[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
The City shall collect wastewater service charges for the use of, and the services rendered by, the POTW from the owners or occupants of every lot, parcel of real estate, or building that has availability to the POTW or which discharges, either directly or indirectly, wastes to the POTW.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, wastewater service charges shall be based on the quantity of water used on or in the property or premises, which are subject to such charges, and shall be computed by applying the rates established by this Article and shall be payable as provided in this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, wastewater service charges shall be based on one (1) of the following:
1. 
On the quantity of water used from any source of supply as measured by water meters acceptable to the Director.
2. 
On the quantity of wastewater entering the POTW and measured by a wastewater meter acceptable to the Director.
3. 
On the quantity of water used as determined by the Director.
4. 
On the quantity of wastewater entering the POTW, as determined by the Director.
5. 
On the percentage of the metered water used entering the POTW, as determined by the Director.
B. 
Installation of water and wastewater meters shall conform to the following:
1. 
The City of Willard shall install and maintain in continuous efficient operation a water meter at each lot, parcel of real estate or building served by a water utility.
2. 
Each owner of a private well or other private water supply shall, at his/her own expense, install and maintain in continuous efficient operation a water meter acceptable to the Director. In lieu of installing a water meter, the owner of a residence may elect to be billed on the basis of two thousand (2,000) gallons/month of wastewater discharged per bedroom in the residence.
3. 
The Director may require users of the POTW to provide other methods of determination as may be required.
C. 
Maintenance of meters, either water or wastewater, shall be in accordance with manufacturer's specifications. The readings of any such meter which has not been maintained in a continuous and efficient manner may be disregarded and the Director may determine the wastewater volume delivered to the POTW during the time covered by discredited meter readings.
D. 
Water meters, other than those of the City of Willard, and wastewater meters shall be read by the user in accordance with the meter reading practices of the Director. These readings shall be furnished to the Director upon request.
E. 
Water meter readings obtained by any other entity other than the City of Willard and other records pertaining to the billing and collection of wastewater service charges shall be made available to the City during business hours within four (4) days of the time readings are taken.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
Residential billing for wastewater charges shall be determined as follows:
1. 
The rates and charges established by this Chapter shall be applied to the water consumption billed after this Chapter shall have been placed in effect, except as otherwise provided by this Chapter. In order that there will be the least wastewater service charge to residential water consumers for water used to maintain lawns, gardens, flowers, shrubs, trees, etc., water usage shall be derived from water consumption recorded in period when such activities are reduced.
2. 
If wastewater service bills are rendered monthly, the basis for the bill for wastewater service for residences shall be computed from the average of the monthly water consumption recorded during the period beginning January 1 and extending through the following March 31 of the year preceding the establishment of the basis for the charge, or from the average of the consumptions for any such months during which water was used, except as otherwise provided. The basis so established shall first be used in rendering wastewater service bills beginning in the month of April following the establishment of the basis for the charge and shall be the basis for the charge and shall be the basis used until the following April. A new basis for wastewater service bills shall be established annually.
In cases where a residence first become subject, after the meter reading date in March, to the wastewater service charges established in this Article and no water meter readings were taken before such date, the owner or occupant of such residence shall be billed the customer charge plus a volume charge, as determined by the Director, until a basis can be established as provided in this Section.
Usage resulting in fractions of one thousand (1,000) gallons shall be reduced to the next whole number of one thousand (1,000) gallons in computing monthly water consumption. Averages of monthly water consumptions will be determined based on normal rounding procedure.
3. 
If the basis of wastewater service charges for a residence is established by agreement between the City and the user, the agreement shall be reviewed annually by the City and may be so reviewed at such other times as the City, in its discretion, may require or permit.
4. 
Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the City, the owner or occupant of any residential premises from electing to be charged for wastewater services on the basis of actual water consumption as determined by monthly meter readings, if such owner or occupant makes application, in writing, to pay on the basis and agrees to pay on such basis for at least one (1) year from the date of the next billing following the date of application.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019; Ord. No. 211012C, 10-25-2021; Ord. No. 240325B, 4-8-2024]
A. 
The schedule of wastewater service rates, which shall be applied to the water usage of all residences, buildings, structures and users connected to the POTW, shall be as follows:
1. 
Effective April 19, 2024, the schedule of wastewater service rates shall be as follows:
a. 
There shall be assessed to each residential user of the POTW a basic customer charge of twenty-eight dollars and eighty-three cents ($28.83) per month, and each commercial user of the POTW a basic customer charge of thirty-five dollars and ten cents ($35.10) per month.
b. 
There shall be assessed to each non-City resident user of the POTW a basic customer charge of thirty-one dollars and thirty-seven cents ($31.37) per month for residential addresses and forty dollars and twelve cents ($40.12) for commercial.
c. 
In addition to the basic customer charge per month, there shall be an additional monthly volume charge to all users which shall be computed as follows: Six dollars and forty-four cents ($6.44) per one thousand (1,000) gallons for residential and commercial users, and seven dollars and zero cents ($7.00) per one thousand (1,000) gallons for rural residential and rural commercial users, or fraction thereof, used per month.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
Schedule Established. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, there is hereby established a charge to every new or expanded user of the POTW of the City, which is in addition to the other fees and charges under this Article. An expanded user of the POTW is a user which increases the size or number of water meters serving its property or premises. The sewer impact fee will be in accordance with the following sewer impact fee schedule and shall be based on the water meter(s) size serving the property or premises.
[Ord. No. 220228C, 2-28-2022]
Sewer Impact Fee Schedule
Meter Size
(inches)
Impact Fee
3/4
$1,100.00
1
$1,300.00
1 1/2
$2,100.00
2
$4,000.00
3
$6,750.00
4
$13,300.00
Anything larger than 4 inches
Fees to be determined upon request
B. 
New Users. New users of the POTW will not be assessed a sewer impact fee in the following instances:
1. 
If an unexpired building permit was in existence for the user's property or premises on September 19, 1990.
2. 
If the user's property or premises was served by the POTW, or if the new user occupied a structure in and had previously been assessed for a joint sanitary sewer district, on the effective date of the ordinance from which this Section derives.
3. 
If there was a break in sewer service to the user's property or premises for less than two (2) years.
4. 
If the metered water usage on the user's property or premises is solely for the purpose of fire protection or landscape irrigation.
C. 
Rules And Regulations. The Director will have authority to establish rules and regulations pertaining to sewer impact fees set forth in this Section in order to carry out the intent of the Section. Such rules and regulations must be placed on file with the City Clerk ten (10) days before they become effective. A permit to connect to the POTW shall not be issued by the City or any other agency acting on behalf of the City with respect to the issuance of permits to connect to the sewer system, unless the sewer impact fee set forth in this Section has been paid.
D. 
Increase In Size Or Number Or Water Meters. Any user who increases the size or number of water meters serving its property or premises shall pay a fee equal to the difference between the sewer impact fee for the meter which existed prior to the increase, and the sewer impact fee for the newly installed meter.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
In order that rates and charges will be equitably related to the service rendered, the City shall, in addition to the charges set forth in Section 710.470, assess extra charges for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) in excess of the amounts thereinafter set forth. The extra charges for BOD and TSS shall be as follows:
1. 
Effective July 1, 2019.
a. 
For five (5) day biochemical oxygen demand in excess of one and sixty hundredths (1.60) pounds for each one hundred (100) cubic feet (256 milligrams per liter) of wastewater, an additional charge of three hundred cents ($0.300) shall be made of each such excess pound or fraction thereof.
b. 
For TSS in excess of one and ninety hundredths (1.90) pounds for each one hundred one hundred (100) cubic feet (304 milligrams per liter) of wastewater, an additional charge of one hundred twenty-six cents ($0.126) shall be made for each such excess pound or fraction thereof.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
Any premises connected to the POTW under the provisions of Section 710.545 shall be deemed so connected as a privilege extended by the City and not as a matter of right and shall in no way relieve any such premises from its lawful share of any sewer tax bill special assessment heretofore or hereafter made for the payment in whole or in part of the cost of construction of sanitary sewers.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
The Director is hereby authorized to require, as a condition of issuing special connect permits under the provisions set forth in Section 710.545, that the owner of the property being served by the special connection permit: 1) execute an irrevocable consent and petition to annex the connecting property in the City limits; and 2) grant to the City a sewer easement in the areas where the Director determines sewers will be needed. The Director is authorized to accept such easements for and on behalf of the City.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
When a water utility has adjusted water meter readings or when it appears that an inequity has occurred, the Finance Director may make adjustments of wastewater service charges. Any user aggrieved by the decision of the Finance Director shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Aldermen, whose decision shall be final for purposes of appeal pursuant to Chapter 536, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
All bills for sewer service shall be due and payable at the City Hall in accordance with the provision of Chapter 705, Section 705.070, with the exception that no additional late payment penalty fees, other than those stipulated in Chapter 705, Section 705.070, shall be assessed unless the physical disconnection of the building sewer has been required. In the event of a failure of the responsible party to make the required payment, the City may assess the delinquent charges and fees in accordance with Section 710.540(D).
B. 
It shall be the duty of the Finance Director or other representative of the City charged with the responsibility of receiving payments for wastewater services to notify the Director of those premises which because of delinquency in the payment of bills are no longer entitled to wastewater service and the Director may take the necessary steps to have the building sewer disconnected from the POTW.
C. 
The occupant or user of the premises receiving wastewater services and the owner of such premises shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for such services rendered on such premises. The City shall have the power to sue the occupant or owner, or both, of such real estate in a civil action and receive any sums due for such services, plus a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the Court.
D. 
All owners of real property within or outside the City of Willard, State of Missouri, to which sewage services are supplied are liable to the City for the charges for providing such sewerage service. The property owner's liability is concurrent with any person or persons residing upon said property and who may be deemed to be the actual users of the service. In the event the service charge or charges for use of sewerage services are not paid within the time or in the manner provided by ordinances of this City, the City may assess the delinquent charges and fees as a special assessment against lot or parcel of land to which services were provided. In such event, the City Clerk shall certify the unpaid delinquent charges and fees to the County Clerk, along with a legal description of the real property benefitting from the water and/or sewerage service, and the same shall be placed on the tax rolls for collection, subject to the same penalties and collected in like manner as other taxes are by law collectible and shall become a lien upon the real property so served.
E. 
Any water utility shall cease to furnish water to any user who is delinquent in the payment of wastewater service charges.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
In addition to any other fees, deposits, permits or requirements of this Code, no person shall connect to the POTW of the City any property located outside a sanitary sewer district or within a proposed sanitary sewer district in which construction of sanitary sewers has not yet been ordered by the Board of Aldermen without first obtaining a special connection permit from the Director.
1. 
The Director may issue such permit upon receiving an application for a special connection permit, an executed irrevocable consent to annex the property into the City limits, and the applicable special connection permit deposit computed as follows:
a. 
For properties containing six thousand (6,000) square feet of area, or any fraction therefore, two hundred forty dollars ($240.00).
b. 
For properties containing more than six thousand (6,000) square feet, two hundred forty dollars ($240.00) for the first six thousand (6,000) square feet and forty dollars ($40.00) for each additional one thousand (1,000) square feet of property area or any fraction thereof; however, no special connection permit deposit shall be required in excess of one thousand five hundred ($1,500.00).
B. 
Should the property to be connected be located within a joint sanitary sewer district where joint sanitary sewers have been constructed or have been ordered to be constructed by the Board of Aldermen, the deposits required in this Section shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%).
C. 
Should property for which a special connection permit deposit has been made, as provided in this Section, be placed within a joint sanitary sewer district, then upon the construction of joint sanitary sewers within the joint sewer district and the sewer tax bill assessment for the cost thereof, the then recorded owner of the property shall be entitled to a return of twenty-five percent (25%) of the deposit previously made. If only a portion of the property for which the deposit was made is placed within a joint sanitary sewer district and the joint sanitary sewers have been built and the assessments made, the amount of the deposit returnable shall be that portion of twenty-five percent (25%) of the entire deposit which is directly proportionable to the area of the property placed within the joint sanitary sewer district as compared to the total area of the property for which the deposit was made.
D. 
Should property, for which a sewer deposit has been made, as provided in this Section, be placed within a sanitary sewer district, then upon the construction of sanitary sewers within the sanitary district and the sewer tax bill assessment for the cost thereof, the then recorded owner of the property shall be entitled to the return of the deposit or so much thereof as shall not have been previously returned. If only a portion of the property for which the deposit was made is placed within a sanitary sewer district, and the sanitary sewers have been built and the assessment made, the amount of the deposit returnable shall be that portion of the entire deposit or of so much thereof not yet returned, which is directly proportional to the area of the property placed within the sanitary sewer district as compared to the total area of the property for which the deposit was made.
E. 
All deposits shall be placed in a separate account to be established by the Director of finance and shall be disbursed only upon a finding by the Director of Public Works that the deposit or a portion thereof is returnable under the provisions of this Section. All deposits shall be returned to the then present recorded owner of the property for which the deposit was made, so that the deposit will run in effect with the land for which the deposit was made.
F. 
The special connection permit deposit is in addition to any other fees, deposits, permits or requirements to connect to the POTW and does not relieve the property owners from future special assessments for construction of a sanitary sewer district and/or joint sewer district, tax bill assessments, construction reimbursement fees, or sewer impact fees.
[Ord. No. 190408E, 4-22-2019]
A. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, whenever sanitary sewers are not required to be built by provisions of this Code, but are built by private contract and dedicated to the City, the City shall charge a connection fee for the privilege of connecting to the POTW to all persons who own land in the sanitary sewer district which connection fee shall be computed in the following manner:
1. 
All persons owning land in the sanitary sewer district or their successors in title shall pay a connection fee for the privilege of connecting to the sanitary sewer which shall be equivalent to their proportionate share of the cost of the sanitary sewer. A person's proportionate share of the costs shall be computed by multiplying the number of square feet of land that a person owns in the sewer district times the cost per square foot for construction of the sanitary sewer. The cost per square foot for construction of the sanitary sewer shall be determined by the Director. The person causing such sewer to be constructed, hereinafter referred to as developer, shall have a licensed engineer in the State to certify to the Director the cost of the sanitary sewer and that all such costs were necessary and were incurred in the construction of the sewer. The Director may, in his/her discretion, determine that certain costs should not be allowed in computing the connection fee.
2. 
If the Director determines that such costs were not necessary or that they were not incurred, then such costs shall not be included in the connection fee to be charged to persons who have not paid the connection fee. Any person who has paid the developer a sum of money which is not less than that person's proportionate share of the cost of the sewer prior to commencement of construction of the sewer shall be deemed to have paid the connection fee required by this Section. All persons owning land in the sewer district who have not paid their proportionate share of the cost prior to the commencement of the construction of the sewers shall pay a connection fee to the City at the time such person connects to the City sewer and a penalty of six percent (6%) per annum for each year that such person has not connected to the sewer, which penalty shall not be subject to being apportioned for any part of a year.
3. 
At the time a person pays the connection fee, the Director shall determine what land is owned by the person in the sewer district for which the fee is being paid and upon payment of the required fee no further connection fee shall be required by this Section, it being intended that the person paying the fee shall have paid the fee for their successors in title. The developer shall have a professional engineer licensed to practice in the State to certify to the Director the names of all persons who have paid the connection fee prior to the commencement of construction, the description of the land such person owns, and the total number of square feet of land such person owns in the district. Connection fees required to be paid to the City shall be paid to the Director in accordance with procedures established by the Director. It shall be unlawful for any person required to pay a connection fee by this Section to connect to the sanitary sewer of the City without paying such a fee and any person connecting to the sanitary sewer without paying such a fee shall be disconnected from the sanitary sewer of the City after notice and hearing by the Director.