San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 1 General

(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2008-018, 12/15/08; Ordinance No. 2010-009, 5/17/10 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2011-008, 5/16/11 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2012-008, 5/21/12 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2013-004, 5/20/13 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2014-005, 5/19/14 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2015-007, 5/18/15 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2015-010, 9/8/15 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2015-014, 12/7/15 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2016-005, 5/16/16 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2017-010, 5/15/17 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2018-008, 5/21/18 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2019-008, 5/20/19 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2020-005, 6/1/20 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2021-007, 5/3/21 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2022-009, 6/6/22 (Section 2-18-210); Ordinance No. 2023-007, 5/15/23 (Section 2-18-210); Ord. No. 2024-006, 5/20/2024 (Section 2-18-210); Ord. No. 2025-006, 5/5/2025 (Section 2-18-210); Ord. No. 2026-005, 5/18/2026 (Section 2-18-210))

(a) In order to ensure and improve the performance of the City's 911 communication system, the City must impose a tax. This Chapter shall be known as the "Emergency Communication System Access Tax Ordinance" and the tax imposed herein shall be known as the "Emergency Communication System Access Tax."

(b) The purpose of this Chapter is to require subscribers to telephone service in the incorporated area of the City to pay for the improvements to and operation of the 911 communication system that will be financed by tax revenues.

(c) The Emergency Communication System Access Tax is the most practical and equitable revenue mechanism to finance the acquisition and construction of equipment, software, and facilities and other resources that are needed to provide an adequate and reliable 911 communication system. The tax is intended to recover the majority of the costs related to the benefits the 911 system will provide to nonexempt telephone subscribers.

(d) The tax imposed by the provisions of this Chapter is intended solely to provide revenue for eligible project costs and eligible operating costs, as defined in this Chapter. Tax revenues shall be deposited by the Finance Director in the Emergency Communication System Access Fund established pursuant to Section 2-18-235 of this Chapter.

Except where the context or particular provisions require otherwise, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this Chapter.

"911 communication system"

means an enhanced emergency telephone service which automatically, or through a third-party intermediary, connects a person dialing the digits 9-1-1 to an answering point established by the City, and shall incorporate all aspects of the call delivery system, the call processing system and the call dispatch system, including, but not limited to, selective routing, automatic number identification (ANI), automatic location identification (ALI), wireless 911, and the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. "911 communication system" includes the functions of the San Leandro Police dispatch centers; however, it does not include the City Police Department staff who respond to requests for assistance by traveling to a site to which they are dispatched as a result of an emergency call. 911 communication system also includes the cost of the fire dispatch service provided to the City under contract with the County of Alameda.

"Access line"

means any connection from a customer location within the City to a provider of local telephone service offered to the public for compensation. Within the meaning of this Chapter, and without limitation, access lines include connections providing residential basic exchange service, business basic exchange service, PBX service (private branch exchange), foreign exchange service, VoIP service (Voice over Internet), private communication service, cable provided voice telephone communication and Centrex service. "Access line" also includes a connection from a single mobile telephone to a commercial mobile radio service, as defined in Section 20.3 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as this section existed on October 1, 2002, and which has as its place of primary use, as defined in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, 4 U.S.C. Section 124(8), a location within the City of San Leandro. Notwithstanding the foregoing, "access line," does not include any connection from a customer location within the City to a provider of local telephone service when for any reason a customer cannot use, or as demonstrated by the customer to the City's satisfaction the customer does not use for purposes of two-way voice telephony, that connection to dial the digits 9-1-1 to reach the 911 communication system within the City at an answering point within the City.

"Eligible operating costs"

means the portion of operating costs attributable to the operation of the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the tax imposed by the provisions of this Chapter on access lines, trunk lines, and super trunk lines subject to the tax. Eligible operating costs shall not include exempt operating costs.

"Exempt operating costs"

means the portion of operating costs attributable to the operation of the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are exempted from the tax by Section 2-18-215 of this Chapter or are otherwise not required to pay any tax imposed by the provisions of this Chapter.

"Eligible project costs"

means the portion of project costs attributable to a project to modify the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are required to pay the tax imposed by the provisions of this Chapter on access lines and trunk lines subject to the tax, and the portion of project costs related to implementation of a new CAD system. Eligible project costs shall not include exempt project costs.

"Exempt project costs"

means the portion of project costs attributable to a project to modify the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are exempted from the tax by Section 2-18-215 of this Chapter or are otherwise not required to pay any tax imposed by the provisions of this Chapter.

"Tax"

means the Emergency Communication System Access Tax imposed under the provisions of this Chapter.

"Super trunk line"

shall mean a trunk line with a capacity of at least 24 channels over a high capacity service, such as a 1.544 Mb, T-1, or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Primary Rate Interface (PRI) line. Notwithstanding the foregoing, "Super trunk line," does not include any trunk line that does not come within the definition of Section 2-16-201(q) of this Chapter.

"Lifeline service"

means discounted telephone service available to eligible low-income residential customers.

"Local telephone service"

means access to a local telephone system, providing two-way telephonic quality communication with substantially all persons having telephone or radio telephone stations constituting a part of the local telephone system, whether or not the service uses transmission wires. "Local telephone service" shall include wireless telephone service. "Local telephone service" shall also include service provided through any technology currently existing, or that may exist in the future, allowing a person within the City of San Leandro to access the 911 Communication System using that technology. For the purposes of the Emergency Communication System Access Tax, a person shall be construed to subscribe to "local telephone service" within the City of San Leandro if he or she has a "place of primary use," as such term is defined in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, 4 U.S.C. Section 124(8), within the geographic boundaries of the City of San Leandro. "Local telephone service" does not include any system that is expressly excluded from the definition of "access line," "trunk line," or "super trunk line."

"Operating costs"

mean any costs to operate, repair or maintain the 911 communication system or backup 911 communication system, including, but not limited to, costs for personnel, planning, training, software and hardware maintenance and upgrades, facility maintenance and repair, depreciation equipment replacement, technical infrastructure, attorney's fees, and associated administrative overhead costs.

"Project costs"

mean any costs of acquiring, refinancing and installing computerized call delivery processing and dispatch equipment and software, and/or any other acquisition necessary to house 911 communication system equipment and staff in a seismically safe and fire retardant facility, including any debt service payments related thereto, as well as any associated administrative overhead costs.

"Service location"

means the premises of a telephone subscriber at which a working service point or primary station set provides the subscriber with basic exchange service and to which extension services are charged. For wireless telephone service, "service location" is the "place of primary use," as such term is defined in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, 4 U.S.C. Section 124(8).

"Service supplier"

means any person supplying local telephone service, pursuant to authority granted by the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Communications Commission, to any telephone subscriber at a location within the City of San Leandro. Service suppliers may include, without limitation, local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, competitive access providers, cable television providers offering telecommunications services, providers of wireless telephone service, and any other entity offering direct connections between premises and the premises of telephone subscribers. Service suppliers also include any person supplying local telephone service who is exempt from California Public Utilities Commission or Federal Communications Commission regulation.

"Telephone corporation"

shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code of the State of California or the most comparable successor definition. It also includes any person or corporation providing wireless telephone service.

"Telephone subscriber"

means any person who receives local telephone service, or its functional equivalent regardless of the technology used to provide the service.

"Trunk line"

means a line between a service suppliers' switching device and a private branch exchange, automatic call distributing system, or other similar device, at a telephone subscriber location and having a capacity of seven and one-half (7-1/2) times the capacity of a single line. Notwithstanding the foregoing, "trunk line," does not include any line between a service suppliers' switching device and a private branch exchange, automatic call distributing system, or other similar device, at a telephone subscriber location when for any reason a customer cannot use, or is demonstrated by the customer to the City's satisfaction the customer does not use for purposes of two-way voice telephony, that line to dial the digits 9-1-1 to reach the 911 communication system within the City at an answering point within the City.

"Wireless telephone service"

means commercial mobile radio service, as defined in Section 20.3 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as this section existed on October 1, 2002.

(a) The 911 communication system provides immediate access to emergency services for telephone subscribers. The life saving importance of an up to date and modernized emergency response system was acknowledged by the Federal September 11 Commission in its investigation finding that deficiencies that existed resulted in impaired response. Subscribers to telephone service derive significant benefit from ongoing operation of the modernized integrated system installed at the San Leandro Police Department and Alameda County Fire Department. Telephone subscribers will benefit from operating, maintaining, and upgrading the 911 communication system so it continues to operate at a state-of-the-art level. A portion of the costs associated with operating, maintaining and upgrading the 911 communications system and facility should be allocated among all telephone subscribers because telephone subscribers will reap this significant benefit.

(b) Every telephone access line can provide independent access to the 911 communication system. Therefore, allocating operating costs on a per line basis fairly distributes these costs according to the benefit telephone subscribers derive from availability of a modernized 911 communication system.

(c) The concentration of a large number of access lines in a single location diminishes the marginal benefit of improved access provided by each additional access line; therefore, it is appropriate to place a cap on the number of access lines per account per service location on which the tax is charged.

(d) Subscribers who maintain super trunk lines derive more benefit, in terms of access to emergency communication service, from each telephone line than other subscribers and should pay a higher tax. Based on information from the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, the City Council finds that, on average, a super trunk line provides up to 24 times the benefit provided by a single access line, and a trunk line provides up to seven and a half (7-1/2) times the benefit provided by a single access line.

(e) The portion of operating costs reflecting the benefits estimated to be provided by operation of the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are subject to the tax ("Eligible Operating Costs") may be financed from Emergency Communication System Access Tax revenues. The portion of operating costs reflecting the benefits estimated to be provided by operation of the 911 communication system to telephone subscribers who are exempted from the tax may not be financed from Emergency Communication System Access Tax revenues.

The amount of the tax imposed by this section shall be established by the ordinance codified herein as set forth below and shall be paid on a per-line basis, by the person paying for such local telephone service.

No subscriber will be required to pay a tax in excess of $15,935.73 per account per service location in any fiscal year. The above-described tax rates and this cap shall be adjusted annually by the City Council by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers ("CPI-W") for the San Francisco Bay Area published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon the access lines of:

(a) A lifeline customer of a service supplier;

(b) A telephone corporation;

(c) Coin-operated telephones;

(d) A nonprofit hospital which is exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the United States Code;

(e) A nonprofit educational organization which is exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501 (a) of the United States Code;

(f) Any person when imposition of such tax upon that person would violate the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of California, or preemptive Federal or State law; or

(g) Any governmental office.

(a) The Finance Director shall identify data required and make appropriate requests to each service supplier for information sufficient to identify the number of access lines maintained by that service supplier, including separate identification of the number of trunk lines and super trunk lines that are "access lines" for purposes of this Chapter, as well as the number of exempt lines as specified in Section 2-18-215 of this Chapter. Upon a request by any service supplier, the Finance Director shall provide the requesting service supplier with a non-disclosure, confidentiality agreement on behalf of the City of San Leandro and shall remain under a continuing duty to protect all information provided by service suppliers subject to such agreement from any use other than that described in this section, and from disclosure to any third parties including, but not limited to, other service suppliers.

(b) No later than March 1 of each year and using the data provided by the service suppliers pursuant to the immediately preceding subsection, the Finance Director shall estimate the percentage of access lines that are subject to payment of the Emergency Communication System Access Tax as of December of the prior calendar year as reported by service suppliers under Section 2-18-245(b). The Finance Director's report shall also identify the amount of the tax rate and tax cap adjusted by the CPI-W as established by subsection (b) of Section 2-18-210 of this Chapter that will apply in the following fiscal year.

(c) Eligible operating costs and eligible project costs, along with exempt operating costs and exempt project costs, will be determined and reported annually in the Annual Report based on the current year's budget.

(d) No later than March 1 in each odd numbered year, the Finance Director will evaluate information from industry sources, regulatory bodies, and City experience to determine whether the tax rates for trunk lines and super trunk lines continue to reasonably reflect the increased estimated access to the 911 communication system provided to trunk line subscribers relative to access line subscribers.

(a) The tax imposed by this Chapter shall be billed to the telephone subscriber by the service supplier with its regular bill otherwise in accordance with the service supplier's normal billing procedures, and service suppliers shall be required to collect such taxes as are remitted from telephone subscribers so billed, on behalf of the City of San Leandro. Tax revenues remitted to service suppliers by telephone subscribers shall be held for the City and service suppliers shall remit the tax revenues collected to the City Finance Director on a monthly basis on or before the last day of the month following the month in which they were collected.

(b) The tax required to be collected by service suppliers under this Chapter shall be added to the service supplier's billings to subscribers. The tax shall be stated separately as the City of San Leandro Emergency Communication System Access Tax on billings by service suppliers whose billing systems as presently configured are capable of such programming, and the Finance Director shall otherwise enter into such Administrative Agreements as may be required to accommodate appropriate billing of the tax as provided in Section 2-18-270 of this Chapter. Where authorized by Federal or State law, the Finance Director may require reasonable modifications to a service supplier billing system platform to accommodate requirements of this subsection provided an administrative agreement for recovery of all one-time costs incurred by the service supplier to comply is executed as provided by Section 2-18-270 of this Chapter.

(c) In the event a telephone subscriber makes partial payment of the total charges billed for service and the Emergency Communication System Access Tax that have accrued for the billing period, absent express written direction by the telephone subscriber identifying those charges in dispute, such partial payment shall be applied to satisfy, in order: (1) charges due and owing to the service supplier for services and products; (2) applicable Federal and State sales and use taxes; (3) authorized pass-through expenses, costs and other charges for which the service supplier may be directly liable for payment to Federal and State governments including, but not limited to, Universal Service Fee (USF) charges; and (4) charges for which service suppliers are acting as mere conduits for collection and remittance including the City of San Leandro Emergency Communication System Access Tax. Service suppliers shall pursue the normal course of collection efforts for deficiencies in payment of the tax from telephone subscribers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a telephone subscriber shall not be relieved of the duty to pay the tax to the service supplier in any dispute of other items billed except in cases in which the dispute arises from claims of interruption or impairment of service on the access line on which the tax under this Chapter is assessed.

(d) The duty to collect the tax from a telephone subscriber shall commence with bills issued on or after December 1, 2008; provided that, however, within five days of the effective date of the Chapter, City officials provide to service suppliers written notice of their responsibility to bill and remit taxes collected. In the event that notice is not sent within five days of the Chapter's effective date, service suppliers' duty to bill and remit taxes collected shall commence no later than 90 days after receipt of notice from the City.

(e) The service supplier, at its option, may assess a service charge of up to one-eighth of one percent (.125%) of Emergency Communication System Access Tax actually collected by the service supplier and remitted to the City at the time of remission. The service charge may be deducted from the Emergency Communication System Access Tax remitted to the City at the time of remission.

(a) Establishment of Fund: The Emergency Communication System Access Fund is established to receive all monies collected pursuant to this Chapter, and any other monies transferred into the fund.

(b) Use of Fund: The fund shall be used solely for eligible project costs and eligible operating costs.

(c) Administration of Fund: Expenditures and encumbrances from this fund shall be subject to the budget and fiscal provisions of the City.

(a) Any tax imposed on a telephone subscriber under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the telephone subscriber to the City until it has been paid to the City, except that payment to a service supplier is sufficient to relieve the subscriber from further liability for the tax.

(b) Any tax collected under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt owed to the City of San Leandro by the person required to bill and remit such tax. The service supplier's service charge may be removed from the collection prior to remitting said tax.

(c) With the exception of the requirement to bill telephone subscribers for the tax and to pursue the normal course of collection efforts for deficiencies in payment by telephone subscribers as provided by Section 2-18-230 of this Chapter, nothing in this Chapter shall impose any duty on a service supplier to enforce the collection of the tax hereinabove imposed. However, whenever a service supplier remits funds collected as an Emergency Communication System Access Tax to the City, the service supplier shall also provide the City with the name and address of any telephone subscriber who has not paid the tax for four or more billing periods and shall state the amount of such tax remaining unpaid. A service supplier in compliance with this paragraph shall, following the provision of its report, be relieved of any further duty under this Chapter for billing and attempts to collect uncollected taxes from the telephone subscribers identified in the report identified in this subsection for the stated periods. The Finance Director may, at his or her discretion, then assume the responsibility to collect the taxes due for the stated periods, in which case the Finance Director shall notify the telephone subscriber that the Finance Director has assumed the responsibility to collect the taxes due for the stated periods and may demand payment from the telephone subscriber of such taxes.

(d) A service supplier shall be obligated to bill and remit taxes collected consistent with the provisions of Section 2-18-230. In the event a service supplier willfully refuses to bill or to remit those taxes collected in due course, the service supplier shall be liable to the City in the amount of taxes that were to be collected, as determined by the Finance Director pursuant to Section 2-18-255.

(e) Any person owing money to the City under the provisions of this Chapter shall be liable in any action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount.

(f) No telephone subscriber or service supplier owing money to the City under the provisions of this Chapter may be denied access to the 911 communications system due to their non-payment of the tax imposed by the Chapter.

(a) Each service supplier providing local telephone services to subscribers within the City shall register with the Finance Director upon a form prescribed by the Finance Director and shall set forth the name under which the service supplier transacts or intends to transact business, together with identification of the service supplier's registered agent for process, or such other agent the service supplier designates, to whom notices pursuant to this Chapter shall be directed. All notices and communications required by this Chapter must be directed to the agent designated in the service supplier's registration in order to be effective notice.

(b) Each service supplier shall, on or before the last day of each month, make a return to the Finance Director, on forms provided by the Finance Director, stating the amount of taxes collected by the service supplier during the preceding month, and provide a report of the number of single access lines, trunk lines, and super trunk lines that are subject to this tax, as well as the number of exempt lines as specified in Section 2-18-215. At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the Finance Director, less any amount retained as a service charge consistent with Section 2-18-230(e) of this Chapter. The Finance Director may require further readily attainable information in the return. Returns and remittances are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason. Service suppliers must maintain records of taxes collected and remitted to the City for a period of at least three years after the date the tax is remitted.

(c) The Finance Director shall have the authority to conduct audits of service suppliers including inspection, auditing, and copying relevant records and material during the service supplier's regular business hours, upon written request giving not less than five business days' notice in order to review compliance with this Chapter. If the Finance Director determines based on an audit under this subsection that a service supplier has failed to remit any tax imposed by this Chapter, the Finance Director may require the service supplier to pay for the cost of the audit.

(a) Service Suppliers:

(1) Taxes collected from a telephone subscriber that are not remitted to the Finance Director by the service supplier by the due dates provided in this Chapter or that a service supplier willfully refuses to bill or remit pursuant to Section 2-18-230 are delinquent.

(2) Penalties for delinquency in remittance of any taxes collected pursuant to Section 2-18-230 shall attach and be paid by the service supplier required to remit at the rate of 15% of the total taxes collected for which remittance is delinquent.

(3) The Finance Director shall have power to impose additional penalties upon service suppliers required to collect and remit tax amounts under the provisions of this Chapter for fraud or negligence in reporting or remitting up to 100% of the amount of the taxes collected or as recomputed by the Finance Director.

(4) Every penalty imposed under the provisions of this Section shall become a Chapter of the taxes required to be remitted.

(5) In addition to the penalties imposed in this subsection, any service supplier who willfully refuses to remit any tax imposed by this Chapter, except as provided in Section 2-18-240(c), shall pay interest on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until payment in full is received by the Finance Director. Interest shall be paid at the rate of 1% per month or fraction thereof.

(6) Notwithstanding the foregoing, taxes collected and not timely remitted by service suppliers to the Finance Director in cases of unintentional errors and omissions, or events outside the control of the service supplier, shall not be subject to the interest and penalties of this Chapter if the service supplier provides written notice of such an event to the Finance Director and makes the required remittance as soon as reasonably practical.

(b) Telephone Subscribers:

(1) In addition to provisions of Section 2-18-240(c), whenever the Finance Director determines that a telephone subscriber has willfully withheld the amount of the tax owed by him or her from the amounts remitted to a service supplier or that a telephone subscriber has failed to pay the amount of the tax for a period of four or more billing periods, or whenever the Finance Director deems it is in the best interest of the City, he or she shall relieve the service supplier of the obligation to collect taxes due under this Chapter from certain named service users for specified billing periods and collect the taxes directly from the telephone subscriber.

(2) Telephone subscribers who willfully withhold the amount of the tax owed from the amounts remitted to a service supplier or who fail to pay any taxes imposed by this Chapter to the service supplier within four billing periods shall pay a penalty of 15% of the amount of taxes owed.

(3) In addition to the penalties imposed in this subsection, any telephone subscriber who fails to remit taxes and penalties within 30 days of the date the City of San Leandro mails notification that the City has assumed responsibility for the collection of taxes due for specified billing periods, shall pay interest on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the tax first became delinquent to the service supplier until payment in full is received by the Finance Director, plus an additional collection charge for each delinquent account in an amount to be determined by rules and regulations of the Finance Director. The Finance Director shall establish collection charges which reimburse the costs incurred by the City for collecting delinquent taxes. Interest shall be paid at the rate of 1% per month or fraction thereof.

(4) The penalties, interest and collection charges imposed in this subsection shall not be collected by the service supplier, but shall be determined and collected by the City.

(5) Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this Section shall become a Chapter of the tax herein required to be paid.

If any service supplier willfully refuses to make, within the time provided in this Chapter, any report and remittance of taxes collected from telephone subscribers or any portion thereof required by this Chapter, the Finance Director may inspect, audit, and copy records relevant and material to the service supplier's willful failure during the service supplier's regular business hours, upon written request and not less than five business days' notice. As soon as the Finance Director is able to procure facts and information upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this Chapter collected by any service supplier who has willfully refused to make such report and remittance, the Finance Director shall proceed to determine and assess against such service supplier the tax, interest and penalties provided by this Chapter. In case such determination is made, the Finance Director shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the service supplier to its registered agent for service of process in the State of California. The service supplier may within 10 days after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in writing to the Finance Director for a hearing on the amount assessed. If application by the service supplier for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax, interest and penalties, if any determined by the Director shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable. If such application is made, the Director shall give not less than 10 business days' written notice in the manner prescribed herein to the service supplier to show cause at a time and place fixed in the notice why the amount specified therein should not be fixed for such tax, interest and penalties. At the hearing, the service supplier may appear and offer evidence and/or legal authority as to why the specified tax, interest, and penalties should not be so fixed.

After such hearing, the Finance Director shall determine the proper tax to be remitted and shall thereafter give written notice to the service supplier in the manner prescribed herein of the determination and the amount of the tax, interest and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable within 15 days.

(a) The Finance Director shall refund any tax collected by the service supplier in excess of the above annual limit described in Section 2-18-210(b). In order to be eligible for a refund the telephone subscriber must provide a written request for the refund along with of proof of payment by the subscriber. Such claims and proof of payment must be submitted to the Finance Director within 90 days of the end of the calendar year. Service suppliers are not authorized to provide refunds.

(b) Whenever the amount of any tax payment not provided for under Section 2-18-210(b) has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City under this Chapter, it may be refunded to the tax payer provided a claim in writing stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed by the tax payer with the Finance Director within one year of the date of payment along with proof of payment. No refund may be made except upon a written claim verified by the person who paid the tax or by his or her guardian or conservator or the executor or administrator of his or her will or estate.

(c) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant established his or her right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto.

(d) All claims shall further be subject to the provisions of Chapter 1-8 of the San Leandro Municipal Code relating to the presentation of claims against the City. No suit for money, damages, or a refund may be brought against the City until a written claim therefor has been presented to the City and has been acted upon or has been deemed to be rejected by the City, in accordance with this section. Only the person who filed the claim may bring such a suit and if another person should do so, judgment shall not be rendered for the plaintiff.

The Finance Director may make administrative agreements with service suppliers to vary the strict requirements of this Chapter so that collection of any tax imposed herein may be made in conformance with the billing procedures of a particular service supplier so long as the overall result of said agreements results in billing of the tax in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this Chapter. A copy of each agreement shall be on file and available for public examination in the Finance Director's office, except that portions of such agreements that may be designated as proprietary and confidential by the service supplier shall be excluded from the public records maintained by the Finance Director's office, and shall be subject to a duty of confidentiality and non-disclosure by those representatives of the City of San Leandro who may have a need to review and obtain knowledge of those portions of said agreements designated proprietary and confidential.

(a) Who May Appeal: Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Finance Director regarding the amount of tax or penalty owed or the duty or obligation to collect, report or pay a tax pursuant to this Chapter may appeal the decision of the Finance Director by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk within 15 days of the serving or mailing of such decision. The notice of appeal shall set forth in writing the grounds for the appeal and shall be accompanied by an appeal fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council and shall state the grounds for the appeal. Once a notice of appeal is received, the Finance Director shall request the City Manager to appoint a Hearing Officer and to schedule a day, time, and place for the hearing. The City Manager or a delegee of the City Manager shall provide written notice of the time and place of the hearing, and shall mail such notice to appellant at least 10 calendar days prior to the date of the hearing. The form and substance of the notice shall be in accordance with the rules and policies promulgated by the City Manager. At the hearing, the Appellant bears the burdens of production and persuasion to establish the factual and legal issues upon which the appeal is based.

(b) Hearing: A hearing to consider the appeal shall follow those procedures required to afford the appellant full due process of law. The Hearing Officer shall, at the conclusion of the hearing, make findings of fact based upon the evidence submitted and determine whether grounds exist for denial of the appeal or for adjustment of amounts owed. The person appealing shall be notified of the Hearing Officer's decision in writing. The Hearing Officer's decision shall be final. Any appellant who requests a hearing and who fails to appear at the hearing is deemed to waive the right to a hearing and the adjudication of the issues related to the hearing, provided that the hearing was properly noticed.

(c) Due Date of Tax: The amount of any tax finally determined as provided in this section shall be due and payable as of the date the original tax, together with any penalties that may be due thereon; provided, however, that if the amount of such tax is fixed in accordance with the original statement of the appellant no penalty shall attach by reason of any delinquency.

Nothing contained in this Chapter is intended to conflict with applicable rules, regulations, and tariffs of any service supplier subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. In the event of any conflict, the provisions of those rules, regulations and tariffs shall control.

The Finance Director may promulgate regulations and issue rules, determinations, and interpretations consistent with this Chapter as may be necessary or appropriate for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the tax and to apply this Chapter and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder in a lawful manner. The Finance Director shall agendize any proposed rule or regulation for the City Council's approval. A copy of such rules and regulations shall be on file and available for public examination in the Office of the City Clerk. Failure or refusal to comply with any rules and regulations promulgated by the Finance Director shall be deemed a violation of this Chapter.

In the event any section or portion of this Chapter shall be determined invalid or unconstitutional, such section or portion shall be deemed severable and all other sections or portions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.

Service suppliers shall not be liable to any telephone subscriber for billing, collecting, or remitting the tax on behalf of the City and the service supplier shall not be responsible for investigating the validity of the tax or assisting in the refunding of any tax determined to be invalid or improperly imposed, pursuant to an administrative or judicial ruling, order or determination.

This Chapter, if approved by the electorate of the City of San Leandro at the General Municipal Election of November 4, 2008, shall become effective immediately upon the declaration of the results of that election by the City Council of the City of San Leandro.

(a) Chapter 2-18 of the San Leandro Municipal Code may be repealed or amended by the City Council without a vote of the people. However, as required by Article XIIIC of the California Constitution, voter approval is required for any amendment provision that would increase the rate of any tax levied pursuant to this Chapter. The people of the City of San Leandro affirm that the following actions shall not constitute an increase of the rate of a tax:

(1) The annual adjustment of the tax rate by the percentage of the Consumer Price Index ("CPI-W") as set forth in Section 2-18-210;

(2) The restoration of the rate of the tax to a rate that is no higher than that set by this Chapter, if the City Council has acted to reduce the rate of the tax;

(3) An action that interprets or clarifies the methodology of the tax, or any definition applicable to the tax, so long as such interpretation or clarification (even if contrary to some prior interpretation or clarification) is not inconsistent with the language of this Chapter;

(4) The establishment of a class of persons that is exempt or excepted from the tax or the discontinuation of any such exemption or exception (other than the discontinuation of an exemption of an exemption or exception specifically set forth in this Chapter); and

(5) The collection of the tax imposed by this Chapter, even if the City had, for some period of time, failed to collect the tax.

(b) Upon adoption of this Chapter, the Emergency Communication System Access Tax as codified in Chapter 2-16 of the San Leandro Municipal Code shall be repealed.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining portions of this Chapter shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect. The people hereby declare that they would have adopted each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Chapter, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions of this Chapter be declared invalid or unenforceable.

The people of the City of San Leandro hereby ratify and approve the past collection of the Emergency Communication System Access Fee Ordinance Chapter 2-16 of the San Leandro Municipal Code as it existed prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Chapter.

The Mayor is hereby authorized to attest to the adoption of the ordinance codified in this Chapter by the voters of the City by signing where indicated below.