[Ord. No. 2205 §3, 6-5-2000; Ord. No. 2207 §1, 6-5-2000; Ord.
No. 2524 §1, 12-30-2002; Ord. No. 2660 §1, 5-17-2004; Ord. No. 2696 §1, 5-19-2005; Ord. No. 2729 §1, 4-25-2006; Ord. No. 2834 §1, 4-7-2008; Ord. No. 2919 §1, 4-20-2009; Ord. No. 2940 §1, 7-20-2009; Ord. No. 2979 §1, 4-19-2010; Ord. No. 3035 §1, 4-18-2011; Ord. No. 3065 §1, 5-7-2012]
A.
There
is hereby imposed upon each residential user of the public sewer system
a schedule of charges for the use of and the services rendered by
the City's wastewater facilities at the rate or rates hereinafter
provided. The rate or rates imposed shall be based upon the quantity
of water used in or on a user's premises as measured by the water
meter or meters, subject to exemptions provided. The schedule of charges
shall be established at a minimum sufficient to provide for the recovery
of all cost for operation, maintenance, and replacement for the City's
wastewater facilities.
1.
This Article shall set the rates to be charged to users for the collection
and treatment of sewerage. Each user shall pay for the sewerage collection
and treatment services provided by the City based on his/her, or its
use of the system as determined by water meters acceptable to the
City.
2.
For all contributors within the City, monthly user charges for the
collection and treatment of sewage will be based on the actual monthly
water usage.
3.
There is hereby levied a charge against the persons, firms,
partnerships, corporations and associations using water in the City.
[Ord. No. 3239 § 1, 1-3-2017; Ord.
No. 3441, 1-18-2022]
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Residential account shall pay:
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Effective Date
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Base Rate
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Per 1,000 gallons
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February 1, 2022
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$27.52
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$6.05
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February 1, 2023
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$28.90
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$6.35
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February 1, 2024
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$30.34
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$6.67
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Commercial accounts shall pay:
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|---|---|---|
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Effective Date
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Base Rate
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Per 1,000 gallons
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February 1, 2022
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$27.52
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$15.00
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February 1, 2023
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$28.90
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$15.75
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February 1, 2024
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$30.34
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$16.54
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Any account with partial usage during a given billing cycle
shall be charged at least the applicable base rate set forth above
for partial usage on said account.
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The charges (user fees) set forth above shall be applied to
all water billing cycles, commercial or residential, beginning February
1, 2022, and shall be automatically adjusted on the first day of February
each year thereafter in accordance with the schedule above.
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4.
Additional charges may be levied and established or abated by the
Board of Aldermen to cover waste or sewerage material of such a nature
as to result in high treatment costs, or where treatment will not
allow disposal under reciprocal agreements, or where private treatment
makes the usual charge excessive in view of private treatment or disposal.
5.
The sewer charges provided in these Sections shall be payable to
the Clay County Public Water Supply District No. 2 at the same time
as the water bill, or at such other time as designated on the bill
for the sewer charges.
6.
The City may, when necessary, estimate the billing and charges based
upon past, projected or proposed usage and the charges shall be computed
and adjusted at least annually to computations from water use records
of the user as determined by Clay County Public Water Supply District
No. 2.
7.
Where enforcement by City entails inspections, testing or investigative
expenses to determine compliance, the City shall notify the user,
owner or person billed, in writing, of provisions of the Chapter where
violations are claimed and call for such data as needed to verify
the violation, and upon failure to furnish such data and correction
of any violation within the time fixed in said notice the City, in
addition to penalties provided in this Chapter, shall be authorized
to incur expenses to verify, test, inspect and correct violations
in order to comply with the obligation of City under its reciprocal
agreements with other Cities. Further, those costs may be recovered
from the said persons by adding the expenses to the fine, if any,
levied in Municipal Court or an appeal from Municipal Court, or by
suit in a court of civil jurisdiction. Where suit is required, City
is authorized to employ counsel and recover those counsel fees in
addition to the charges incurred. Failure to pay such costs incurred
in Municipal Court shall not terminate the obligation by civil action.
[Ord. No. 2205 §3, 6-5-2000]
A.
The
user rate schedule shall be reviewed each year and revised as necessary
to insure that the charges generate adequate revenues to pay the cost
of operation and maintenance, including replacements, and that the
charges continue to provide for the proportional distribution of operation
and maintenance, including replacements, cost among users. Any excess
revenues from user charges collected shall be applied to the cost
of operation, maintenance, and replacement needs for the next year
and the rate or rates adjusted accordingly.
B.
The
City shall notify each user annually in conjunction with a regular
bill of rate and that part of the user charge contributable to wastewater
treatment service.
[Ord. No. 2205 §3, 6-5-2000]
A.
The
volume of wastewater discharge to the public sewer system shall be
determined by the quantity of metered water purchased from the City,
metered private water supplied, or combination thereof, or by direct
measurement of wastewater discharge to the public sewer system.
B.
Where
a person or establishment purchases all of its water from the City
and discharges all of it as waste to the sewer system, the volume
of water purchased as measured by a water meter or meters shall be
used as the quantity of wastewater discharge.
C.
Where
a person or establishment using a private water supply discharges
wastewater to the sewer system, the person or establishment or establishments
is hereby required to meter, at its source, the quantity of water
used, with an appropriate meter to be approved by the City, and to
pay the charges imposed in this Article based upon the quantity of
water thus metered.
D.
In
all cases where the amount of water from any particular property which
is being discharged into the City's sewer system cannot be reasonably
determined under any of the provisions of this Section, or in all
cases where unusual or extraordinary circumstances or conditions exist
in connection with the discharge of water into the City's sewer system,
the City shall have the power and authority to determine the amount
of water being discharged into the City's sewer system under the facts
and circumstances in each case and the charges imposed under this
Article shall be calculated and based upon the amount of water being
discharged into the City's sewer system as determined by the City
aforesaid.
E.
All
meters or other measuring devices installed or required to be used
under the provisions of this Section shall be subject to inspection
by, and under the control of, the City. The owner of the property
upon which any such meter or measuring device is installed shall be
responsible for its proper repair, maintenance and safe keeping and
all repairs thereto shall be made at the cost and expense of such
owner whether such repairs are made necessary by ordinary wear and
tear or any other cause or causes.
[Ord. No. 2205 §3, 6-5-2000]
The monthly charge provided herein shall be immediately due
and payable after the fifteenth (15th) day of each month. Unpaid accounts
shall bear interest at five percent (5%) and after ninety (90) days
from the due date unpaid accounts shall bear interest at thirty-five
percent (35%) until paid. If the unpaid account is placed with an
attorney for collection, there is authorized an attorney fee of not
less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) to be collected as part of
the charges and costs. Any user of the City's sewer system is subject
to having his/her or its water shut off for non-payment of sewer service
charges when due. Notification by mail shall be given to the person,
and such five percent (5%) delinquency charges shall be paid within
ten (10) days or water service to the property shall be disconnected.
Water service shall remain disconnected until such person pays in
the amount of all sewer bills, including delinquency charges, together
with a reconnection charge in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
In addition, sewer service to the property may be disconnected and
a fifty dollar ($50.00) disconnection charges may be assessed. The
procedures followed for disconnection of water for non-payment of
sewer service charges shall conform with and follow the procedures
adopted and used by the water district serving the City. Such procedures
are incorporated herein by reference and, if such water district procedures
conflict with those set fourth in this paragraph, then the procedures
followed by the water district shall govern and control with respect
to disconnection of water service.
[Ord. No. 3469, 9-6-2022]
A.
Purpose.
1.
The purpose of this policy is to define a credit policy to be followed
when a customer has incurred unusual sewer charges as a result of
a water leak or other problem on the customer’s side of the
water meter causing the loss of metered water; and
2.
The excess water usage was of such a nature and at such a location
to not have been discovered with the customer’s reasonable diligence,
or has occurred as a result of a condition beyond normal and reasonable
control of the customer or other parties responsible for the use,
care, and maintenance of fixtures and devices that are a part of the
customer’s water service system.
3.
Although there is no obligation for the City to adjust an account
when the water has been metered properly, it is the City’s desire
to encourage customers to make prompt and permanent repairs and to
show consideration for the unusual circumstance by sharing the cost
of the excessive usage charges.
B.
Conditions.
1.
Adjustments will not be allowed for water loss arising from carelessness,
negligence or lack of due diligence on the part of the customer, as
it is the customer’s responsibility to promptly discover and
stop the loss of water.
2.
In addition, the customer is responsible to repair or arrange to
have repaired the fixture or device causing the water loss.
C.
Customer
Responsibility.
1.
The customer must submit a Sewer Adjustment Request Form, and provide
information describing the abnormal situation or circumstances that
resulted in the loss of water. This should include the cause of the
water loss, when the problem was discovered, what action was taken
to stop the loss of water, and the arrangements made for repairs.
2.
Once a repair is completed, the customer must provide evidence of
leak repair to support the condition that the repair is a quality
job of a permanent nature, such as:
D.
Adjustment
Procedure.
1.
Upon receipt of the customer’s statement describing the water
loss and/or copies of invoices or receipts documenting repair, City
Administration and Public Works staff will valuate the circumstances
surrounding the water loss.
2.
The City will calculate the adjustment under the following guidelines.
a.
Average Billings. All adjustments for sewer charges will be based
upon the previous twelve (12) months average usage billings for the
customer’s service location;
b.
If a twelve-month average is not available (new residential customer),
the average will be based on three thousand (3,000) gallons of usage
per person in the household;
c.
Vacant Locations. In situations where the location is vacant and
the owner/manager has requested utility service to be turned on to
make repairs or renovations for the next occupant and a leakage arises,
an adjustment may be made based on one thousand (1,000) gallons per
month average normal consumption where there is no usage history for
reference;
d.
Usage in the leakage month(s) must be at least twenty thousand (20,000)
gallons to qualify for an adjustment; and
e.
Usage in the leakage month must exceed two hundred percent (200%)
(double) of normal usage.
3.
Adjustments For Sewer Charges.
a.
In situations where the excess water consumed was returned to the
City’s wastewater system, no adjustment will be made to the
sewer bill.
b.
In situations where the excess water consumed was not returned to
the City’s wastewater system, the adjustment for sewer charges
shall be reduced to the average usage plus twenty-five percent (25%)
of the amount in excess of the average usage billing for the customer
based on the above guidelines. Examples of this type of leak, include,
but are not limited to, the following:
c.
No adjustment shall be made for a period in excess of two (2) billing
periods, and not more than one (1) such adjustment for any given thirty-six
(36) month period per customer will be granted.
d.
No adjustment shall be made when the request for the adjustment is
received more than sixty (60) days after the billing date of the bill
to be adjusted in the case of an active customer, or thirty (30) days
after the billing date of a final bill. Exceptions will only be made
if there is proof for extraordinary mitigating circumstances, e.g.,
the customer was in the hospital or out of town during the period
in question.
4.
All leak calculations shall be documented by administrative staff,
and shall include a complete and adequate description of the problem
and justification for the adjustment.
5.
All proposed adjustments will be reviewed and approved or denied
by the City Clerk before a credit adjustment is made to the customer’s
account.
6.
A copy of the documentation will remain in the utility billing files
for a period of thirty-six (36) months.
7.
Once the adjustment has been made to the customer’s account,
the utility biller will notify the customer that the adjustment has
been made.
8.
For abnormal situations involving the loss of metered water that
fall outside the guidelines outlined above, adjustment requests will
be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Such circumstances, include,
but are not limited to:
a.
More than one (1) legitimate repairable leak within a 36-month period
for the same customer;
b.
Large leaks that have gone undetected by the customer for more than
the allowable 2-month adjustment period because of construction or
landscape aspects of the property; or
c.
Leaks reported beyond the 60-day period for active accounts, or 30-day
period for final accounts because of extenuating circumstances.
9.
If the correct documentation is provided, these adjustment requests
will be reviewed and approved as follows:
