Chapter 13.10
PASSENGER WHARFAGE FEES
Sections:
13.10.030 Imposition of passenger wharfage fees.
13.10.040 Calculation of fees.
13.10.050 Payment of fees and penalties.
13.10.055 Advance payment of passenger wharfage fees.
13.10.080 Administration and enforcement.
13.10.100 Use of passenger manifests by the city.
13.10.115 Failure to provide passenger manifests.
13.10.120 Liens and other costs.
13.10.010 Purpose.
The purpose of imposing fees under this chapter is to offset costs heretofore and hereafter incurred by the city of Ketchikan in acquiring, constructing and equipping its port facilities to provide related services for ships and their passengers who visit Ketchikan, and to mitigate impacts of increased utilization of city services by ships and their passengers.
13.10.020 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this chapter:
“Agent” or “authorized agent” means the master or person in charge of the ship or any other person authorized by the owner or operator of the ship to act on behalf of the owner or operator with respect to the ship.
“City manager” or “manager” means the city of Ketchikan city manager or his or her designee.
“Entry into any port” means anchoring or mooring and allowing passengers to embark or disembark.
“Passenger” means any person who has paid any amount for a ticket contract entitling that person to transportation aboard the ship. The term does not include:
(1) The owner’s or operator’s employees or their immediate family members sharing their quarters;
(2) The owner’s or operator’s contractors or subcontractors; or
(3) Musicians, artists, guest speakers, art auctioneers, interpreters, rangers, or similar persons traveling without charge and providing passenger services for the ship’s owner or operator.
“Passenger manifest” means a document stating the total number of passengers aboard a ship at the time it enters or leaves the boundaries of the city.
“Passenger ship” or “ship” means a vessel carrying passengers for compensation.
“Person” means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint stock company, corporation or combination of individuals of whatever form or character.
“Visit” means an entry into a port or dock within the boundaries of the city more than 24 hours before or after another entry by the same ship, excluding visits for emergency purposes. (Ord. 1682 § 13, 2011)
13.10.030 Imposition of passenger wharfage fees.
(a) Beginning April 1, 2021, upon each visit by a passenger ship docking at a city-owned or city-leased port facility, a passenger wharfage fee of $9.00 per passenger shall be assessed. Beginning April 1, 2024, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $11.00 per passenger. Beginning April 1, 2025, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $13.00 per passenger.
(b) Beginning April 1, 2021, upon each visit by a passenger ship that lighters passengers to or from a wharf or port facility owned or leased by the city or any private entity, a passenger wharfage fee of $6.00 per passenger shall be assessed. Beginning April 1, 2024, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $8.00 per passenger. Beginning April 1, 2025, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $10.00 per passenger.
(c) Beginning April 1, 2021, upon each visit by a passenger ship docking at a wharf or port facility owned by a private entity, a passenger wharfage fee of $6.00 per passenger shall be assessed. Beginning April 1, 2024, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $8.00 per passenger. Beginning April 1, 2025, the passenger wharfage fee assessed by this subsection shall be $10.00 per passenger. (Ord. 1973 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1902 § 8, 2019; Ord. 1829 § 1, 2016; Ord. 1732 § 1, 2013; Ord. 1688 § 1, 2012; Ord. 1682 § 14, 2011; Ord. 1669 § 1, 2011; Ord. 1555 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1517 § 1, 2005)
13.10.040 Calculation of fees.
(a) The total amount of passenger wharfage fees for each ship shall be calculated based on the passenger manifest upon arrival or departure, whichever is greater, for the ship upon its entry into or departure from any port within the city. Only one passenger wharfage fee shall be assessed per passenger per ship per visit.
(b) Upon entry into or departure from any port within the city, the owner, operator or authorized agent from each ship shall provide the city manager with a passenger manifest.
(c) The city manager shall develop procedures in accordance with KMC 13.10.080 for transmission of the passenger manifest from the owner, operator or authorized agent to the city manager. (Ord. 1682 § 15, 2011)
13.10.050 Payment of fees and penalties.
Passenger wharfage fees shall be paid by the owner, operator or agent of the ship to the city within 25 days after the billing date in accordance with payment procedures established by the manager under KMC 13.10.080. Such payment procedures shall provide for the payment of a penalty of five percent of fees due if not paid within 25 days.
13.10.055 Advance payment of passenger wharfage fees.
An owner of a ship or a person authorized by such owner may pay the fees imposed by or to be imposed by KMC 13.10.030 including those effective April 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025, before those fees would otherwise be due in accordance with the terms, covenants and conditions set forth in a written agreement approved by the city council. (Ord. 1973 § 2, 2023)
13.10.060 Protest of fees.
An owner, operator or agent may protest the payment of the passenger wharfage fees charged under this chapter by paying the fees within the time established for payment of the fees and providing the manager with a written statement of protest specifying the amount of fees paid and the basis for the protest. The manager’s decision regarding the protest shall be in writing and shall be a final decision. Such decision may be appealed to the superior court in the first judicial district for the state of Alaska at Ketchikan, Alaska.
13.10.070 Exemptions.
(a) The passenger wharfage fees provided for in KMC 13.10.030 shall not apply to:
(1) Ships without berths or overnight accommodations for passengers;
(2) Ships operated by entities described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; or
(3) Ships operated by a state or political subdivision of the state, the United States government, or a foreign government.
(b) The burden of proving an exemption shall be on the person claiming the exemption. Persons claiming an exemption shall be required to obtain an exemption certificate from the city manager in accordance with procedures established by the manager under KMC 13.10.080.
13.10.080 Administration and enforcement.
(a) The city manager may adopt policies, procedures, rules and/or regulations to administer and enforce this chapter.
(b) The city manager shall take all steps necessary and appropriate to administer and enforce this chapter including but not limited to establishing policies, procedures, rules and/or regulations to administer and enforce this chapter, and conducting audits or examinations of the records and books of owners, operators, or agents of passenger ships.
13.10.090 Record-keeping.
To facilitate the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, each owner, operator or agent of a ship subject to payment of fees under this chapter shall maintain and keep for a period of three years after the date of transmission to the city all of the passenger manifests, forms and supporting records, and any other books and records prescribed by the city manager in accordance with KMC 13.10.080. Upon the request of the city manager, the owner, operator or agent of the passenger ship shall make available for examination in the city all such passenger manifests, books, records and other documents unless the manager authorizes the examination to be conducted at a different location.
13.10.100 Use of passenger manifests by the city.
(a) Except as otherwise provided herein or by applicable law, all passenger manifests transmitted to the city, obtained in the course of an audit, or otherwise by the city under this chapter, shall be kept confidential and shall not be subject to public inspection. Except upon court order, such manifests shall be made available only to employees, officials, attorneys and other representatives of the city whose responsibilities are directly related to such manifests; and to the person supplying such documents and information; as well as persons authorized in writing by the person supplying such documents and information.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the following information shall be made available to the public: the names of ships subject to payment of fees, whether or not the ship is current in payment of fees, the total fees due, and names of ships which have been issued an exemption certificate. The manager may, from time to time, make public the names of the ships and owners, operators or agents delinquent in payment of fees and the amount thereof; provided, that the names of owners, operators or agents who have executed a confession of judgment for the delinquent fees and penalties, and who are current in their fee payments under such confession of judgment as of the date on which the names are made public, will not be made public. Information may also be made available to the public in the form of statistical reports if the identity of a particular passenger is not revealed by the reports.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the city manager may use the information in a manifest as reasonably necessary to respond to an emergency involving the ship that provided the manifest.
13.10.110 Delinquency.
(a) Whenever the city manager reasonably believes any ship has become delinquent in the payment of fees or penalties, the city manager shall mail to the owner, operator or agent’s last known address a written demand by certified mail, return receipt requested, for payment of such fees and penalties within 10 days of receipt of such written demand. In the event of noncompliance with such demand, the manager may prepare a passenger wharfage fee and penalty billing statement (“billing statement”) for the delinquent ship, based on the ship’s passenger manifest(s), or if such manifest(s) have not been provided to the city, any reasonable estimate of the passenger count during the period of delinquency. The billing statement shall be sent to the owner, operator or agent at the owner, operator or agent’s last known address by certified mail, return receipt requested. The owner, operator or agent shall have a right to a hearing before the manager at which time the owner, operator or agent shall make available for examination by the manager the books, papers, records and other documents pertaining to the fees or penalties for the period of delinquency. The owner, operator or agent may exercise the right to a hearing by delivering to the manager within 15 days of the date that the billing statement was mailed a written request for such a hearing. The manager shall establish a date and time for the hearing to be held within 10 days of receipt of the request unless a later time is mutually agreed to. The hearing shall be informal. At the hearing, the manager may uphold the original billing statement or issue an amended billing statement based on the information received at the hearing. The amended billing statement, or the original billing statement if it is not amended by the manager, shall be the final billing for the purpose of determining the amount owed to the city. If no timely request for a hearing is made, the original billing shall become the final billing.
(b) The city may file a civil action for collection of any fees and penalties due in the superior court for the first judicial district, state of Alaska, at Ketchikan, Alaska.
(c) Whenever any owner, operator or agent fails to pay delinquent fees after notice is given as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the manager may require such owner, operator or agent to pay fees immediately upon entry into a port or may deny the ship, or any lightering craft carrying passengers to or from such ship, berth or moorage at any city owned port until payment is received in full.
13.10.115 Failure to provide passenger manifests.
(a) Whenever the city manager does not receive a manifest, or whenever the city manager reasonably believes a manifest provided by a ship contains inaccurate information, the city manager shall mail to the owner, operator or agent’s last known address a written demand by certified mail, return receipt requested, for submission of the corrected or required manifest within 10 days of receipt of such written demand. The owner, operator or agent shall have the same hearing rights provided for in KMC 13.10.110(a).
(b) In the event of noncompliance with such demand, the manager may take any lawful action to bring about compliance with such demand, including but not limited to denying the ship, or any lightering craft carrying passengers to or from such ship, berth or moorage at any city owned port until the ship has provided an accurate manifest.
(c) The city may also collect from the owner, operator or agent of a ship all expenses that relate to the city’s effort to bring about compliance with such a demand, including but not limited to:
(1) Costs of bringing about compliance;
(2) Attorney’s fees and costs; and
(3) Court costs.
13.10.120 Liens and other costs.
(a) The amount of delinquent fees and penalties shall constitute a lien on real and personal property of the owner, operator or agent of a ship.
(b) The city may also collect from the owner, operator or agent of a ship all expenses that relate to the city’s effort to collect, including but not limited to:
(1) Costs of collection;
(2) Attorney’s fees and costs;
(3) Recorder’s fees; and
(4) Court costs.
13.10.130 Liability.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or failing or refusing to comply with a lawful request or demand of the manager authorized or made under this chapter shall be subject to the general penalty provision in KMC 1.02.030.
13.10.140 Use of fees.
The fees collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the Ketchikan port fund established pursuant to KMC 13.04.050 and applied to pay and reimburse costs heretofore and hereafter incurred to acquire, construct and equip port facilities and other city infrastructure and facilities and to pay and reimburse costs of:
(a) Services provided, made available to, or required as a result of passenger ships and passengers. (Ord. 1483 § 1, 2004)