[R.O. 2013 § 725.150; Ord. No. 83-15, Article I, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000]
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 wastewater treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating and maintaining the public wastewater treatment works.
[R.O. 2013 § 725.160; Ord. No. 83-15, Article II, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000]
A. 
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Chapter shall be as follows:
BOD (DENOTING BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation or organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees Celsius (20° C.), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
Wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than two hundred four (204) mg/l and a suspended solids concentration of not more than two hundred forty (240) mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the sewage 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)
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 intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power, and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions improvement, 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 the 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, temporary storage of such compost, and land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application); 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 stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.
USEFUL LIFE
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 Fredericktown or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the City of Fredericktown.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 725.170, Operation, Maintenance, Replacement, of the 2013. Revised Ordinances, which immediately followed this Section, was repealed 12-12-2011 by Ord. No. 11-69 § 2.
[R.O. 2013 § 725.180; Ord. No. 83-15. Art. IV, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000; Ord. No. 06-19 § 2, 4-24-2006; Ord. No. 06-46 § 1, 10-2-2006; Ord. No. 07-42 § 1, 9-24-2007; Ord. No. 11-69 § 1, 12-12-2011; Ord. No. 13-31 § 1, 9-23-2013; Ord. No. 14-38 § 1, 9-22-2014; Ord. No. 15-29 § 1, 9-28-2015]
A. 
Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City based on his/her use of the treatment works as determined by water meters acceptable to the City.
B. 
For residential contributors, monthly user charges will be based on monthly water usage. For industrial and commercial contributors, user charges shall be based on water used during the current month. If a commercial or industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water, or in some other manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on a wastewater meter or separate water meter installed and maintained at the contributor's expense and in a manner acceptable to the City.
C. 
The rate schedule for sewer contribution shall be fixed from time to time by the City and shall be subject to change by action of the City. Sewer contributors shall be charged for sewer contribution at the following rates:
[Ord. No. 16-34 § 1, 9-26-2016; Ord. No. 17-41, 10-10-2017]
1. 
A monthly charge of twelve dollars seventy-one cents ($12.71) shall be the minimum charge per month. Six dollars ($6.00) of said usage fee shall be used by the City for capital improvements of the sewer system and sewer treatment facilities or debt service for same.
2. 
In addition, each contributor shall pay a minimum of $0.5018 per one hundred (100) gallons of water (or wastewater) as defined in the previous Subsection as part of the user charge rate.
3. 
Residential contributors who are located outside of the City limits of the City of Fredericktown shall pay the same rates as those residential contributors located inside the City limits.
D. 
For those contributors who 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 shall be as set by the City from time to time.
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 substances which singly or by interaction with other substances 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 operation personnel and approved by the Board of Aldermen.
F. 
The user charge rates established in this Section apply to all users, regardless of their location, of the City's treatment works.
[R.O. 2013 § 725.190; Ord. No. 83-15, Article V, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000; Ord. No. 06-19 § 2, 4-24-2006]
A. 
General Billing Provisions. Sewer bills shall be rendered as provided in Section 705.010 et seq.of this Title. Failure of the City to submit a service bill shall not excuse the customer from its obligation to pay for the service when the bill is submitted. Any damage resulting to the customer or any property of the customer or the landowner of the property occupied by the customer shall not be the responsibility of the City, its agents or employees. The City, its agents and employees shall not be liable to the customer or the landowner of any property used, held, occupied, rented or leased by the customer for any such damage when disconnection is made according to this Chapter and it shall be immaterial that no notice of such disconnection was given to the customer or to said property owner.
B. 
Estimated Billings. In the event that meters cannot be read at the close of the period for which billing is made because of inclement weather or the condition of the earth around the meters, which in the opinion of the City makes reading unusually difficult, costly or impossible, then the bills may be estimated by using, at the discretion of the City, either the amount of water used by the water user in the previous billing period or in the same billing period in the previous year and the bill for such period shall be based upon such amount of water used. The meter reading and the bill rendered for any period subsequent to a period for which the bill of any water user shall be based upon such estimates shall take into account such estimates and such estimates shall be considered the actual amount of water consumed for the period or periods estimated. Estimates may be made in the case of one (1) or more water users or for all water users of the City at the discretion of the City and it shall not be required that all bills be estimated in the event any one (1) or more water users' bills are estimated as herein set forth.
C. 
Billing Frequency. Bills may be submitted on a monthly, bimonthly or quarterly basis as the City may provide and direct in its actions establishing a rate schedule.
[R.O. 2013 § 725.200; Ord. No. 83-15, Article VI, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 87-7 § 2, 6-8-1987; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000; Ord. No. 06-19 § 2, 4-24-2006]
Previous Sections have addressed estimated system costs, rate calculation methodology and calculated rate parameters. From such data, the following final rate structure is proposed: Appendix A is on file with the office of the City Clerk and shall be used for rate calculation methodology.
[R.O. 2013 § 725.210; Ord. No. 83-15, Article VII, 11-15-1983; Ord. No. 00-99 §§ 1 — 3, 11-13-2000; Ord. No. 06-19 § 2, 4-24-2006; Ord. No. 07-44 § 1, 10-8-2007]
A. 
The City will review the user charge system at least annually and revise user charge rates 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 the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance, including replacement, costs among users and user classes.
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. 
Automatic Cost Of Living Adjustment Of Sewer Rates. The rates as provided in Section 725.190 can be adjusted each year in accordance with the Consumer Price Index based on the increase or decrease in the period from April to April of each twelve-month period. The Consumer Price Index adjustment is published by the Missouri State Tax Commission in the spring or summer of each year. Following the publication of the Consumer Price Index adjustment for the previous year by the Missouri State Tax Commission, the City can, on or before September 30 of each year, modify the rate schedule set forth in Section 725.190. Thereafter, beginning with the October meter readings and the November billing, the City can adjust the rates as set in Section 725.190 by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index as published by the Missouri State Tax Commission for the previous year. The modified sewer rates shall not be made a part of this Code of Ordinances, but shall be part of the City budget approved by the Board of Aldermen each year and said modified sewer rates shall be maintained in the office of the City Clerk for inspection by the public.