For City Council Meeting [November 14, 2017]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Michael Story, City Administrator
FROM: Fred Galante, City Attorney
Title
Request that City Council Approve Resolution No. 7228, entitled “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, SETTING THE AMOUNT OF THE BUSINESS LICENSE TAX FOR WHOLESALE LIQUID FUEL STORAGE FACILITIES PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 1556 FOR THE 2017/2018 FISCAL YEAR ”
Body
BACKGROUND:
On November 4, 2014, the voters of the City of Rialto (the “City”) approved the levy of a business license tax on wholesale liquid fuel storage facilities of up to $1.00 per cubic foot of storage capacity for these wholesale liquid fuel storage facilities (“Measure U”). Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1556, which adopted Measure U and added section 5.04.028 to the Rialto Municipal Code, provides that the City Council shall establish the amount of the tax by resolution each fiscal year.
The City Council initially set the amount of the tax at $1.00 per cubic foot of storage capacity pursuant to Resolution No. 6685, adopted by the City Council on January 13, 2015. The Resolution now before the Council sets the tax rate of $1.00 per cubic foot of storage capacity for Fiscal Year 2017/2018.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
On January 13, 2015, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6685, Section 2 of which provides that “Pursuant to Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1556, the amount of the business license tax shall be One Dollar ($1.00) per year for each One (1) cubic foot of liquid fuel storage capacity.” The business license tax has been set at One Dollar ($1.00) per year for each One (1) cubic foot of liquid fuel storage capacity for each year since. On May 10, 2016, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6951, which established certain policies regarding the implementation of the Measure U tax. This included the policy that the storage capacity of tanks which are empty for the entire relevant year would not be included in the calculation of the amount of tax due.
The attached proposed Resolution will set the rate of the Measure U tax at One Dollar ($1.00) per year for each One (1) cubic foot of liquid fuel storage capacity for Fiscal Year 2017/2018.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This action is consistent with Guiding Principles 1 and 3 of the General Plan:
1. Rialto is a Family First Community.
• Essential community services and amenities must meet the needs and desires of our families.
3. Rialto's Economic Environment Is Healthy and Diverse.
• We will aggressively attract and retain businesses that provide goods and services we desire, create jobs, and build a sustainable tax base.
This action is also consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the staff report
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
This Resolution will set the Measure U tax rate of $1.00 per cubic foot for the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year. The Business License Division of the City of Rialto is responsible for collecting the tax. In Fiscal Years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, the tax raised approximately $8.5 million in revenue each year for the City of Rialto. The tax for 2016/2017, is still being collected, but it is anticipated the revenue will be approximately $8.5 million for that fiscal year as well.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Resolution, entitled “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, SETTING THE AMOUNT OF THE BUSINESS LICENSE TAX FOR WHOLESALE LIQUID FUEL STORAGE FACILITIES PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. 1556 FOR THE 2017/2018 FISCAL YEAR.”