[R.O. 2008 §715.010; Ord. No. 6583 Art. I, 5-10-1999]
It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive
to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience
of the City to collect charges from all users who use the City's water
system. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the
purpose of operating, maintaining and retiring the debt for such public
water system.
[R.O. 2008 §715.020; Ord. No. 6583 Art. II, 5-10-1999; Ord. No. 6658, 8-12-2002; Ord.
No. 21-2012 §1, 12-10-2012]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of terms used in this Chapter shall be as follows:
HEAVY INDUSTRIAL USER
Any user of the City's water system which has a minimum monthly
usage of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) cubic feet, averaged
from the previous twenty-four (24) months.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
All expenditures during the useful life of the system for
materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for
managing and maintaining the system to achieve the capacity and performance
for which system was designed and constructed.
REPLACEMENT
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories
or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the
system to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works
were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance"
includes replacement.
RESIDENTIAL USER
Any user of the City's water system whose lot, parcel of
real estate or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.
SHALL, MAY
"Shall" is mandatory; "May" is permissive.
USEFUL LIFE
The estimated period during which the treatment works will
be operated.
USER CHARGE
That portion of the total water service charge which is levied
in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance
and replacement of the water system.
WATER METER
A water volume measuring and recording device, furnished
and/or installed by the City of Louisiana or furnished and/or installed
by a user and approved by the City of Louisiana. The standard size
for all meters will be five-eighths (5/8) inch. The customer will
reimburse the City the difference in cost for a larger meter. The
reimbursement will in no way transfer ownership of the meter from
the City to the resident.
WATER TREATMENT WORKS
Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling,transmission
and distribution of water. These include transmission and distribution
lines, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and
their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions
and alterations thereof, elements essential to provide a reliable
water supply such as standby treatment units and any works, including
site acquisition of land that will be part of the treatment process.
[R.O. 2008 §715.030; Ord. No. 6583 Art. III, 5-10-1999]
A. The
user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay
the costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement
and cost associated with debt retirement of bonded capital associated
with financing the water treatment works which the City may by ordinance
designate to be paid by the user charge system. That portion of the
total user charge which is designated for operation and maintenance
including capital improvement and replacement of the water system
shall be established by this Chapter.
B. That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for the operation and maintenance including replacement purposes as established in Section
715.040, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the Operation, Maintenance and Capital Improvement/Replacement Fund and will be kept in two (2) primary accounts as follows:
1. The Operational and Maintenance Account shall be an account, placed
within the budget, designated for the specific purpose of defraying
operation and maintenance costs (excluding replacement) of the water
system. Deposits in the Operation and Maintenance Account shall be
made annually equal to one-sixth (1/6) of the net revenues of the
Water Plant, Water Office, Administration and Distribution budgets
(minus capital improvements/replacement fund, debt service, sales
tax, primacy fee and garbage).
[Ord. No. 04-2014 §1, 3-10-2014]
2. The Capital Improvement/Replacement Fund account shall be an account
designated for the purpose of ensuring replacement needs over the
useful life of the water system. Deposits in the Capital Improvements/Replacement
Fund shall be made weekly, in the amount of two hundred eighty-three
dollars ten cents ($283.10) or five percent (5%) of the water user
fees as described in Ordinance no. 6524 annually.
C. Fiscal
year-end balances in the Operation and Maintenance Account and the
Capital Improvement/Replacement Fund account shall be carried over
to the same accounts in each subsequent fiscal year and shall be used
for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Monies
which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages
in the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund shall be returned
to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user
charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The user
charge rate(s) shall be adjusted such that the transferred monies
will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year
following the fiscal year in which the monies were borrowed.
[R.O. 2008 §715.040; Ord. No. 6583 Art. IV, 5-10-1999; Ord. No. 16-2004, 5-10-2004; Ord.
No. 12-2010 §4, 8-9-2010; Ord. No. 19-2014 §§1,
2, 10-13-2014; Ord. No. 20-2014 §1, 11-10-2014; Ord. No. 10-2015 §§1
— 2, 4-13-2015; Ord. No. 19-2015 §§1 — 2, 6-8-2015; Ord. No. 05-2019, 3-25-2019; Ord. No. 08-2022, 5-23-2022]
A. Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City based on
its use of the water system as determined by water meter(s) acceptable
to the City.
B. For residential/commercial and industrial users, both inside and
outside of the City, monthly user charges will be based on monthly
water usage.
C. It shall be mandatory to review the rates, which fund operations and maintenance of the water each February so that rates shall be revised every June to reflect the annual inflation rate as stated by the most current Consumer Price Index as published by the Federal Government. Rates as stated in Section
715.040(D),
(E),
(F) and
(G) and all other rate revisions shall not have a bearing on the annual rate review for inflation or be misconstrued as the annual inflation revision.
D. As of July 1, 2022, the minimum charge per month for residential/commercial
in the City will be no less than eighteen dollars thirty cents ($18.30)
for zero (0) cubic feet of water usage and $0.0419142 per cubic foot
thereafter.
E. As of June 1, 2024, the minimum charge per month for residential/commercial
outside of the City will be twenty-seven dollars forty-eight cents
($27.48) for zero (0) cubic feet of water usage and $0.0503294 per
cubic foot thereafter.
[Ord. No. 02-2024, 2-26-2024]
F. As of May 1, 2019, four dollars three cents ($4.03) of the minimum
charge per month will be restricted to service debt relating to the
project commonly referred to as "LT2." After all debt is retired for
"LT2," the four dollars three cents ($4.03) of the minimum charge
per month will be used for operations, maintenance, debt service,
and/or required restricted funds of the drinking water system.
G. As of May 1, 2019 four dollars sixty-six cents ($4.66) of the minimum
charge per month will be restricted to service debt relating to the
project commonly referred to as "Georgia Street Water COP." After
all debt is retired for "Georgia Street Water COP," the four dollars
sixty-six cents ($4.66) of the minimum charge per month will be used
for operations, maintenance, debt service, and/or required restricted
funds of the drinking water system.
H. The
minimum charge per month for industrial users, (by definition) inside
of the City limits, is one hundred dollars ($100.00) for zero (0)
cubic feet of water usage and $0.0331246 per cubic foot used.
[Ord. No. 02-2024, 2-26-2024]
I. The
minimum charge per month for industrial users, outside of the City
limits, is one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) for zero (0) cubic
feet of water usage and $0.0499645 per cubic foot used.
[Ord. No. 02-2024, 2-26-2024]
J. The
user charge rates established in this Section apply to all users classified
as residential/commercial in the City limits and residential/commercial
outside of the City limits.
[R.O. 2008 §715.050; Ord. No. 6583 Art. V, 5-10-1999; Ord. No. 16-2010 §1, 9-13-2010; Ord.
No. 14-2012 §1, 7-9-2012; Ord. No. 24-2015, 6-8-2015]
A. General Information.
1.
All users will be billed monthly. Billings for each month will
be generated on the 16th of each month. If the 16th falls on a weekend
or holiday, bills will be generated the next business day. Any payment
not received by the 10th of the next month will be deemed delinquent
and subject to the monthly disconnection date set by the Water Office.
2.
A late payment penalty of ten percent (10%) of the water user
charge billed will be added to each delinquent bill on the 15th of
each month. Disconnection notices will be sent at that time. Should
the 15th fall on a weekend or holiday, notices will be sent the next
business day.
3.
Read-in/read-out fee. A service charge of ten
dollars ($10.00) will be assessed for any new account that is being
read into the customer's name and does not require installation and/or
turning on the meter. This is a non-refundable charge.
4.
Installation fee. A service charge of twenty
dollars ($20.00) will be assessed for any new account or temporary
meter that requires installation and/or turning on. This is a non-refundable
charge.
5.
After-hours service charge. To reestablish
water service, all past due balances and delinquent fees must be paid
in full. An additional twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be charged
for a reconnection occurring outside the normal workday of 7:00 A.M.
TO 3:30 P.M.
[Ord. No. 01-2024, 1-22-2024]
6.
Returned check fee. A fee of twenty-five dollars
($25.00) will be charged for a check that is returned for any reason.
Checks will not be deposited a second time. The customer must provide
cash, credit, debit, cashier's check, or money order for the check
amount as well as the fee assessed within twenty-four (24) hours to
avoid disconnection. After two (2) returned checks in one (1) calendar
year, the account will be deemed cash only until January 1 of the
next year.
7.
Hauling fee. Any septic or leachate water disposal
into the City of Louisiana's wastewater treatment system shall require
an individual contract with each vendor utilizing this service. Each
contract will establish standard terms and rates that require approval
by the Mayor and City Council.
[Ord. No. 01-2024, 1-22-2024]
8.
Delinquent fee. A delinquent fee of twenty-five
dollars ($25.00) will be assessed at 12:01 P.M. on the 13th of each
month for non-owner-occupied shutoffs. If a check is written to avoid
disconnection and is returned for any reason, the delinquent fee will
be assessed. A delinquent fee may be waived at the discretion of the
City Administrator or by the Mayor in his absence, but only upon being
presented a valid reason or proof by the customer and if a delinquent
fee has not been assessed to the account within the past twelve (12)
months. All waivers granted by the City Administrator or Mayor must
be presented to the City Council in open session at the next regular
Council meeting, including why the fee was waived.
9.
If service is interrupted and the account holder no longer resides
at or has a business at the property, water will not be reconnected
in that individual's or business's name.
B. Non-Owner-Occupied Services.
1.
At the time service is established, the customer will provide
the Water Office with proper identification, and the customer will
be given a copy of the policies. The customer will also be required
to produce a lease that will be copied and retained in the Water Office.
Water service will only be established in the lessee's name or the
landlord's name.
2.
Deposit. All customers will be required to
pay a deposit of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) to establish
water service. Non-owner-occupied properties will pay a deposit of
two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225.00), unless the lessee can show
twelve (12) months of satisfactory payment for water service (no shutoffs)
either at this Water Department or from a separate water department.
If the additional one hundred dollars ($100.00) is assessed, it will
be returned, upon request of the customer, after one (1) year of satisfactory
payment for water services (no delinquent payments or shut offs).
If the occupant is shut off two (2) times, for any reason, the additional
one hundred dollars ($100.00) will be assessed.
3.
Non-owner-occupied disconnection will commence at 12:00 P.M.
on the 13th of each month for any and all balances. Should the 13th
fall on a holiday or weekend, the disconnection will take place the
next business day. These disconnections are done at the direction
of the property owners, and no extensions will be granted without
the property owner's permission. Only two (2) extensions will be granted
for an account per calendar year, per written and signed request from
the property owner. Disconnection notices are not sent on these accounts.
C. Owner-Occupied Properties.
1.
At the time service is established, the customer will provide
the Water Office with proper identification, and the customer will
be given a copy of the policies.
2.
Deposit. All customers will be required to
pay a deposit to establish water service. Owner-occupied properties
will pay a deposit of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00).
3.
Past due water bills with a balance over fifty dollars ($50.00)
are due by the close of business on the 25th of each month and if
unpaid become subject to disconnection. Should the 25th fall on a
weekend or holiday, the bills will be due the next business day.
4.
Regular disconnections will commence at 8:01 A.M. on the 26th
of each month for balances over fifty dollars ($50.00). Should the
26th fall on a weekend or holiday, these disconnections will take
place on the next regular business day.
[R.O. 2008 §715.060; Ord. No. 6583 Art. VI, 5-10-1999; Ord. No. 6658, 8-12-2002; Ord.
No. 16-2004, 5-10-2004]
A. The
City shall review the user charge system annually and revise all user
charge rates, including but not limited to, residential and heavy
industrial user, as necessary to ensure that the system generates
adequate revenues to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including
replacement and that the system continues to provide for proportional
distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs
among users and user classes. It shall be mandatory to review the
rates, which fund operations and maintenance of the water, each February
so that rates shall be revised every June to reflect the annual inflation
rate as stated by the most current Consumer Price Index as published
by the Federal Government. Any and all other rate revisions shall
not have a bearing on the annual rate review for inflation.
B. The
City will notify each user at least annually in conjunction with a
regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance
including replacement of the treatment works.
C. When
a residential user experiences an underground water leak an adjustment
of rate may be made. An adjustment shall only be made, if the monthly
usage meets the minimum usage for a "heavy industrial user" the "heavy
industrial user" rate will be used to calculate the month's bill,
in which the leak occurred. The residential user, upon notification
of the underground water leak, must in good faith make all efforts
to repair the leak. If efforts to repair the underground leak are
not made in a timely fashion, no adjustment will be made.
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. I, 10-10-2011]
It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive
to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience
of the City to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater
to the City's treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived
will be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and retiring
the debt for such public wastewater treatment works.
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. II, 10-10-2011]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning
of terms used in this Article shall be as follows:
BOD (DENOTING BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5)
days at twenty degrees Celsius (20°C), expressed in milligrams
per liter (mg/1).
NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
Wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than
two hundred fifty (250) mg/l and a suspended solids concentration
of not more than three hundred (300) mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment
works for materials, labor, utilities and other items that are necessary
for managing and maintaining the sewer works to achieve the capacity
and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
REPLACEMENT
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories
or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the
treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which
such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation
and maintenance" includes replacement.
RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Any contributor to the City's treatment works whose lot,
parcel of real estate or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes
only.
SHALL
Is mandatory; MAY: Is permissive.
SS (DENOTING SUSPENDED SOLIDS)
The solids that either float on the surface of or are in
suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable
by laboratory filtering.
TREATMENT WORKS
Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling
and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage or liquid industrial
wastes. These include interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection
systems, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and
their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions
and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable
recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities;
and any works including site acquisition of land that will be an integral
part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of
residues resulting from such treatment including land for composting
sludge and temporary storage of such compost; or any other method
or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating
or disposing of municipal waste or industrial waste, including waste
in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
USEFUL LIFE
The estimated period during which the treatment works will
be operated.
USER CHARGE
That portion of the total wastewater service charge which
is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation,
maintenance and replacement of the wastewater treatment works.
WATER METER
A water volume measuring and recording device furnished and/or
installed by the City of Louisiana, Missouri, or furnished and/or
installed by a user and approved by the City of Louisiana.
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. III, 10-10-2011]
A. The
user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay
the costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement
and cost associated with debt retirement of bonded capital associated
with financing the treatment works which the City may by ordinance
designate to be paid by the user charge system. That portion of the
total user charge which is designated for operation and maintenance,
including replacement of the treatment works, shall be established
by this Section.
B. (Reference is made to Appendix C of this Chapter which is on file in the City offices.) That portion of total user charge collected which is designed for the operation and maintenance including replacement purposes as established in Section
715.100 shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund and will be kept in two (2) primary accounts as follows:
1. The operation and maintenance account shall be an account designated
for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs
(excluding replacement) of the treatment works. Deposits in the operation
and maintenance account shall be made monthly, from the sewerage system
revenue fund in the amount equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of the annual
waste water operating expenses for the year.
[Ord. No. 05-2014 §1, 3-10-2014]
2. The replacement account shall be an account designated for the purpose
of ensuring replacement needs over the useful life of the treatment
works. Deposits in the replacement account shall be made annually
from the replacement revenue in the amount of thirty-eight thousand
seven hundred seventy dollars ten cents ($38,770.10) annually.
C. Fiscal
year-end balances in the operation and maintenance account and the
replacement account shall be carried over to the same accounts in
each subsequent fiscal year, and shall be used for no other purposes
than those designated for these accounts. Monies which have been transferred
from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the Operation, Maintenance
and Replacement Fund shall be returned to their respective accounts
upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation,
maintenance and replacement. The user charge rate(s) shall be adjusted
such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective
accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which
the monies were borrowed.
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. IV, 10-10-2011; Ord. No. 15-2015 §§1 — 2, 6-8-2015; Ord. No. 08-2016 §§1
— 2, 5-9-2016; Ord.
No. 04-2019, 3-25-2019]
A. Each user shall pay for the wastewater services provided by the City
based on the amount of water used from the City's water system as
determined by water meter(s) acceptable to the City.
B. For wastewater contributors, monthly user charges will be based on
actual monthly metered water usage during the current month.
C. As of May 1, 2019, the minimum base wastewater user charge per month
shall be thirty-two dollars eleven cents ($32.11) per metered wastewater
user, which, as ordered by ordinance 08-2016, three dollars six cents
($3.06) will be designated for I&I Study debt service, and as
ordered by ordinance 29-2017, five dollars four cents ($5.04) shall
be designated for the Georgia Street Sanitary Sewer debt service.
In addition, each metered wastewater user shall pay wastewater
user charge of $0.0388362 per cubic foot for operations, maintenance,
replacement, certain debt services, certain required restricted accounts,
and capital improvements. Rates as stated in this Section and all
other rate revisions shall not have a bearing on the annual rate review
for inflation or be misconstrued as the annual inflation revision.
D. For those contributors which contribute wastewater, the strength
of which is greater than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition
to the normal user charge will be collected. The surcharge for operation
and maintenance including replacement is:
1.
To be determined before discharge per pound of BOD.
2.
To be determined before discharge per pound of SS.
3.
To be determined before discharge per pound of any other substance
that may result in an increase to the cost of collection and treatment.
E. Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase
in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City's
treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which
singly or by interaction with other substance causes identifiable
increases in the cost of operation, maintenance, or replacement of
the treatment works shall pay for such increased costs. The charge
to each user shall be as determined by the responsible plant operating
personnel and approved by the City Council.
F. The user charge rates established in this Section shall apply to
all users of the City's treatment works, regardless of the user's
location.
G. Rates are formulated as follows:
|
Minimum
|
Cost per C.F.
|
---|
Base monthly minimum
|
$24.01
|
|
I&I debt service monthly minimum
|
$3.06
|
|
Georgia Street Sanitary Sewer
|
$5.04
|
|
Total monthly minimum
|
32.11
|
|
Per cubic foot
|
|
0.0388362
|
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. V, 10-10-2011]
A. All
users shall be billed monthly. Billings for each month shall be made
on the sixteenth (16th) day of the month for the next month's billing
cycle. Any payment not received by the tenth (10th) of the month will
be made delinquent and subject to the monthly disconnection date set
by the water office.
B. A late
payment penalty of ten percent (10%) of the user charge bill will
be added to each delinquent bill on the fifteenth (15th) of each month.
When any bill is in default, water service to such premises shall
be discontinued until such bill is paid in full, following due notice.
[Ord. No. 30-2011 Art. VI, 10-10-2011]
A. The
City shall review the user charge system annually and revise user
charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generated adequate
revenues to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including replacement
and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution
of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among user
and user classes. It shall be mandatory to review the rates, which
fund operations and maintenance, each February. Rate shall be revised
every June to reflect the annual inflation rate as stated by the most
current Consumer Price Index as published by the Federal Government
and any changes identified in February required to fund operations
and maintenance. Any and all other rate revisions shall not have a
bearing on the annual rate review for inflation.
B. The
City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with
a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance
including replacement of the treatment works.