20030408 2003-08ORDINANCE NO. 2003- 8
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE V, CHAPTER 90, SECTIONS 90-231, 90-232,
AND 90-233 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, PERTAINING
TO A TAX ON MOBILE LOCAL TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE.
BE IT ORDAINED, by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, that Article V, Chapter
90, Sections 90-231, 90-232, and 90-233 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, are
hereby amended to read in their entirety as follows:
ARTICLE V. TAX ON UTILITY SERVICES.
Sec. 90-231. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings
respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Commercial or industrial user means the owner or tenant of property used for commercial or
industrial purposes.
Mobile local telecommunication service means any two-way mobile or portable local
telecommunication service, including cellular mobile radio telecommunication service and
specialized mobile radio.
Person means individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, corporations, including municipal
corporations and combinations of individuals of whatever form and character.
Purchaser means every person who purchases a utility service.
Residential user means the owner or tenant of private residential property, of an apartment or
a multiunit project.
Seller means every person who sells or furnishes a utility service.
Utility service means local telephone service, mobile local telecommunication service, electric
service, water service and gas service, including bottled or liquid gas, whether generally
termed a utility service or not, furnished in the city.
Sec. 90-232. Levy and amount of tax.
(a) There is hereby imposed and levied by the city, upon each purchaser of a utility
service, other than mobile local telecommunication service, a tax on the amount charged by
the seller against the purchaser with respect to each utility service, exclusive of any federal
tax thereon. The tax rate shall be 15 percent of the charge for each residential utility service
and 15 percent of the charge for each commercial or industrial utility service. In every case,
the tax shall be collected by the seller from the purchaser and shall be paid by the purchaser to
the seller for the use of the city at the time the purchase price or such charge shall become due
and payable under the agreement between the purchaser and seller.
(b) In case any monthly bill submitted by a seller for residential electric, telephone, water
or natural gas utility service shall exceed $15.00 for a residential user, there shall be no tax
computed on so much of such bill as shall exceed $15.00. In case any monthly bill submitted
by any seller for a commercial or industrial user of electric, telephone, water or natural gas
utility service shall exceed $500.00, there shall be no tax computed on so much of such bill as
shall exceed $500.00, except that there shall be no tax computed on bills submitted for
unmetered electric service.
(c) In case a bill is submitted by the seller for more than one month's utility service, then
the amount of such bill excluded in computing the tax shall be the monthly exclusion allowed
in this article for a specific utility service, multiplied by the number of months for which such
bill is submitted. In the case of multiple unit housing projects or apartments served by a
master meter or by a central plant or plants, the computation of tax shall be made as though
each living unit in such project or apartment were separately billed or separately metered and
billed.
(d) There is hereby imposed and levied by the city, upon each purchaser of mobile local
telecommunication service with a consumer service address located in the city, tax in the
amount of ten (10) percent of the monthly gross charge to a consumer of mobile local
telecommunication service, provided that such tax shall not be applicable to any amount so
charged in excess of thirty dollars ($30.00) per month for each mobile telecommunications
service number billed to a mobile service consumer. The tax shall be collected by the seller
from the purchaser and shall be paid by the purchaser to the seller for the use of the city at the
time the purchase price or such charge shall become due and payable under the agreement
between the purchaser and seller.
Sec. 90-233. Amount of tax for enhanced emergency telephone service.
(a) In addition to the tax imposed and levied under section 90-232, there is hereby
imposed and levied by the city upon each and every purchaser of local telephone service and
each and every purchaser of mobile local telecommunication service with a consumer service
address located in the city a tax in the amount of $0.88 per telephone line per month. This tax
shall be paid by the purchaser to the seller of local telephone service and mobile local
telecommunication service for the use of the city to pay the initial capital, installation, and
maintenance costs of its E-911 system. Such tax shall not be imposed on federal, state and
local government agencies.
(b) The following phrases shall have the following meanings:
E-911 system means a telephone service which utilizes a computerized system to
automatically route emergency telephone calls placed by dialing the digits 911 to the proper
public safety answering point serving the jurisdiction from which the emergency telephone
call was placed. An E-911 system includes selective routing of telephone calls, automatic
telephone number identification, and automatic location identification performed by
computers and other ancillary control center communications equipment.
Public safety agency means a functional division of a public agency which provides
firefighting, police, medical, or other emergency services or a private entity which provides
such services on a voluntary basis.
Public safety answering point means a communications facility operated on a 24-hour basis
which first receives E-911 calls from persons in an E-911 service area and which may, as
appropriate, directly dispatch public safety services or extend, transfer, or relay E-911 calls to
appropriate public safety agencies.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that this ordinance shall become effective on August
1, 2003.
INTRODUCED: March 11, 2003
PUBLIC HEARING: March 25, 2003
ENACTED: April 8, 2003
'1 Da{e
ATTEST:
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The vote on the motion to adopt the ordinance was recorded as follows:
Councilwoman Cross
Councilman Greenfield
Councilwoman Lyon
Councilman Rasmussen
Councilman Silverthome
Councilmember Winter
Vote
Aye
No
Aye
Aye
Aye
Aye