TOWN COUNCIL MAJORITY OFFICE
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE
JUNE 9, 2008
PRESENT Chair Richard F. Kehoe, Councillor Donald H. Pitkin
ABSENT Councillor William P. Horan, Jr.
ALSO
PRESENT Michael Walsh, Finance Director
Mark Sirois, Chief of Police
Rich Gentile, Assistant Corporation Counsel
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Kehoe called the meeting to order at 5:54 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
April 8, 2008 Meeting
MOTION By Don Pitkin
seconded by Rich Kehoe
to approve the April 8, 2008 Ordinance Committee minutes.
Motion carried 2/0.
OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO SPEAK
None
The Committee agreed to take the agenda out of order to accommodate those present.
NEW BUSINESS
Unclaimed Tax Refunds
Michael Walsh, Finance Director, provided an overview of the methods by which the town notifies taxpayers of overpayments. The notice goes out to the taxpayers, which, in the overwhelming majority of the cases, results in an application for a refund. That application for a refund must include documentation that the taxes were paid by the person who is applying for the refund. The problem with the long outstanding refunds seems to revolve around the role of an escrow agent failing to request a refund. The Committee noted that it would be very difficult for people to prove that they paid the overpayment through their escrow account or through some other mechanism. Since most people destroy their financial records after seven years and banks destroy their records after six years, the Committee decided that the better
approach would be to deal with the tax refunds in three separate phases. Those phases are as follows:
1. for tax refunds that are outstanding for the fiscal years 1992 to 2002, inclusive, the town will send a notice out to the property owner, with a claim form. The town would not need a proof of payment in light of the difficulty in keeping proof of payments that old.
2. for tax refunds that are outstanding for the fiscal years 2003 to 2005, inclusive, the town will send a notice to the property owner and will require a proof of payment of the overage.
3. for tax refunds that are outstanding for the fiscal year 2006 and for the future, if the town has not received an application for a refund after the expiration of three years from the date the taxes were due, a notice will go to the property owner and proof of payment will be required within two years from the date of the notice.
These steps seemed to minimize extra paperwork that the town would have to do, allowing the town to continue its standard practice for current refunds, but would require an additional letter to the property owner after the expiration of three years. It has been indicated that there are very small numbers of those refunds that are outstanding in any one year. The Committee agreed to draft an ordinance pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §12-129, which allows the town to extend the deadline for applying for refunds up to fifteen years. The ordinance will be consistent with the principles that were outlined above and the Committee will take up a review of that draft ordinance at the Committee’s next meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
Adult Entertainment
The Committee reviewed a draft ordinance from Corporation Counsel’s office that was based on the Town of Berlin’s adult oriented businesses ordinance. The ordinance had been upheld against legal challenges and the Committee felt it served a good basis for discussion. The Chair passed out an outline of the concepts that would be included in the ordinance since there may be additional measures which could be taken from similar ordinances in other towns across the nation which the Council has received in their packet of information. The Committee agreed that-- consistent with the town of Berlin ordinance-- there would be a business license for any sexually oriented business establishment and there would be a license for the managers and for the individuals who perform live entertainment at businesses which provide
that kind of service. The Committee felt that it was important to have background checks conducted on the owners of the establishment and that ownership be traced through different LLC’s to actual people. Any person who has an ownership interest and has been convicted of a violation which constitutes a felony would be grounds for revocation or denial of such license. The Committee also reviewed various other restrictions on sexually oriented businesses to insure that they operate within the bounds of the law and minimize any secondary effects which those businesses might have on the surrounding neighborhoods and the community. The Committee agreed to take a look at a new draft that simply establishes the licensure process for sexually oriented businesses without addressing actual definitions which will be taken up at a subsequent meeting. The Committee felt it was important to establish in the draft ordinance the process for licensure and
appeals from denials, suspensions or revocations. Corporation Counsel will draft that ordinance and the Committee will review it at a future date. The Committee also reviewed police reports for criminal activity surrounding existing sexually oriented businesses. These reports were distributed by the Chief of Police and constitute complaints to the police department about activity within one thousand feet of two sexually oriented businesses that currently operate in the town of East Hartford. Criminal activity was noted. The Committee recognizes that the courts do not require that the town document problems that are occurring from the current businesses that operate in the town.
The Committee agreed to review the licensure ordinance at the next meeting and then establish definitions to make sure that we cover all of the types of such businesses that we hope to cover under this ordinance.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION By Don Pitkin
seconded by Rich Kehoe
to adjourn (7:28 p.m.)
Motion carried 2/0.
cc: Town Council
Mayor Currey
Mike Walsh, Finance Director
Rich Gentile, Assistant Corporation Counsel
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