Exeter Municipal Code Ch. 5.04 Business Licenses

As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings set forth in this section:

A. "Business" means professions, trades and occupations and all and every kind of calling carried on for profit or livelihood.

B. "Employee" means all persons engaged in the operation or conduct of any business, whether as owner, any member of the owner's family, partner, agent, manager, solicitor, and any and all other persons employed or working in the business.

C. "Person" means all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, Massachusetts business or common law trusts, societies, and individuals transacting and carrying on any business in the city.

(Ord. 166 §1, 1950)

This chapter is enacted solely to raise revenue for municipal purposes, and is not intended for regulation.

(Ord. 166 §2, 1950)

Any person required to pay a license tax for transacting and carrying on any business under this chapter shall be relieved from the payment of any license tax for the privilege of doing such business which has been required under any ordinance of the city, but shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of such other ordinance. This section shall not apply to inspection fees.

(Ord. 166 §3, 1950)

Neither the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter nor its superseding of any portion of any other ordinance of the city shall in any manner be construed to affect prosecution for violation of any other ordinance committed prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, nor be construed as a waiver of any license or any penal provision applicable to any such violation, nor be construed to affect the validity of any bond or cash deposit required by any ordinance to be posted, filed, or deposited; and all rights and obligations thereunto appertaining shall continue in full force and effect.

(Ord. 166 §4, 1950)

A. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed or construed to apply to any person transacting and carrying on any business exempt by virtue of the constitution or applicable statutes of the United States or of the state of California from the payment to municipal corporations of such taxes as are prescribed in this chapter.

B. The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed or construed to require the payment of a license tax (fee) to conduct, manage or carry on any business, occupation, or activity from any institution or organization which is conducted, managed, or carried on wholly for the benefit of charitable purposes or from which profit is not derived, either directly or indirectly, by any individual, firm, or corporation; nor shall any license tax (fee) be required for the conducting of any entertainment, concert, exhibition or lecture on scientific, historical, literary, religious, or moral subjects within the city whenever the receipts of any such entertainment, concert, exhibition, or lecture are to be appropriated to any church or school or to any religious or benevolent purpose; nor shall any license tax (fee) be required for the conducting of any entertainment, dance, concert, exhibition or lecture by any religious, charitable, fraternal, educational, military, state, county or municipal organization or association whenever the receipts of any such entertainment, dance, concert, exhibition, or lecture are to be appropriated for the purpose and objects for which such organization or association was formed, and from which profit is not derived, either directly or indirectly, by any individual, firm, or corporation; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed to exempt any such organization or association from complying with the provisions of any ordinance of the city requiring a permit from the city council or any commission or officer to conduct, manage or carry on any profession, trade, calling, or occupation.

C. Every honorably discharged sailor, solider, marine or coastguardsman of the United States, who is unable to earn a livelihood by manual labor, shall have the right to hawk, peddle or vend goods, wares and merchandise, except spirituous, malt, vinous or other intoxicating liquors, without any license tax or fee whatsoever; and it is made the duty of the city clerk to issue a license therefor to such honorably discharged soldier, sailor, marine, or coastguardsman upon producing his discharge and making proof of his disability as provided in this section.

D. Any person claiming an exemption pursuant to this section shall file a verified statement with the city clerk stating the facts upon which exemption is claimed.

E. The city clerk shall, upon a proper showing contained in the verified statement, issue a license to such person claiming exemption under subsection B of this section without payment to the city of the license tax required by this chapter.

F. The city clerk may revoke any license granted pursuant to the provisions of this section upon information that the licensee is not entitled to the exemption as provided in this section.

(Ord. 166 §7, 1950)

There are imposed upon the businesses, trades, professions, callings and occupations specified in this chapter license taxes in the amounts prescribed in this chapter, and it is unlawful for any person to transact and carry on any business, trade, profession, calling, or occupation in the city without first having procured a license from the city so to do or without complying with any and all applicable provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 166 §5, 1950; Ord. 194 §1, 1956)

Every person required to have a license under the provisions of this chapter shall make application for the same to the city clerk, and upon application for the same to the city clerk; and upon the payment of the prescribed tax the city clerk shall issue to such person a license which shall contain:

A. The name of the person to whom the license is issued;

B. The business licensed;

C. The place where such business is to be transacted and carried on;

D. The date of the expiration of such license; and

E. Such other information as may be necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 166 §8, 1950)

A. Upon a person making application for the first license to be issued hereunder or for a newly established business, in all cases where the amount of license tax to be paid is based upon gross receipts or average number of persons employed, such person shall furnish to the city clerk for his guidance in ascertaining the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant, a written statement, upon a form provided by the city clerk, sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths, setting forth such information as may be therein required and as may be necessary properly 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 the gross receipts, he shall estimate the gross receipts for the period to be covered by the license to be issued. Such estimate, if accepted by the city clerk as reasonable, shall be used in determining the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant; provided, however, the amount of the license tax so determined shall be tentative only, and such person shall, within thirty days after the expiration of the period for which such license was issued, furnish the city clerk with a sworn statement, upon a form furnished by the city clerk, showing the gross receipts during the period of such license. The license tax for such period shall be finally ascertained and paid in the manner provided by this chapter for the ascertaining and paying of renewal license taxes for other businesses, after deducting from the payment found to be due, the amount paid at the time such first license was issued.

C. The city clerk shall not issue to any such person another license for the same or any other business, until such person shall have furnished to him the written statement and paid the license tax as required in this chapter.

(Ord. 166 §9, 1950)

In all cases, the applicant for the renewal of a license shall submit to the city clerk for his guidance in ascertaining the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant, a written statement, upon a form to be provided by the city clerk, sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths, setting forth such information concerning the applicant's business during the next preceding year or quarter as may be required by the city clerk to enable him to ascertain the amount of the license tax to be paid by said applicant pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 166 §10, 1950)

A. No statement shall be conclusive as to the matters set forth therein, nor shall the filing of the same preclude the city from collecting by appropriate action such sum as is actually due and payable hereunder.

B. The information furnished or secured pursuant to this section or Sections 5.04.080 and 5.04.090 of this chapter shall be confidential. Any unwarranted disclosure or use of such information by any officer or employee of the city constitutes a misdemeanor, and such officer or employee shall be subject to the penalty provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 166 §11, 1950)

A. If any person fails to file any required statement within the time prescribed, or if after demand therefor made by the city clerk he fails to file a corrected statement, the city clerk may determine the amount of license tax due from such person by means of such information as he may be able to obtain.

B. In case such a determination is made, the city clerk shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States Post Office at Exeter, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the person so assessed at his last known address. Such person may, within ten days after the mailing or serving of such notice, make application in writing to the city clerk for a hearing on the amount of the license tax. If such application is made, or if application is not made, within the time prescribed, the city clerk must cause the matter to be set for hearing within fifteen days before the city council. The city clerk shall give at least ten days' notice to such person of the time and place of hearing in the manner prescribed in this section for the service of notice of assessment. The council shall consider all evidence produced, and written notice of its findings thereon, which findings shall be final, shall be served upon the applicant in the manner prescribed in this chapter for the service of notice of assessment.

(Ord. 166 §12, 1950)

Any person aggrieved by any decision of an administrative officer or agency with respect to the issuance or the refusal to issue such license may appeal to the council by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the council. The council shall thereupon fix a time and place for hearing such appeal. The clerk of the council shall give notice to such person of the time and place of hearing by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States Post Office at Exeter, California, postage prepaid, addressed to such person at his last known address.

(Ord. 166 §13, 1950)

In addition to all other powers conferred upon him, the city clerk shall have the power, for good cause shown, to extend the time for filing any required sworn statement for a period not exceeding thirty days, and in such case to waive any penalty that would otherwise have accrued; and shall have the further power, with the consent of the council, to compromise any claim as to amount of license tax due.

(Ord. 166 §14, 1950)

A separate license must be obtained for each branch establishment or location of the business transacted and carried on and for each separate type of business at the same location; and each license shall authorize the licensee to transact and carry on only the business licensed thereby at the location or in the manner designated in such license; provided, that warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments.

(Ord. 166 §6, 1950)

No license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be transferable; provided, that where a license is issued authorizing a person to transact and carry on a business at a particular place, such licensee may upon application therefor and paying a fee of one dollar have a license amended to authorize the transacting and carrying on of such business under the license at some other location to which the business is or is to be moved.

(Ord. 166 §15, 1950)

Where a license for revenue purposes has been issued to any business by the city, and the tax paid therefor under the provisions of any ordinance heretofore enacted, and the term of such license has not expired, then the license tax prescribed for the business by this chapter shall not be payable until the expiration of the term of such unexpired license.

(Ord. 166 §16, 1950)

A duplicate license may be issued by the city clerk to replace any license previously issued hereunder which has been lost or destroyed, upon the licensee filing an affidavit attesting to such fact, and at the time of filing such affidavit paying to the city clerk a duplicate license fee of one dollar.

(Ord. 166 §17, 1950)

All licenses must be kept and posted in the following manner:

A. Any 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 such business is carried on.

B. Any 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 such business.

(Ord. 166 §18, 1950)

All annual license taxes provided to be paid in this chapter may be paid on a semi-annual basis. All licenses provided to be paid in this chapter shall be paid in advance as follows:

A. Annual license taxes on the first day of January of each year;

B. Semiannual license taxes on the first day of January and July of each year;

C. Daily license taxes each day in advance.

(Ord. 166 §19, 1950; Ord. 400 §1, 1978)

A. Penalty for Nonpayment of Annual License. Every annual license which is not paid within a period of thirty days from the time the same becomes due and payable is declared to be delinquent, and the city clerk shall thereupon add to the license and collect a penalty of ten percent of the license so delinquent; if such license is not paid within sixty days from the time such license becomes due and payable, an additional sum of ten percent of the license shall be added to the license and collected as a penalty.

B. Penalty for Nonpayment of a Semiannual License. Every semiannual license which is not paid within a period of thirty days from the time the same becomes due and payable is declared to be delinquent, and the city clerk shall thereupon add to the license and collect a penalty of ten percent of the license so delinquent; if such license is not paid within sixty days from the time such license becomes due and payable, an additional sum of ten percent of the license shall be added to the license and collected as a penalty.

C. Penalty for Nonpayment of a Daily License. Every daily license which is not paid at the close of business on the day when the same was due and payable is declared to be delinquent, and the city clerk shall thereupon add to the license and collect a penalty of ten percent of the license as delinquent; if such license is not paid within ten days from the time the license becomes due and payable, an additional sum of fifteen percent of the license shall be added to the license and collected as a penalty.

(Ord. 166 §20, 1950; Ord. 400 §2, 1978; Ord. 460 §1, 1982)

All licenses provided in this chapter to be paid shall be paid at the office of the city clerk.

(Ord. 166 §40, 1950)

A. Manufacturing. Every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of steel fabrication, foundry, forging, or the business of manufacturing, compounding, or preparing for sale, any article, substance or commodity not otherwise specifically licensed by any other provisions of this chapter shall pay a license fee of forty dollars semiannually.

B. Wholesaling, Retailing, Jobbing and Other Businesses Not Specifically Licensed. Every person conducting, managing or carrying on any wholesale or retail or jobbing business, or otherwise engaged in the selling of goods, wares, merchandise or other things of value, and not otherwise specifically licensed by this chapter, and every person conducting, managing or carrying on any business that is not specifically licensed by this chapter, shall pay a license fee of forty dollars semiannually; provided, however, that any person engaged in any of the businesses specified in this section who convinces the city clerk that the gross semiannual receipts of his business average less than fifteen thousand dollars, and who signs and swears to an affidavit to this effect and presents the same to the city clerk, shall be required to pay a license of only thirty dollars semiannually for such periods as the gross receipts are in fact less than fifteen thousand dollars.

(Ord. 166 §21, 1950; Ord. 400 §3, 1978)

A. Every person conducting, managing or carrying on any business enumerated in this section, or any combination thereof, shall pay a license of forty dollars semiannually:

Accountant, auditor

Advertising, advertising counsel, outdoor advertising

Appraiser

Architect

Assayer

Attorney-at-law

Certified public accountant

Chiropodist

Chiropractor

Civil engineer

Collection agency or mercantile agency

Consulting engineer

Dentist

Designer or decorator

Draftsman

Drugless practitioner (provided, however, that this section shall not apply to persons who treat the sick through prayer or spiritual means)

Electrical engineer

Electrologist

Geologist

Illustrator or show card writer

Landscape gardener or landscape architect

Lapidary

Mechanical engineer

Moneylender, or moneybroker, or person engaged in buying or selling obligations

Mortician

Newspaper and commercial printing

Oculist

Osteopath

Patent attorney

Physician

Real estate broker

Roominghouse

Surgeon

Surveyor

Taxidermist

Veterinarian

B. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed or construed as applying to any person engaged in any of the professions or occupations enumerated in this chapter, solely as an employee of any other person conducting, managing, or carrying on any such business in the city.

(Ord. 166 §22, 1950; Ord. 210 §2, 1960; Ord. 400 §4, 1979)

Every person, firm or corporation conducting, managing or carrying on a circus, carnival, caravan, menagerie, exhibits, or the business of palmistry shall pay a license fee of one hundred dollars per day.

(Ord. 166 §30, 1950)

Every person conducting, carrying on or managing the business of packing or preparing green or dried fruits, for hire or otherwise, for shipment or otherwise, or for sale upon commission or otherwise, shall pay a license fee of eighty dollars per year for each calendar year or portion thereof that such business is in operation. Such license fee shall be payable on the first day of February of each year, or upon the first day thereafter that such business is operated.

(Ord. 166 §24, 1950; Ord. 171 §1, 1950; Ord. 400 §6, 1978)

The business of posting and distributing advertisements for any store or other business carried on outside the city shall pay a license fee of five dollars per day; for the business of posting and distributing advertisements for any store or other business within the limits of the city, the license shall be included in the regulation license paid by the business pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and any acts amendatory thereof.

(Ord. 166 §29, 1950)

A. Every peddler, solicitor, or other person claiming to be entitled to exemption from the payment of any license provided for in this chapter upon the ground that such license casts a burden upon his right to engage in commerce with foreign nations or among the several states, or conflicts with the regulations of the United States Congress respecting interstate commerce shall file a verified statement with the city clerk, disclosing the interstate or other character of his business entitled to such exemption. Such statement shall state the name and location of the company or firm for which the orders are to be solicited or secured; the name of the nearest local or state manager, if any, and his address; the kind of goods, wares or merchandise to be delivered; the place from which the same are to be shipped or forwarded; the method of solicitation or taking orders; the location of any warehouse, factory or plant within the state of California; the method of delivery; the name and location of the residence of the applicant; and any other facts necessary to establish such claim of exemption. A copy of the order blank, contract form, or other papers used by such person in taking orders shall be attached to the affidavit for the information of the city clerk.

B. If it appears that the applicant is entitled to such exemption, the city clerk shall forthwith issue a free license.

(Ord. 166 §34, 1950)

The business of operating or maintaining any mechanical or electronic (video) instrument, device, or contrivance for furnishing music and/or any mechanical or electronic (video) game of amusement, whether coin-operated or otherwise, shall pay a license fee of ten dollars per quarter for each mechanical or electronic (video) instrument or game of amusement. This license shall be in addition to any license required to be paid by this chapter by any person engaged in a business other than that of the operation of a jukebox or mechanical or electronic (video) amusement device.

(Ord. 166 §35, 1950; Ord. 451 §1, 1982)

Every person (outside of those conducting a regular place of business in the city) conducting, managing or carrying on the business of peddling any goods, wares, merchandise, or anything of value not otherwise specifically licensed by this chapter shall pay a license fee of fifty dollars per quarter or five dollars per day for each person employed in such business; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any person peddling agricultural or poultry products produced, raised or grown by him; and making immediate delivery or offering for sale and immediate delivery, any goods, wares, merchandise, or anything of value, in possession of the peddler.

(Ord. 166 §32, 1950)

A. Every person conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of solicitor shall pay a license of fifty dollars per quarter or five dollars per day for each person employed in such business.

B. For the purpose of this section, "solicitor" shall be defined as any person who engages in the business of going from house to house, place to place, or in or along the streets within the city selling or taking orders, or offering to sell or take orders, for goods, wares, merchandise or other things of value for future delivery, or for services to be performed in the future.

(Ord. 166 §33, 1950)

Every person, association, or corporation conducting a telephone company or operating a telephone company and having an office or offices for such a purpose in the city shall pay a license fee of seven dollars and fifty cents per quarter.

(Ord. 166 §24 1/2, 1950; Ord. 242 §1, 1965)

Every person conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of producing theatrical or vaudeville performances, or the exhibition of motion pictures, or lectures, or entertainments, or shows, or contests or exhibitions, not otherwise specifically licensed by this chapter, shall pay a license of forty dollars semiannually.

(Ord. 166 §23, 1950; Ord. 400 §5, 1978)

All persons doing business within the city shall at all times maintain and keep such books of record as will enable them to easily and readily furnish such information to the city clerk as the city clerk will require in order to enforce and collect the license fee provided in this chapter to be paid.

(Ord. 166 §39, 1950)

A. It shall be the duty of the city clerk, and he is directed to enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter, and the chief of police shall render such assistance in the enforcement hereof and the collection of license taxes hereunder as may from time to time be required by the city clerk and/or the city council.

B. The city clerk, in the exercise of the duties imposed upon him hereunder, and acting through his deputies or duly authorized assistants, shall examine or cause to be examined all places of business in the city to ascertain whether the provisions of this chapter have been complied with.

C. The city clerk and each and all of his assistants and any police officer shall have the power and authority to enter, free of charge and at any reasonable time, any place of business required by this chapter to be licensed, and demand an exhibition of its license certificate. Any person having such license certificate theretofore issued, in his possession or under his control, who wilfully fails to exhibit the same on demand, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to the penalties provided for by the provisions of this chapter. It shall be the duty of the city clerk and each of his assistants to cause a complaint to be filed against any and all persons found to be violating any of the provisions.

(Ord. 166 §41, 1950)

The amount of any license tax and penalty imposed by the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the city, and any person carrying on any business without first having procured a license from the city so to do shall be liable to an action in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the amount of license tax and penalties imposed on such business.

(Ord. 166 §42, 1950)

The conviction and imprisonment of any person for engaging in any business without first obtaining a license to conduct such business shall not relieve such person from paying the license tax to conduct such business, nor shall the payment of any license tax prevent a criminal prosecution for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. All remedies by the city shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions hereof.

(Ord. 166 §43, 1950)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or knowingly or intentionally misrepresenting to any officer or employee of this city any material fact in procuring the license or permit provided for in this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the city jail for a period of not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 166 §44, 1950)