A CHARTER ORDINANCE EXEMPTING THE CITY OF GARNET!’, KANSAS FROM K.S.A. 12-1692, K.S.A. 12-1695, K.S.A. 12-1697 and K.S.A. 12-16,101, RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM AND CONVENTIONS WITHIN THE CITY OF GARNET!’, KANSAS THROUGH A TAX LEVY COMMONLY CALLED A “TRANSIENT GUEST TAX”; AND PROVIDING SUBSTITUTE AND ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS ON THE SAME SUBJECT; REPEALLNG CHARTER ORDINANCE NO. 15.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF GARNETT, KANSAS:

SECTION 1: The City of Garnett, Kansas, by the power vested in it by Article 12, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas, hereby elects to exempt itself from the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1692, K.S.A. 12-1695, K.S.A. 12-1697 and K.S.A. 12-16,101, parts of an enactment which do not apply uniformly to all cities.

SECTION 2: The following is hereby substituted for the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1692: As used in this Charter Ordinance, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:

(a) “Person” means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, joint venture or other association of persons;

(b) “Hotel, motel or tourist court” means any structure or building which contains rooms furnished for the purposes of providing lodging, which may or may not also provide meals, entertainment or various other personal services to transient guests, and which is kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are sought for pay or compensation by transient or permanent guests having more than two bedrooms furnished for the accommodation of such guests, but does not include an apartment or house;

(c) “Transient guest” means a person who occupies a room in a hotel, motel or tourist court for any period of time, but shall not include a person who occupies an apartment or house;

(d) “Business” means any person engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting living quarters, sleeping accommodations, rooms or a part thereof in connection with any motel, hotel or tourist court;

(e) “Convention and tourist promotion” means: Activities to attract visitors into the community through marketing efforts, including advertising, directed to pleasure travelers and others whose presence in the community is likely to increase local business activity or which encourage increased lodging facility occupancy.

(f) “Accommodations broker” means any business which maintains an inventory of two or more rooms in one or more locations which are offered for pay to a person or persons.

SECTION 3: The following is hereby substituted for the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1697:

(a) In order to provide revenues to promote tourism and conventions, the Governing Body of the City of Garnett, Kansas does hereby levy a Transient Guest Tax at the rate of four percent (4%) upon the gross receipts derived from or paid by transient guests for sleeping accommodations in any hotel, motel, or tourist court within said City.

(b) Any Transient Guest Tax levied pursuant to this Charter Ordinance shall be based upon the gross rental receipts collected by any business.

(c) The taxes ‘levied pursuant to this Charter Ordinance shall be paid by the consumer or user to the business, and it shall be the duty of each and every business to collect from the consumer or user the full amount of any such tax or an amount equal, as nearly as possible or practicable, to the average equivalent thereto. Each business collecting any of the taxes levied hereunder shall be responsible for paying over the same to the State Department of Revenue in the manner prescribed by the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1698 or as that section may hereafter be amended, and the State Department of Revenue shall administer and enforce the collection of such tax the same as if such were levied under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1697.

(d) The collection of a Transient Guest Tax levied as authorized under this Charter Ordinance shall commence on the 1st day of the calendar quarter next following the 30th day after the receipt by the Kansas Department of Revenue of a certified copy of this Charter Ordinance.

SECTION 4: The following is hereby substituted for the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1695 and K.S.A. 12-16,101: The City of Garnett, Kansas shall be and is authorized to expend the funds raised by the levy of any tax under the authority of this Charter Ordinance on such programs and projects as reasonably may be expected to promote tourism or conventions within the City of Garnett, Kansas. The City Manager is hereby authorized on behalf of the Governing Body to make such expenditures directly or contract for convention and tourism programs to be implemented.

(01-22-2013; Repealed by C.O. No. 22)