A.    Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of this section is to impose a fee which shall provide for the enforcement and regulation of the performance standards and regulations for such establishments as set forth in this chapter and in Chapter 6.12 of the Alameda County Ordinance Code.

    B.    Annual Alcohol Sales Enforcement and Regulatory Fee. An annual alcohol sales enforcement and regulatory fee is hereby established to recover the cost of the services described above, including inspections and administrative hearings subject to the following provisions of this section.

    C.    Definitions. For the purpose of this section the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as having the following meaning:

    1.    “Annual alcohol sales permit fee” or “fee” means the fee that is required by this chapter.

    2.    “Licensee” means any person or business licensed by the state of California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control that was actively conducting retail alcohol sales as of November thirtieth of the calendar year immediately prior to the billing date. In any case where a person or business maintains duplicate licenses or catering licenses at a location, such person or business shall be deemed a single “licensee.”

    3.    “Billing cycle” refers to the calendar year for which the fee is assessed. “Billing date” means the first day of the billing cycle (January first).

    4.    “Payment due date” means the last day of the month in which the billing date occurs (January thirty-first). When the payment due date occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, payments made on the next business day will be considered timely.

    D.    Fee Imposed.

    1.    Each licensee shall pay an annual fee in accordance with this chapter.

    2.    The enforcement officer shall administer the fee.

    3.    The enforcement officer shall be responsible for administering funds derived from the fee, for purposes of enforcement activities that are authorized by this chapter.

    E.    Total of Fees to Be Collected. “Total of fees to be collected” means the aggregate of all fees to be collected in the next billing cycle by the county. The total fee shall be equal to the cost of the enforcement officer for next billing cycle.

    F.    Collection of Fees.

    1.    The fee will be paid annually for a calendar year. Licensees will be billed as of the first day of the billing cycle, January first. Payment will be due the last day of the first month of the billing cycle, January thirty-first. Licensees will receive an annual billing statement setting forth the amount of the fee.

    2.    The fee shall be non-refundable.

    3.    The enforcement officer or his or her designee may arrange payment plans upon demonstrated financial hardship.

    4.    Any licensee who fails to remit the proper fee by the payment due date shall pay a delinquency penalty of ten percent of the fee per month, or fraction thereof, up to a maximum of twenty percent (20%), in addition to the amount of the fee.

    5.    In addition to the penalties imposed, any licensee who fails to remit the proper fee, or portion thereof, by the payment due date shall pay interest at the rate of one and one-half percent per month, or fraction thereof, on the amount of the unpaid balance of the fee, exclusive of penalties, from the payment due date until the date of actual payment.

    6.    The amount of the fee imposed under this chapter shall constitute a debt to the county and any licensee conducting an alcohol retail sales business without having paid the fee, shall be subject to an action in the name of the county in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the collection of the fee imposed.

    G.    Administrative Review of Fee.

    1.    The enforcement officer shall establish an administrative process for resolution of disputes stemming from the determination of the amount of the fee.

    2.    Any licensee seeking to be relieved of the penalty shall file with the enforcement officer a statement under penalty of perjury setting forth the facts upon which the claim for relief is based.

    3.    If the enforcement officer finds that a licensee’ s failure to make timely payment of the fee is due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the licensee’ s control, and occurred, notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care and in the absence of willful neglect, the enforcement officer may waive the delinquency penalty.

    4.    If the enforcement officer finds that a licensee’ s failure to make timely payment of the individual fee is due to a disaster, and occurred, notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care and the absence of willful neglect, the enforcement officer may waive the interest.

    5.    Any licensee seeking to be relieved of the interest shall file with the enforcement officer a statement under penalty of perjury setting forth the facts upon which the claim for relief is based.

    H.    Expenditure of Fees to Be Collected.

    1.    Not later than February first of each calendar year, the enforcement officer shall submit to the board of supervisors a report on the expenditures of the total of fees to be collected.

    2.    The report shall set forth such matters as:

    a.    The prioritization of problems regarding enforcement of the performance standards and regulations as set forth in Section 6.104.060 and Chapter 6.12 that are associated with the operation of licensed alcohol outlets in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County.

    b.    Methods of mitigating such problems, associated with enforcement of the performance standards.

    c.    The allocation of the total of fees to be collected to activities described in the report.

    d.    The board of supervisors shall review and may modify the report and shall adopt the report not later than March thirty-first of each calendar year. (Ord. 2005-28 § 1 (part))

6.104.100