HomeMy WebLinkAbout060 - 05/16/2017 - AMENDING ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 25 AND DIVISION 2 IN ARTICLE IX OF CHAPTER 26 OF CITY CODE CONCERNING (2)ORDINANCE NO. 060, 2017
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 25 AND DIVISION 2 IN ARTICLE IX
OF CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
CONCERNING THE CITY'S TAX AND UTILITY REFUND PROGRAMS
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WHEREAS, Division 2 in Article II of City Code Chapter 25 Code authorizes the refund
of the City's property tax to low-income elderly and disabled persons residing in the.City (the
Property Tax Refund Program"); and
WHEREAS, Division 3 in Article II of City Code Chapter 25 authorizes a rebate on the
City's sales tax charged on food purchases by low-income persons residing in the City (the
Sales Tax Rebate Program"); and
WHEREAS, Division 5 in Article II of City Code Chapter 25 authorizes the rebate of the
City's use tax imposed on manufacturing equipment paid by certain qualifying manufacturers
the "Manufacturing Equipment Use Tax Rebate Program"); and
WHEREAS, Division 2 in Article IX of City Code Chapter 25 authorizes the refund of a
portion of the utility charges billed to low-income elderly and disable persons residing in the
City who receive water, wastewater, stormwater or electric utility services from the City (the
Utility Refund Program"); and
WHEREAS, the Property Tax Refund Program, Sales Tax Rebate Program and the
Utility Refund Program (collectively, the "Low-Income Rebate Programs") serve the public
purpose of assisting certain low-income individuals in better affording the necessities of life
related to shelter, food and utility services; and
WHEREAS, the Manufacturing Equipment Use Tax Rebate Program serves the public
purpose of encouraging manufacturers to establish, continue and expand their manufacturing
activities within the City to benefit the local economy and provide manufacturing jobs within the,
City; and
WHEREAS, City staff has recently reviewed these programs and is recommending
several changes to them; and
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WHEREAS, regarding the Low-Income Rebate Programs, these changes include
modifying the definitions and qualifications used to determine which low-income individuals
and households are eligible for the programs and opening these programs to not just persons
residing in the City, but also to persons residing in the City's Growth Management Area, both of
which changes,are intended to have the effect of increasing the number of people who. will be
benefited by the Low-Income Rebate Programs; and
WHEREAS, the changes to the Manufacturing Equipment Use Tax Rebate Program are
more minor and have no similar effect of expanding eligibility under the program, but are
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changes to clarify, update and better describe when a qualify manufacturer is eligible for a rebate
under the Manufacturing Equipment Use Tax Rebate Program; and
WHEREAS, the City Council hereby finds and determines that adoption of this
Ordinance to modify the Low-Income Rebate Programs and the Manufacturing Equipment Use
Tax Rebate Program as proposed is in the best interests of the City and its citizens and necessary
for the public's health, safety and welfare.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Division 2 in Article H of Chapter 25 of the Code of the City of Fort
Collins is hereby amended to read as follows:
Division 2
Ad Valorem Tax Refund
Program for the Elderly and Disabled
Sec. 25-26. - Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used.in this Division, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this Section:
Applicant shall mean a person who applies to the City for a tax rebate under this Division 2.
Disabled person shall mean a person receiving Supplemental Security Income, Social Security
Disabled Income or diagnosed as disabled by a licensed physician.
Dwelling Unit shall have the meaning given to it by Section 5.1.2 of the City's Land Use Code,
as amended.
Elderly person shall mean an individual who was sixty-five (65) years of age or older in the year
in which the taxes to be rebated were levied.
Household shall mean collectively the applicant, applicant's spouse, and applicant's children by
birth or adoption, step children, foster children and children under legal guardianship who reside
with the applicant in the taxed dwelling unit and any other person who the applicant may claim
as a dependent on his or her federal income tax return. Household shall also mean the applicant
and persons not related as above described, provided the applicant and such persons shall live at
the same address and pool resources for the purpose of paying living expenses, such as rent, food
and utilities. The Financial Officer's determination,shall be final with regard to eligibility as a
household.
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Income shall mean: (1) total income of an individual as shown on the individual's federal
income tax form on the line noted for the applicable form, as set forth in the chart below, or if the
individual is not required to file any of these tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service, the
amount that would be so reported in the most applicable form if the individual was required to
file; and (2) plus any nontaxable income including, without limitation, individual retirement
account distributions (not including rollovers), pensions and annuities, social security benefits,
disability benefits, worker's compensation benefits and any other nontaxable income:
I.R.S. Form 1040 Line 22 "Total Income'
I.R.S.Form Line 15 "Total Income"
1040A
I.R.S. Form Line 4 "Adjusted Gross Income"
1040EZ
I.R.S. Form Line 23 "Total Effectively Connected
1040NR Income"
Own shall mean having fee title or other beneficial ownership to real property.
Sec. 25-27. - Purpose.
There is hereby enacted a tax refund program to provide relief from property taxes for low-
income elderly persons and disabled persons residing in the City. It is the purpose of this tax
refund program to refund to low-income elderly persons and disabled persons, the City's portion
of property taxes for the preceding year which such persons have paid. This program is intended
to apply to applicants who either own or lease, and reside within, the dwelling unit for which
such taxes have been paid.
Sec. 25-28. - Application for refund.
Refunds under this program shall be made to persons qualified for such refunds upon written
application made to the Financial Officer on forms to be provided by the Financial Officer. Such
applications shall be filed with the City between August 1 and October 31 in each year, and shall
be for the refund of the taxes levied in the prior year.
Sec. 25-29. - Qualifications.
In order to be entitled to a refund under this program, the applicant for such refund must meet all
of the following applicable requirements:
1) The applicant or other member of the applicant's household must be an elderly or
disabled person.
2) The applicant, or the applicant's household member who is the qualifying elderly
or disabled person, must have been a resident of the City during the entire preceding year
when the property tax to be refunded was levied against the dwelling unit.
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3) The applicant or a member of the applicant's household must have either: (a) paid
property taxes levied in the previous year on a dwelling unit that was owned by the
applicant and in which the applicant resided; or (b) must have paid rent in the previous
year when the taxes were levied on the dwelling unit or portion thereof in which the
applicant resided.
4) The applicant's income in the year the tax to be refunded was levied, together
with the income for that year of all individuals in the applicant's household, shall not
exceed fifty (50) percent of the area median income for the applicable household size in
the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan statistical area, up to a maximum household
income of fifty (50) percent of the area.median income for a household of eight (8), as
most recently published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development as of December 31 of the year in which the tax to be refunded was levied.
Sec. 25-30. - Amount of refund.
a) If the applicant meets the requirements of this Division, the City shall refund to the
applicant an amount based upon the following:
1) In the case of an applicant who is the owner of the dwelling unit in which the
applicant resided, that portion of the total property tax actually paid on the property
which was levied by the City for the preceding year; ;
2) In the case of a person renting the dwelling unit on which City property taxes
were levied in the preceding year, an amount equal to one and forty-four one-hundredths
1.44) percent of the total rental payments made by such applicant during the preceding
year;
b) An applicant may be entitled to a refund based on the foregoing provisions for such
qualifying dwelling unit in which the applicant lived at different times during such year, but in
no event shall the applicant be entitled to a refund representing more than one (1) dwelling unit
for the same time period.
c) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the City shall not be obligated
to refund to multiple applicants for the same dwelling unit in a total amount in excess of the total
City property taxes levied and paid for that dwelling unit in the applicable year.
Sec. 25-31. - Refunds payable only to applicant.
The City shall make tax refunds pursuant to this, Division only directly to the applicant who
qualifies therefor and, except as provided in Subsection (b) below, refunds shall not be paid to
anyone other than the applicant. If an applicant dies prior to receiving or cashing a refund
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pursuant hereto, any check representing such refund shall be null and void, and such refund shall
not become an asset of the decedent's estate. If the decedent is survived by a spouse who would
be qualified as an applicant for such refund, the 'City will honor an application for a refund by
such surviving spouse, even though the application is not timely made in accordance with the
provisions of this Division.
Sec. 25-32. - Administration.
The Financial Officer shall administer the program established by this Division and may prepare
a refund application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this
Division and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Division. Any refund
application form shall require the claimant to verify and sign the application under oath. The
burden of proving entitlement to a refund under this Division is on the applicant. The Financial
Officer may require other reasonable information to support the refund application.
Section 3. That Division 3 in Article II of Chapter 25 of the Code of the City of Fort
Collins is hereby amended to read as follows:
Division 3
Sales Tax Rebate on Food
Sec. 25-46. - Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Division, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this Section:
Applicant means a person who applies to the City for a tax rebate under this Division 3.
Household shall mean collectively the applicant, applicant's spouse, and applicant's children by
birth or adoption, step children, foster children and children under legal guardianship who reside
with the applicant and any other person who the applicant may claim as a dependent on his or her
federal income tax return. Household shall also mean the applicant and persons not related as
above described, provided the applicant and such persons shall live at the same address and pool
resources for the purpose of paying living expenses, such as rent, food and utilities. The City's
determination shall be final with regard to eligibility as a household.
Income shall mean: (1) total income of an individual as shown on the individual's federal
income tax form on the line noted for the applicable form, as set forth in the chart below, or if the
individual is not required to file any of these tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service, the
amount that would be so reported in the most applicable form if the individual was required to
file; and (2) plus any nontaxable income including, without limitation, individual retirement
account distributions (not including rollovers), pensions and annuities, social security benefits,
disability benefits, worker's compensation benefits and any other nontaxable income:
II.R.S.Form 1040 Line 22 "Total Income"
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I.R.S.Form
Line 15 "Total Income"
1040A
I.R.S. Form Line 4 "Adjusted Gross Income"
1040EZ
I.R.S. Form Line 23 "Total Effectively Connected
1040NR Income"
Sec. 25-47. - Establishment.
There is hereby established a sales tax rebate program to provide relief from City sales tax
charged on food purchased by low-income persons residing in the City and its Growth
Management Area, as defined in § 1-2 and as amended.
Sec. 25-48. -Application for rebate.
Application for the sales tax rebate on food shall be made on forms to be provided by the City. In
order to qualify for such rebate, the application must be filed with the City between August 1 and
October 31 of each year, and shall be for the rebate of the taxes imposed and paid in the prior
year. Only one (1) application shall be filed per household. If any member of the household for
which the application has been filed has filed a federal income tax return for the applicable year,
a copy of such income tax return must be attached to the application.
Sec. 25-49. - Qualifications.
In order to qualify for the sales tax rebate, all members of the applicant's household must have
resided within the City or the City's Growth Management Area, as defined in § 1-2 and as
amended, during the rebate year for which the application is made. The applicant's household
shall have a total annual income that does not exceed fifty (50) percent of the area median
income for the applicable household size in the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan statistical
area, up to a maximum household income of fifty (50) percent of the area median income for a
household of eight (8), as most recently published by the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development as of August 1 of the year in which the tax to be rebated was imposed.
Sec. 25-50.- Amount of rebate.
The rebate amount for the 2016 tax year will be sixty dollars ($60.) per calendar year for each
person in the qualified household not to exceed eight (8) household members. This amount of the
rebate will be increased annually according to the Denver-Boulder-Greeley Consumer Price
Index for Urban Consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sec. 25-51. - Payment.
The City shall make a single rebate payment to each qualified household for which an
application has been properly filed by joint payment to adult members of the household and to
parents or guardians on behalf of all children of the household.
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Sec. 25-52. - Administration.
The Financial Officer shall administer the program established by this Division and may prepare
a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this
Division and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Division. Any rebate
application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The
burden of proving entitlement to a rebate under this Division is on the applicant. The Financial
Officer may require other reasonable information to support the rebate application.
Section 4. That Division 5 in Article II of Chapter 25 of the Code of the City of Fort
Collins is hereby amended to read as follows:
Division 5
Manufacturing equipment use tax rebate
Sec. 25-63. - Definitions.
a) The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Division, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this Section:
Manufacturing equipment shall mean manufacturing equipment to be used in the City
directly and exclusively in the manufacture of tangible personal property for sale or
profit.
Qualifying manufacturer shall mean an industrial manufacturer who, in an industrial
setting, produces a new product, article, substance or commodity that is different from
and has a distinctive name, character or use from the raw or prepared materials used to
manufacture the product.
b) Any words, terms and phrases used in this Division not defined in Subsection (a) of this
section shall have the meaning given to them in § 25-71.
Sec. 25-64. - Establishment.
unchanged)
Sec. 25-65. - Application for rebate.
unchanged)
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Sec. 25-66. - Qualifications.
In order to qualify for a rebate under the provisions of this Division, the following requirements
must be met:
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1) The qualifying manufacturer must have a sales and use tax licensed from the City and be
classified as a "manufacturer" under the North American Industry Classification System
NAICS), as amended.
5) The qualifying manufacturer must have paid the appropriate use tax when due and not as
a consequence of a tax audit conducted by the City.
Sec. 25-67. -Amount of rebate.
The amount of rebate payable shall be in the sum set forth in a rebate schedule to be adopted by
the Financial Officer consistent with rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to § 25-69.
Sec. 25-68. - Payment.
For each qualifying manufacturer, the City shall only be required to make a single annual rebate
payment. Any additional payments shall be in the Financial Officer's sole discretion.
Sec. 25-69. -Administration.
The Financial Officer shall administer the program established by this Division and may prepare
a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this
Division, and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Division. Any rebate
application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The
burden of proving entitlement to a rebate under this Division is on the applicant. The Financial
Officer may require other reasonable information to support the rebate application.
Section 5. That Division 2 in Article IX of Chapter 26 of the Code of the`City of Fort
Collins is hereby amended to read as follows:
Division 2
Water, Wastewater, Stormwater,
Electric Utilities Refund Program
Sec. 26-611. - Declaration of purpose.
unchanged)
Sec. 26-612. - Requirements for qualification.
In order to qualify for the refund hereunder, the applicant must satisfy the qualifications required
in § 25-29 and the property occupied by the applicant must receive water, wastewater,
stormwater or electric utility service from the City.
Sec. 26-613. -Application for refund.
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The application for a utility bill refund shall be the same application as that used to apply for an
ad valorem tax refund under the provisions of Division 2 in Article II of Code Chapter 25. In
order to qualify for such refund, the application must be filed within the time limits prescribed in
said Division 2.
Sec. 26-614. -Amount of refund.
a) The annual amount of refund payable hereunder shall be based on the average monthly
consumption of water, wastewater, stonnwater and electric services by a residential unit in the
City, determined pursuant to the administrative rules and regulations of this Division. An
applicant shall be entitled to a refund only for those utility services received.
b) Any refund payable hereunder shall be made at the same time as the ad valorem tax
refund is made pursuant Division 2 in Article 11 of Code Chapter 25.
Sec. 26-615. - Refund payable from general fund.
unchanged)
Sec. 26-616. - Payment'of refund to applicant.
Refunds paid pursuant to this Division shall be paid as provided in § 25-31.
Sec. 26-617. - Rules and regulations.
unchanged)
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of
April, A.D. 2017, and to be presented for final passage on the 16th day of May, A.D. 2017.
Mayor
ATTEST: coio?
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City Clerk
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Passed and adopted on final reading on this 16th day of May, A.D. 2017.
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SEAL ;On Mayor
ATTEST: LoRAO°
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City Clerk
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