Berkeley Municipal Code Ch. 7.81 Special Tax to Fund Fire Protection and Emergency Response and Preparedness

A. A special tax for the purpose of funding fire protection and emergency response and preparedness is hereby authorized to be imposed on all improvements in the City of Berkeley ("City") as more fully set forth in this Chapter.

B. The City Council may impose the tax authorized by this Chapter at the rates, and subject to the inflation adjustments, set forth in Section 7.81.020.

C. This special tax is imposed in compliance with Article 13 of the California Constitution, pursuant to Government Code Section 53978, and the City’s constitutional authority under Article 11 section 5 of the California Constitution, in its capacity as a charter city.

D. The proceeds of the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be placed in a special fund to be used for the purpose of enhancing emergency response and preparedness by funding the following:

1. Eliminating the rotating closure of operating fire stations by enhancing the City’s ability to pay costs needed to maintain full staffing;

2. Providing advanced life support ("ALS") personnel (paramedics) and equipment on all first responder vehicles and hiring a training officer to provide Emergency Medical Service ("EMS") training for first responders;

3. Providing funding to hire staff to conduct Community Emergency Response Training and other similar public disaster training and preparedness efforts, and for annual allocation for neighborhood emergency preparedness caches; and

4. Acquiring and maintaining equipment to enhance emergency preparedness, including equipment necessary to allow compatible radio communications throughout the City and with outside public safety agencies, and reserving tax proceeds as necessary to fund such acquisition.

E. Tax proceeds shall be allocated first to the estimated amount necessary to eliminate rotating closures of operating fire stations, provided that the Council may alter this priority allocation in the event it declares a fiscal emergency by a two-thirds vote. In such cases the Council may allocate the proceeds of this tax among the purposes set forth in subdivision (D) of this Section in its sole discretion.

F. For purposes of this Chapter, "first responder vehicle" shall mean any piece of fire department apparatus used to routinely respond to fire and/or medical emergencies. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

A. The rate of tax for the fiscal year 2009-2010 shall be as follows:

1. For all dwelling units, the tax shall be imposed at the rate of $.04083 per square foot.

2. For all other property the tax shall be imposed at the rate of $.06179 per square foot.

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. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

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

A. "Building" means 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. "Dwelling" shall mean a building or portion of a building designed for human occupancy.

C. "Dwelling unit" shall mean a building or portion of a building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.

D. "Family" shall mean one or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, and, in addition, any domestic servants or gratuitous guests thereof who are living together in a single dwelling unit and maintaining a common household. Family shall also mean all unrelated persons who live together in a single dwelling unit and maintain a common household.

E. "Improvements" means all buildings or structures erected or affixed to the land.

F. "Parcel" means a unit of real estate in one ownership as shown on the most current official assessment role of the Alameda County Assessor.

G. "Square footage" means 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 subsection 3 of this definition, 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.

H. "Structure" means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

A. The following parcels and improvements shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this Chapter:

1. Parcels and improvements owned by federal or state governmental agencies;

2. Parcels and improvements owned by local governmental agencies; and

3. 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 his or her entitlement thereto annually by submitting an application and supporting documentation to the City Manager or his or her 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 his or her 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. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

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. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

A. The Disaster and Fire Safety Commission shall function as the citizens’ oversight committee for expenditure of the proceeds of this tax. For this purpose, in addition to its other powers, the Commission may:

1. request detailed expenditure plans for tax proceeds annually, which shall be provided to it as early in the budget process as feasible;

2. make recommendations to the City Manager and the City Council as to the rate at which the tax should be set and how any tax proceeds should be spent; and

3. obtain a report on actual expenditures.

B. The City Manager shall cooperate with the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission in providing the information it requests. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

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. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

Whenever it is claimed that 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, such claim shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 7.20 of the Berkeley Municipal Code or any such successor chapter. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

The amount of any tax, penalty, and 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 it’s costs of suit in any such action. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

Pursuant to Article 13B, Section 4 of the California Constitution, the appropriations limit for the City of Berkeley for the fiscal years 2010-2013 is hereby increased by the maximum aggregate amount projected to be collected pursuant to the special tax imposed by this Chapter. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

The tax imposed by this Chapter shall be operative on January 1, 2009. (Ord. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)

The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to any person, association, corporation or to any property as to whom or which it is beyond the power of the City Council 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 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 declared to be the intention of the City Council 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. 7067-NS § 1, 2008)