HomeMy WebLinkAbout3034ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE declaring the
existing street system of the City
of Kent to be a public utility,
setting forth the classification of
customers subject to charges,
providing for the levying and
collection of such charges and
creating the Street Utility Fund,
from which monies shall be spent
for the construction, maintenance,
operation and preservation of the
street utility.
WHEREAS, traffic congestion in the City of Kent is a
significant and serious problem which results in accidents
involving both personal injury and property damage; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the fact that many streets and
intersections in the City are operating at or beyond their
maximum capacity, future traffic projections indicate that
essential transportation system improvements must be constructed
or traffic congestion will be significantly exacerbated;
WHEREAS, the Kent City Council, as the legislative body
responsible for the health, safety and general welfare of the
people of Kent, has made resolution of the City's traffic
congestion problem their number one target issue;
WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature, in
recognition of this growing problem throughout the state,
authorized cities to utilize several options in order to address
the financial needs of local transportation systems such as the
establishment of a street utility under the Revised Code of
Washington (RCW), Section 82.80.040 et sea.,;
WHEREAS, the Council, in Resolution 1270, authorized
the establishment of a street utility in the City and to provide
for the levying and collection of such charges, and the creation
of a street utility fund, from which monies shall be spent for
the construction, maintenance, operation and preservation of the
streets as a public utility; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Street System a Public Utility, The City
of Kent hereby declares that its existing street system,
i
including all street lighting, traffic control devices,
sidewalks, curbs, gutters, parking facilities and drainage
3,
facilities, together with such extensions, additions and
betterments thereto as may be authorized from time to time, shall
be constructed, maintained, operated and preserved as a public
utility of the City, beginning June 1, 1992, all as authorized by
and pursuant to RCW 82.80.040.
Section 2. Definitions. As used in this ordinance:
A. "Business" means all activities, occupations,
trades, pursuits, professions and matters engaged in or located
within the City limits with the object of gain, benefit,
advantage or profit to the business enterprise or to another
person, directly or indirectly.
0
B. "Business enterprise" means each location at which
a person engages in business within the City.
C. "Employee" means any person employed at any
business enterprise in the City, except casual laborers not
employed in the usual course of business. A sole proprietor is
not an "employee" when the business enterprise is located within
a housing unit. All officers, agents, dealers, franchisees,
etc., of a corporation or business trust, and all partners of a
partnership (except limited partners) are "employees" within this
definition.
D. "Full-time equivalent employee" means the
calculated number of employees derived by dividing the total
yearly number of hours reported on the preceding quarterly State
of Washington Labor and Industries Reports by one thousand nine
hundred twenty (1,920) hours.
E. "Housing Unit" means a building or portion thereof
designed for or used as the residence or living quarters of one
or more persons living together, or of one family.
F. "Low-income disabled" means those persons eligible
for a reduction in utility rates as described in Resolution 980
of the City of Kent.
G. "Low-income seniors" means those persons eligible
for a reduction in utility rates as described in Resolution 980
of the City of Kent.
3
Section 3. Administration of Utility. The Director of
Public Works, through the Department of Public Works, shall
operate and administer such public utility and enforce this
ordinance; and there shall be kept a classified system of
accounts or revenues and disbursements as prescribed by the State
Auditor, in conjunction with the City Finance Director and
Finance Department, all as required by law.
Section 4. Rates and Charges -- Purpose. The City
shall levy charges for the use and availability of its streets in
a total annual amount of up to fifty percent of the actual costs
of maintenance, operation and preservation of facilities under
the jurisdiction of the street utility, all authorized by and
pursuant to Chapter 82.80 RCW.
Section 5. Street Utility Customer Charge --
Residential. As of June 1, 1992, the Public Works Director shall
impose upon each residential housing unit served by the street
utility, a uniform customer charge of one dollar and ninety cents
($1.90) per month; provided that the residential housing units
described in Section 7 shall be exempt from this charge.
Section 6. Street Utility Customer Charge -- Business.
A. Amount of Charge. As of June 1, 1992, the Public
Works Director shall impose upon each business enterprise served
by the street utility, a uniform business customer charge of one
dollar and ninety cents ($1.90) per full-time equivalent employee
per month.
4
B. Calculation of Charge. The monthly business
customer charge shall be calculated by multiplying the number of
hours reported during the preceding quarter of the year on the
quarterly State of Washington Labor and Industries Reports by
$0.003958 per hour. This figure will be approximately one dollar
and ninety cents ($1.90) per full-time equivalent employee per
month when based upon one thousand nine hundred twenty (1,920)
hours of employment per calendar year.
C. Under -reporting of Employees. Upon the City's
request, a business shall provide copies to the City of its
quarterly reports as submitted to the State Department of Labor
and Industries, reporting employee hours worked. If at any time
during the year it appears that the number of employees in a
particular business enterprise have been under -reported for the
purposes of this ordinance, an additional charge in the amount of
such under -reporting shall be due.
D. Applicability.
1. For purposes of this ordinance, any business
operating within the City limits of the City of Kent shall be
subject to this business customer charge, regardless of whether
the business' employees work within or without the Kent city
limits.
2. For any employees whose nominal place of
business is within the City limits of the City of Kent, all hours 1
will be subject to the street utility charge. Any employee
regularly reporting to work within the City limits shall have all
of that employee's time subject to this charge, even if portions
5
of the employee's time are spent outside the City of Kent, for
example, a realtor or outside salesperson. For an employee
normally employed within the City of Kent, who for extended
periods of time reports to work outside the City of Kent, (for
example, a contractor's employees reporting directly to job
sites,) then the employer may by affidavit report the number of
hours actually worked within the City or the percentage of time
worked within the City based upon one thousand nine hundred
twenty (1,920) hours annually, and pay the charge based upon
those figures.
Section 7. Exemptions from Street Utility Customer
Service Charges. Charges imposed by this ordinance shall not be
applicable to:
A. Public property exempt from property taxes under
RCW 84.36.010;
B. Public property subject to leasehold interests
kand exempt from the leasehold tax under Chapter 82.29A RCW; and
C. Property used for nonprofit or sectarian
purposes, which if said property were owned by such organization
would qualify for an exemption under Chapter 84.36 RCW; and
D. Residential housing units to the extent of their
occupancy by low-income senior citizens and low-income disabled
citizens as provided in RCW 74.38.070(1).
2
Section 8. Credits against Street Utility Customer
Charge. All business enterprises subject to this ordinance shall
be credited the full amount of any commuter or employer tax paid
for transportation purposes by the business, against the street
utility customer charge. In no case, however, shall the credit
,exceed the street utility business customer charge.
Section 9. Adjustment of Street Utility Customer
(Charge. Requests for adjustments of the monthly business street
utility customer charge shall be filed with the Finance
,Department and must be accompanied by a copy of the preceding
;quarterly report to the State Department of Labor and Industries,
reporting the employee hours worked. For businesses that did not
;file the report with the State, an affidavit can be filed with
the Finance Department reporting the hours worked or the number
of equivalent full-time employees.
Section 10. Billing of Street Utility Charges. The
i
rates and charges set out in this ordinance shall be effective
and shall be computed and billed from time to time by the
Director of Public Works through the Finance Department as a
separate charge on the utility bill or in a separate bill, and
shall become due and payable to the City as stated in such
billing. Any street utility charge which becomes delinquent
shall become a lien upon the premises and be enforced in the same
manner as rates and charges for the use of systems of sewerage j
under Chapter 35.67 RCW. Delinquent charges shall bear interest
at eight percent (8%) per annum.
7
Section 11. Street Utility Fund Created. There is
created in the City Treasury a special fund to be known as the
"Street Utility Fund." Any and all revenues collected and
received for the use of the street system as set forth in this
ordinance, or in connection therewith, shall be credited to the
fund and all revenues collected shall be used for the
construction, maintenance, operation and preservation of all
facilities and improvements of the street utility, including all
additions thereto, as set forth in Section 1, and for
transportation purposes, including but not limited to: the
operation and preservation of roads, streets and other
transportation improvements; new construction, reconstruction and
expansion of city streets, and other transportation improvements;
development and implementation of public transportation and high
capacity transit improvements and programs and planning design;
acquisition of right-of-way and sites for such transportation
purposes.
Section 12. Refunds of Street Utility Charges. The
Director of Public Works, in operating and administering the
municipal street system as a public utility, is authorized to
make refunds where any charges paid under said ordinance are !
found to be erroneous, or to require adjustment; and the Finance
F
Director is authorized to give the appropriate credit or to make
the appropriate payment from the Street Utility Fund, upon
certification by the Director of Public Works that the refund is
authorized.
Section 13. Severability. The provisions of this
ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. The
invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,
8
section or portion of this ordinance, or the invalidity of the
application thereof to any person or circumstance shall not
affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance, or the
validity of its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 14. Termination of Street Utility. Ten years
from the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter, said
ordinance and all of its provisions shall terminate and the
street utility shall thereby expire unless the Council by
ordinance extends the period for expiration of the street
utility.
Section 15. Effective date. This ordinance shall take
effect and be in force and effect thirty (30) days from the time
of its final approval and passage as provided by law.
ATTEST:
DAN-KELLEHER, MAYOR
BRENDA JACOBER, CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM
.__
kOGAR A. LUBOVICH, RNEY'
w
PASSED the ` day of �:r.<. , 1992.
APPROVED the day of ; , 1992.
PUBLISHED the day of ! 1992.
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy
i
of Ordinance No. :y passed by the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, and approved by the Mayor of the City
of Kent as hereon indicated.
stutil.ord
e
( SEAL)
BRENDA JACOBER/ CITY CLERK
10