§ 4.4-8. Franchise fee; revenue statement; access to records.

(a)

Pursuant to the requirements of Florida law, franchisees will remit the appropriate communications services tax as provided at Chapter 202, Florida Statutes, effective October 1, 2001.

(b)

In the event the communication services tax is rendered unconstitutional or is repealed by legislative or other action, the following process will apply:

(1)

The franchisee shall pay to the county annually, during the term of the franchise, a franchise fee expressed as a percentage of the franchisee's gross annual revenues from cable television operations under the franchise during the preceding calendar year. "Gross annual revenues" shall mean "all revenues derived directly or indirectly in connection with the operation of cable systems. Gross annual revenues shall not include: (1) any taxes on services furnished by the cable operator herein imposed directly upon any subscriber or user by the state or other governmental unit and collected by the cable operator on behalf of other governmental units; (2) bad debts and refunds; or (3) advertising revenues. The annual franchise fee shall be five (5) per cent of the franchisee's said gross annual revenues. The board of county commissioners continues to retain authority to otherwise direct without the consent of the franchisee in the event that it shall become permissible, under Federal Communication rules, to impose a franchise fee upon gross annual revenues as defined in said ordinance or to impose any other greater franchise fee or other charge allowed by law.

(2)

The franchisee shall file with the board, within ninety (90) days after the expiration of any calendar year or portion thereof, during which such franchise is in force, a certified revenue statement, in a form set forth by the county manager and concurred upon by the clerk of courts, covering the franchisee's operations. The revenue statement must show in detail the amounts and various types of total revenues derived in the operations as well as the calculation of gross revenue and the franchise fee payment as defined in this chapter, and any changes in ownership or service area during the preceding calendar year or portion thereof. The revenue statement must be exclusively for the services rendered under the franchise agreement. The revenue statement shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and shall be certified by a certified public accountant (CPA) and signed by an officer of the corporation. The certification statement by the certified public accountant shall be sufficient in scope to certify compliance with the fee requirements of this chapter.

(3)

Failure to file the necessary reports and/or pay the required franchise fee within ninety (90) days after the expiration of the calendar year shall bear interest at the legal rate, as defined in Florida Statutes, until paid. If the necessary reports and/or payment of the franchise fee is not made within one hundred eighty (180) days after the expiration of the calendar year, the franchise may be terminated by the county.

(4)

Acceptance of any franchise fee payment shall not be construed as an accord that the amount paid is, in fact, the correct amount, nor shall acceptance of payment be construed as a release or waiver of any claim the county may have for further or additional sums under this chapter or for the performance of any other obligation hereunder. In addition, if correction of recomputation results in additional revenues to be paid to the county, such amount shall bear interest at the legal rate, as defined in Florida Statutes, from the due date until paid.

(5)

The board shall have the right to inspect the franchisee's records covering its operations under the franchise and the right of audit and recomputation of any and all amounts paid under this chapter.

(6)

The franchise fee shall be due and payable at the time for filing the revenue statement required in subsection (2) above.

(Ord. No. 73-6, § 6; Ord. No. 78-2, § 1, 1-31-78; Ord. No. 96-24, § 2, 7-16-96; Ord. No. 01-68, § 2, 9-19-01)