8.815 Administration.
(1) Special Fund. The Chief Financial Officer shall deposit twenty-five percent of the proceeds of the transient lodgings tax as they are received in a special fund to be known as the "Community Promotions Fund", forty-one percent into the General Fund, and thirty-four percent into the Park Improvement Fund. The Community Promotions Fund shall be used for the purpose of promoting, directly or through contract, the use of the City of Medford for recreational, cultural, convention and tourist-related activities and services. However, the city council may by resolution transfer all or part of the balance remaining in the Community Promotions Fund at the end of any fiscal year to the General Fund.
(2) Records Required from Lodging Tax Collectors; Form. Every lodging tax collector shall keep guest records of room sales and accounting books and records of the room sales. All records shall be retained by the operators for a period of three years and six months after they come into being.
(3) Examination of Records; Investigations. The Chief Financial Officer or any person authorized in writing by him may examine during normal business hours, the books, papers and accounting records relating to room sales of any lodging tax collector after notification to the lodging tax collector liable for the tax and may investigate the business of the lodging tax collector in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or if no return is made by the lodging tax collector, to ascertain and determine the amount required to be paid. To assist in this process, the Chief Financial Officer may request certified copies of annual tax returns covering operators.
(4) Confidential Character of Information Obtained - Disclosure Unlawful. It shall be unlawful for the Chief Financial Officer or any person having an administrative or clerical duty under the provisions of this ordinance to make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained by an investigation of records and equipment of any person required to obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate, or pay a transient occupancy tax, or any other person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth in any statement or application, or to permit any statement or application, or copy of either, or any book containing any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person, provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent:
(a) The disclosure to, or the examination of records and equipment by another City of Medford official, employee, or agent for collection of taxes for the sole purpose of administering or enforcing any provisions of this ordinance; or collecting taxes imposed hereunder.
(b) The disclosure after the filing of a written request to that effect, to the taxpayer himself, receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees, and guarantors, if directly interested, of information as to any paid tax, any unpaid tax or amount of tax required to be collected, or interest, and penalties; further provided, however, that the city attorney approves each such disclosure referred to in this paragraph when in his opinion the public interest would suffer thereby;
(c) The disclosure of the names and addresses of any persons to whom Transient Occupancy Registration Certificates have been issued.
(d) The disclosure of general statistics regarding taxes collected or business done in the city.