managing any busi ness, occupati o n or profession w ithou t firs t
o btaining a local bus iness tax receipt, if required in this atticle, s ha ll be s ubj ect to a penalty
of twenty-five (25) p ercent of the bu s in ess tax fee detennincd to be d u e, in addi ti on to the
penalty provided by F.S. Ch. 162; any such business may be closed b y the city manager or
his designee until the bu s iness tax requ irements have been met.
Sec. 20-56. -Compliance by t·cceipt holders .
Issuance of a local business tax receipt by the city manager or designee eity elerk sh all in no
w~~ relieve the holder thereof of responsibility for compliance with all provisions of this Code
o r o ther city ordi na nces or parts thereof heretofor e passed or w hich may hereafter b e passed by
the c ity commission regul a ting the conduct of the business.
AGENDA ITEM# 7 A
MARCH 28,2016
SECTION 2. Conflict. If any portion of this ordinance is in conflict with any portion of
any other ordinance, then the provisions of this ordinance shall govern.
SECTION 3. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is
held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said holding
shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect May 1, 2016.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this __ day of ___ , 2016.
PASSED by the City Commission on second and final reading this __ day of
___ 2016.
MITCH REEVES,
Mayor, Presiding Officer
ATTEST:
DONNA L. BARTLE,
City Clerk
Approved as to form and correctness:
City Attorney