Section 308-G. Establishment of county of Otsego wireless surcharge  


Latest version.
  • 1.
      Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the county of
      Otsego,  acting  through  its  board  of  representatives,   is   hereby
      authorized  and empowered to adopt, amend or repeal local laws to impose
      a surcharge in an amount  not  to  exceed  thirty  cents  per  month  on
      wireless  communications  service in the county of Otsego. The surcharge
      shall be imposed on each wireless communications  device  and  shall  be
      reflected and made payable on bills rendered for wireless communications
      service  that  is  provided  to a customer whose place of primary use is
      within the county. For purposes of this  section,  the  term  "place  of
      primary  use"  shall  mean  the street address that is representative of
      where  the  customer's  use  of  the  wireless  communications   service
      primarily  occurs, which address must be: (a) residential street address
      or the primary business street address of the customer; and  (b)  within
      the  licensed  service  area  of  the  wireless  communications  service
      supplier.
        2. Any local law adopted pursuant to  this  section  shall  state  the
      amount   of   the   surcharge   and  the  date  on  which  the  wireless
      communications service supplier shall begin to add such surcharge to the
      billings of its customers. Any wireless communications service  supplier
      within  the  county  of Otsego which has imposed a surcharge pursuant to
      the provisions of this section shall be given a  minimum  of  forty-five
      days  written  notice  prior  to  the  date  it  shall begin to add such
      surcharge to the billings of its customers or prior to any  modification
      to or change in the surcharge amount.
        3.  (a)  Each  wireless  communications  service  supplier serving the
      county of Otsego shall act as collection agent for the county and  shall
      remit  the  funds  collected  pursuant  to a surcharge imposed under the
      provisions of this section to the chief fiscal officer of the county  of
      Otsego  every  month.  Such funds shall be remitted no later than thirty
      days after the last business day of the month.
        (b) Each wireless communications service supplier shall be entitled to
      retain, as an administrative fee, an amount equal to two percent of  its
      collections of a surcharge imposed under the provisions of this section.
        (c)   Any   surcharge   required   to   be  collected  by  a  wireless
      communications service supplier shall be added to and stated  separately
      in its billings to customers.
        (d)  Each  wireless  communications service customer who is subject to
      the provisions of this section shall be liable to the county  of  Otsego
      for  the surcharge until it has been paid to the county of Otsego except
      that payment to a wireless communications service supplier is sufficient
      to relieve the customer from further liability for such surcharge.
        (e) No wireless communications service supplier  shall  have  a  legal
      obligation  to enforce the collection of any surcharge imposed under the
      provisions  of  this  section,  provided,  however,  that  whenever  the
      wireless  communications  service supplier remits the funds collected to
      the county of Otsego, it shall also provide the county  of  Otsego  with
      the  name  and  address  of  any  customer  refusing or failing to pay a
      surcharge imposed under the provisions of this section and  shall  state
      the amount of such surcharge remaining unpaid.
        (f)  Each  wireless  communications  service  supplier  shall annually
      provide to the county of Otsego an accounting of the  surcharge  amounts
      billed and collected.
        4. All surcharge monies remitted to the county of Otsego by a wireless
      communications   service   supplier   shall   be   expended   only  upon
      authorization of the board of representatives for  payment  of  eligible
      wireless  911 service costs as defined in subdivision sixteen of section
      three hundred twenty-five of this chapter. The county  of  Otsego  shall
    
      separately account for and keep adequate books and records of the amount
      and source of all such monies and of the amount and object or purpose of
      all  expenditures  thereof. If, at the end of any fiscal year, the total
      amount  of  all  such monies exceeds the amount necessary for payment of
      the above mentioned costs in such fiscal  year,  such  excess  shall  be
      reserved  and  carried  over  for  the  payment  of  those  costs in the
      following fiscal year.