§ 5-16. Public service fee.

(A)

Definitions.

(1)

"Public service fee." Annual user charge applicable to structures certified for occupancy by the city building division, department of community development, but not appearing on the Broward County tax rolls as an improvement to real property. Said fee shall be computed annually by the department of financial management.

(2)

"Structure." Any building constructed upon real property located within the municipal limits of the City of Coral Springs which is not exempt from municipal ad valorem taxation under state law.

(3)

"Owner." That person or legal entity reflected on the public records of Broward County as the owner of real property upon which a structure has been completed.

(B)

Public service fee levied. As of the date a certificate of occupancy is issued by the city building division, department of community development, every structure located within the city shall be subject to a public service fee. This public service fee shall be in effect until that date when the structure in question appears on the assessment rolls of the tax assessor's office of Broward County, Florida.

(C)

Procedure. The chief building inspector of the City of Coral Springs shall be charged with the collection of the public service fee which fee shall be collected as a condition precedent to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the building division, department of community development. Upon request for a certificate of occupancy the chief building inspector shall request and receive a statement of the public service fee due and payable for the structure in question from the offices of the department of financial management. Said fee shall be presented to the owner of the property and collected prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Subsequent to collection, and in any event, on a daily basis, the chief building inspector shall remit monies collected pursuant to this section to the offices of the department of financial management.

(D)

Calculation of public service fee. Said fee shall be computed annually by the department of financial management according to the following criteria:

(a)

Unreimbursed expense determination, per dwelling unit basis. Upon receipt of the certified audit for each fiscal year, the department of financial management shall total all general fund expenses, fire fund expenses and emergency medical services fund expenses and reduce that figure by:

1.

All service revenues, and

2.

Utility taxes and franchise fees.

3.

The total of all non-ad valorem assessments on vacant land and all ad valorem taxes on vacant land.

4.

The total of all non-ad valorem assessments for fire control and prevention and emergency medical services on buildings which are exempt from municipal ad valorem taxation under state law.

The resulting balance shall then be divided by the average number of dwelling units for the preceding fiscal year so as to arrive at an average annual expense on a per dwelling unit basis.

(b)

Dwelling unit computation by department of financial management, residential and constructive commercial and/or industrial. For the purposes of this subsection, dwelling unit computation shall be completed as follows:

1.

Each single-family unit, including condominium or apartment unit, shall count as one (1).

2.

To arrive at a constructive number of dwelling units for commercial and/or industrial structures, the department of financial management shall divide the total building square footage for each such industrial and/or commercial structure by three thousand (3,000) square feet.

(c)

Fee determination; proration. The average expense per dwelling unit shall then be utilized by the department of financial management in computing the public service fee applicable to each structure certified for occupancy subsequent to January 1st of each calendar year. Said fee shall be prorated on a per diem basis.

(d)

Minimum fee. Notwithstanding the fee calculation provided in this section, the minimum public service fee charged shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(E)

Lien for unpaid public service fees. A lien for all public service fees shall attach to any property as of the date of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy by the city building division, department of community development, and shall continue in full force and effect until discharged by payment as provided in paragraph (B) above.

(F)

Suspension of the imposition and collection of public service fee. Effective May 11, 1999, until such suspension is repealed by adoption of an ordinance by the City Commission of the City of Coral Springs ("suspension period"), the imposition and collection of the public service fee is suspended.

(Ord. No. 74-165, §§ 1—5, 9-17-74; Ord. No. 77-105, §§ 1, 2, 3-1-77; Ord. No. 78-112, § 1, 5-16-78; Ord. No. 97-104, § 2, 3-4-97; Ord. No. 99-135, § 2, 12-7-99)