Town Clerk
TOWN OF ORCHID TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS
The next scheduled meeting of the Town Council will be March 7, 2012 beginning at 9:00 a.m., in the dining room at the Orchid Island Beach Club.
The April meeting of the Town Council will be April 4 , 2012 beginning at 9:00 a.m., in the dining room at the Orchid Island Beach Club.
Please check with Staff as meeting place and or time is subject to change.
The Town of Orchid posts its Municipal Code of Ordinances. To view the Code please select from the list below.
MUNICIPAL CODE AND ORDINANCE INFORMATION:
BUSINESS TAX RECEIPTS
The Town of Orchid has, by amendment through two public hearings, passed Ordinance 2009-03 which establishes a local business tax pursuant to Chapter 205, Florida Statutes. Rates are pursuant to Section 205.0315, Florida Statutes.
Click on this link to read the Ordinance in its entirety
Each person who shall engage in, transact or manage or be the agent for any business or who shall perform or offer to perform services or sell goods, advertise goods for sale or perform services or solicit or advertise the performance of services for any of the businesses, professions or occupations mentioned in the fee schedule shall first procure a local business tax receipt from the Town and shall, upon procuring the receipt and before the issuance of the receipt, pay the amount of local business tax required as provided in section 10-40.
To conduct business in the Town of Orchid, all businesses must pay a Town business tax.
This tax is for the privilege of engaging in a business, trade or occupation within our Town.
Some businesses require a State license, as well, and we require a copy of this license prior to issuing the Town’s Business Tax Receipt.
The Town Clerk Department maintains a complete listing of all businesses taxed in our Town and can answer inquiries regarding these businesses. Any complaints concerning business practices, however, should be addressed to the Better Business Bureau (407-621- 3300).
To apply for a Business Tax Receipt, call 772-569-7686 or visit the Town Clerk Department, located in Town Hall at 7406 US Highway 1., Vero Beach, Florida. We also offer the application for the Business Tax Receipt and related Ownership information form in PDF which may be downloaded from this site. We are not prepared to accept applications via internet submittal at this time, so you will still have to mail or bring your application to the above address. If interested in downloading the application you can download the application below.
BUSINESS TAX RECEIPT APPLICATION
BUSINESS TAX RECEIPT FEE SCHEDULE
LOCAL BUSINESS TAX RECEIPT INFORMATION
External Information
Some businesses are required to have state licenses. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation regulate a wide variety of businesses; some professions have their own state licensing agency. Below are some helpful state links for area business owners:
DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS
STATE OF FLORIDA BUSINESS PAGE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, LICENSING
STATE OF FLORIDA REGULATED BUSINESS
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
It is important that the Town of Orchid respond to requests for public records in a timely manner. To make sure this happens, the Town Clerk's Office has adopted the following guidelines:
General Policy
2000 Florida Statutes Title X, Chapter 119.01 covering Public Officers, Employees and Public Records states that it is the policy of this state that all state, county and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any person. (Permitted exemptions to this statute are listed in Title X, Chapter 119.07.)
"Public records" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.
Chapter 119.07 allows the custodian of the public record to charge a reasonable fee of no more than $0.15/one-sided copy or not more than $0.20/two-sided copy. The charge for copies of Town maps or aerial photographs supplied by Town personnel may also include a reasonable charge for the labor and overhead associated with their duplication. Unless otherwise provided by law, the fees to be charged for duplication of public records shall be collected, deposited and accounted for in the manner prescribed for other operating funds of the agency. An agency may charge up to $1.00 per copy for a certified copy of a public record.
If the nature or volume of public records requested to be inspected, examined or copied requires extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by personnel of the agency involved, the agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplication, a reasonable service charge.
As a public agency, the Town of Orchid (Town) is required to abide by Florida Statutes provisions. The Town complies with the letter and spirit of the statute and these guidelines serve to establish procedures for handling public records requests. Most Town records, with few exceptions, are public information and open for the public's inspection.
Guidelines for responding to public records requests are intended to specify the responsibility of each Town employee, the responsibility of the Town and the process to be undertaken when public records requests are filed. These guidelines have been developed to ensure the Town responds to public records requests in an accurate, timely, consistent and open manner.
Procedures
Copies of Town documents covered by the Public Records Statute may be obtained by completing the Public Records Request form and submitting it to the Town Clerk's office either by mail (Town Clerk, Town of Orchid, 7707-3 US Highway 1, Vero Beach, FL 32967), by fax (772.581.2771), by E-Mail (townclerk@townoforchid.com) or in person. The Town Clerk will work with appropriate department director to determine which records are covered under the Public Records Statute. The Town Clerk will consult with the Town Attorney on requests for which the law is ambiguous or unclear. The Town Clerk will also consult with the Town Attorney in matters related to requests for personnel and employment records.
Only representatives of the Town Clerk's office should release official Town records or information in response to a public records request.
The Town Clerk will provide full copies of the Town's official response to a public records request to the appropriate individuals.
The Town Clerk will draft the Town of Orchid's official response to all Public Records Requests and determine if a reasonable fee for copies of nonexempt public records is to be charged. Charges, if deemed appropriate, will be billed on the following schedule:
For information that is readily available, $0.15/one-side copy or $0.20/two-sided copy.
For information deemed not to be readily available, $0.15/one-side copy or $0.20/two-sided copy plus actual labor costs incurred in providing the requested information.
Please click below to download the form:
