City Council

Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Special Called meeting held on: August 20, 2018 -1– ______________________________________________________________________________ The Special Called Meeting of the Petersburg City Council was held on Monday, August 20, 2018, at the Multipurpose Center on VSU. Mayor Parham called the Special Called meeting to order at 8:30a.m. 1. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Member Charles H. Cuthbert, Jr Council Member Treska Wilson-Smith Council Member W. Howard Myers Council Member Darrin Hill Mayor Samuel Parham Absent: Council Member Annette Smith-Lee Vice Mayor John A. Hart, Sr. (arrived at 8:54am) Present from City Administration: Legal Secretary Tanesha Flowers City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides 2. PURPOSE: a. The purpose is for discussion on the meals tax. Council Member Cuthbert handed out a portion of the City Code for the consideration of what the City does for unpaid meals tax. Council Member stated, “There are three sections of the Petersburg Code that are especially important. The first is Section is 106-295 that makes it the duty of every seller of meals to collect from the purchaser the sales tax that the City has imposed. The next section that is especially important is 106-297 and the key word in that paragraph is in the third line or key phrase ‘to be held in trust.’ It says, ‘taxes held by a seller shall be deemed to be held in trust by such seller until they have been remitted to the commissioner of revenue.’ In this case the collector. And then Section 106-302 makes it a class 2 misdemeanor to violate any of these sections of Petersburg code. So, what we are dealing with here is money that vendors of meals that have collected from the public when the public comes to the restaurant and pays for the meal. And the vendor keeps the money and does not remit it to the City. Even though it is our money and a duty on the part of vendor to turn the money over to the City administration. Even though the vendor is holding that money in trust there are some vendors who are not doing so. Most vendors comply with the law and contribute to the economic well-being and some are retaining this money for as long as they can until the City says that we mean business. So, the purpose of the motion that I want to make and will make in a moment is to establish a timetable by which the City takes steps to collect money that is rightfully ours. And this is important because all the revenue that the City spends is revenue that we collect. And if we don’t collect revenue we cannot spend it. So that means that this is money that we can use and will use to pay City employees and pay school teachers and its money that we will use to pay the fire department and police department and so on down the line. So, let me hand this motion down if I may. I reduced the font so that I can get it all on one page. But it is the August 10, 2018, revision of this motion.” Council Member Cuthbert stated that he has run the motion by the City Manager and Commissioner of Revenue and that they are both on board with it. Council Member Cuthbert made a motion that City Council hereby requests and directs the following to be accomplished: *Audio available  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Special Called meeting held on: August 20, 2018 -2– ______________________________________________________________________________ DATE ACTION TO BE TAKEN By Monday, August 27, 2018 -The City Manager issues a press release, information the public of the following action to be taken. By Monday, August 27, 2018 -The Commissioner of Revenue writes to each seller of meals who has failed timely to remit meal taxes as required by ordinance, informing the seller of the action that will be taken as described below if remittance in full has not been made by the dates specified. By Tuesday, September 4, 2018 -The Commissioner of Revenue supplies to the City Collector the name and address of each seller of meals still failing timely to remit meal taxes to the City in full as of July 31, 2018, as well as the number of months that the seller has failed to remit By Wednesday, September 5, 2018 -With respect to each seller of meals still failing timely to remit meal taxes to the City in full, the City Collector posts on the City’s website the seller’s name, address and number of months that the seller has failed to remit. On Monday, September 17, 2018 -The City Collector applies for a criminal summons from magistrate against each seller of meals, or if a corporation, the proprietor responsible for remitting meals taxes, still failing timely to remit meal taxes in full, and the City Attorney, with the occurrence of the Attorney for the Commonwealth, shall prosecute, seeking the maximum penalties prescribed. The motion was seconded by Council Member Hill. There was discussion among City Council Members and staff. There was discussion among City Council Members on the City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney not being present at the meeting. Council Member Wilson-Smith made a substitute motion to table action until it is looked at by the city Attorney or the Assistant City Attorney and be prepared to tell them at the September meeting. The motion was seconded by Council Member Myers. There was discussion among City Council and staff on the numbers and meals tax. The motion was approved on roll call. On roll call vote, voting yes: Cuthbert, Wilson-Smith, Myers, Hill and Parham; Absent: Smith-Lee; Abstain: Hart 3. ADJOURNMENT: City Council adjourned at 8:59 a.m. _________________________ Clerk of City Council APPROVED: *Audio available  Minutes from the Petersburg City Council Special Called meeting held on: August 20, 2018 -3– ______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________ Mayor *Audio available