Chapter 7.83 — FIRE, EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE, 9-1-1 COMMUNICATIONS

SERVICES, HAZARD MITIGATION, AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS TAX

Sections: 7.83.010 Special Tax. 7.83.020 Tax Authorized – Tax rate – Adjustments for Inflation. 7.83.030 Definitions. 7.83.040 Exemptions. 7.83.050 Duties and Authority of the City Manager. 7.83.060 Collection with Property Tax – Penalties and Interest. 7.83.070 Collection. 7.83.080 Refunds. 7.83.090 Savings clause – Severability. 7.83.100 Violation – Penalty.

A. A special tax for the purpose of funding firefighter and emergency medical response including, but not limited to, training, hiring, maintaining and upgrading facilities and equipment, upgrades to the 9-1-1 communication system, hazard mitigation, and wildfire prevention and preparedness activities is hereby authorized to be imposed on all improvements in the City of Berkeley as more fully set forth in this Chapter.

B. The City Council may impose the tax authorized by this Chapter at the rate and subject to the inflation adjustments, set forth in Section 7.83.020.

C. This special tax is imposed under Article XIIIA, Section 4, of the California Constitution and the City’s constitutional authority as a charter city under Article XI, Section 5 of the California Constitution.

D. The proceeds of the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be placed in a special fund to be used only for the purpose of enhancing public safety by funding the following:

1. Local firefighter and emergency medical response including hiring and training personnel and upgrading
safety equipment and facilities.

2. Upgrading and modernizing the 9-1-1 dispatch system to implement and maintain a system to provide
emergency medical dispatching.

3. Wildfire prevention and preparedness activities including, but not limited to, vegetation management,
hazard mitigation, public education, evacuation planning, and an emergency alert system. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2,
2020)

A. The City Council is hereby authorized to impose a special tax of $0.1047 per square foot of improvements in the City of Berkeley.

B. Annually in May, the City Council may increase the previous year’s tax by up to the greater of the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area or per capita personal income growth in the state, as verified by official United States Bureau of Labor statistics. If either index referred to above is discontinued, the City shall use any successor index specified by the applicable agency, or if there is none, the most similar existing index then in existence. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall be defined as set forth below:

A. "Building" shall mean any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and designed for the shelter or housing of any person, chattel or property of any kind. The word "building" includes the word "structure."

B. "Improvements" shall mean all buildings or structures erected or affixed to the land.

C. "Square footage" shall mean the total gross horizontal areas of all floors, including usable basement and cellars, below the roof and within the outer surface of the main walls of buildings (or the center lines of party walls separating such buildings or portions thereof) or within lines drawn parallel to and two feet within the roof line of any building or portion thereof without walls (which includes, notwithstanding paragraph 3 below, the square footage of all porches), and including pedestrian access walkways or corridors, but excluding the following:

1. Areas used for off-street parking spaces or loading berths and driveways and maneuvering aisles relating
thereto.

2. Areas which are outdoor or semi-outdoor areas included as part of the building to provide a pleasant
and healthful environment for the occupants thereof and the neighborhood in which the building is located.
This exempted area is limited to stoops, balconies and to natural ground areas, terraces, pools, and patios
which are landscaped and developed for active or passive recreational use, and which are accessible for use
by occupants of the building.

3. Arcades, porticoes, and similar open areas which are located at or near street level, which are accessible
to the general public, and which are not designed or used as sales, display storage, service, or production
areas.

D. "Structure" shall mean anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground.

E. "Parcel" shall mean a unit of real estate in one ownership as shown on the most current official assessment roll of the Alameda County Assessor. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

A. The tax imposed by this Chapter shall not apply to parcels and improvements exempt from taxation by the City pursuant to the laws or constitutions of the United States and the State of California.

B. The tax imposed by this Chapter shall not apply to any property owned by any person whose total personal income, from all sources, for the previous calendar year, does not exceed that level which shall constitute "very low-income," as may be established by resolution of the City Council. Any taxpayer claiming the exemption under this section shall be required to demonstrate their entitlement thereto annually by submitting an application and supporting documentation to the City Manager or their designee in the manner and at the time established in regulations and/or guidelines hereafter promulgated by the City Manager subject to review by the City Council in its discretion. Such applications shall be on forms provided by the City Manager, or their designee, and shall provide and/or be accompanied by such information as the City Manager shall require, including but not limited to, federal income tax returns and W-2 forms.

C. Any person or entity claiming an exemption from the tax imposed by this Chapter shall file a verified statement of exemption on a form prescribed by the City Manager prior to June 30th of the first fiscal year for which the exemption is sought. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

It shall be the duty of the City Manager to collect and receive all taxes imposed by this Chapter and to keep an accurate record thereof. The City Manager is charged with the enforcement of this Chapter, except as otherwise provided herein, and may prescribe, adopt, and enforce rules and regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this chapter, including provisions for the re-examination and correction of returns and payments. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

The special tax imposed by this Chapter shall be due in the same manner, on the same dates, and subject to the same penalties and interest as established by law for other charges and taxes fixed and collected by the County of Alameda on behalf of the City of Berkeley. The special tax imposed by this Chapter, together with all penalties and interest thereon, shall constitute a lien upon the parcel upon which it is levied until it has been paid, and shall constitute a personal obligation of the owners of the parcel on the date the tax is due. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

The amount of any tax, penalty, or interest imposed under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the City. Any person owing money 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. The City shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and its costs of suit in any such action. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

Whenever the amount of any tax, penalty, or interest has been paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City under this chapter, it may be refunded as provided in Chapter 7.20 of the Berkeley Municipal Code or any such successor chapter. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any person, association, corporation, entity, or property as to whom or which it is beyond the power of the City of Berkeley to impose the tax herein provided. If any sentence, clause, section, or part of this chapter, or any tax against any individual or any of the several groups specified herein is found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such sentence, clause, section or part shall be severable and such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall affect only such clause, sentence, section, or part of this chapter and shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections, or other parts of this chapter. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council and the People of the City of Berkeley that this chapter would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid sentence, clause, section, or part thereof not been included herein. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)

Any person who fails to perform any duty or obligation imposed by this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction as set forth in Chapter 1.20 of the Berkeley Municipal Code. The penalties provided in this section are in addition to the several remedies provided in this chapter. (Ord. 7745-NS § 2, 2020)