[Added 1983 by Ord. No. 581]
A.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Part 4 shall be as set out in this section.
C.
BASIC USER CHARGE
REPLACEMENT
SEWERAGE FUND
SURCHARGE
USEFUL LIFE
USER CHARGE
WASTEWATER SERVICE CHARGE
WATER SERVICE CHARGE
Types of charges.
The basic assessment levied on all users of the public sewer
system.
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories,
or appurtenances which are necessary during the service 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.
The principal accounting designation for all revenues received
in the operation of the sewerage system.
The assessment in addition to the basic user charge which is levied on those persons whose wastes are greater in strength than the concentration values established in § 302-86.
The estimated period during which the collection system and/or
treatment works will be operated and shall be 30 years from the date
of startup of any wastewater facilities constructed with a state grant.
A charge levied on users of treatment works for the cost
of operation and maintenance and a debt service.
The charge for a one-month period levied on all users of the wastewater facilities. The service charge shall be computed as outlined in § 302-86 and shall consist of the total or the basic user charge and a surcharge, if applicable.
The charge for a one-month period levied on all users of
the combined waterworks and sewerage system for water service.
[Amended 1994 by Ord. No. 676; 1997 by Ord. No. 711; 1999 by Ord. No. 735; 2000 by Ord.
No. 747; 12-19-2005 by Ord. No. 843; 12-18-2006 by Ord. No. 859; 1-7-2008 by Ord. No. 877; 5-4-2009 by Ord. No. 885; 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
A.
Charges and rates for the use of and for the service supplied by
the combined waterworks and sewerage system of the City of El Paso,
Woodford County, Illinois, for water service shall be as set forth
in the fee schedule based upon the amount of water consumed as shown
by water meters.
B.
The rates in Subsection A of this section shall be charged per individual family unit for residential use and per building unit for commercial and industrial use. Each unit shall have a meter; however, where an additional meter has not been installed yet, billing shall be doubled.
C.
Bulk sale of water. Bulk water sold to tank wagons loading water
at a location provided by the City shall be charged at a rate set
forth in the fee schedule.
D.
Usage in excess of 2,000 gallons per month will be charged at a rate
set forth in the fee schedule. This rate consists of a portion for
operation, maintenance and repair costs, for debt service costs, and
for capital improvement costs.
[Amended 1994 by Ord. No. 676; 1999 by Ord. No. 735]
A.
Basis for wastewater user charges.
(1)
The wastewater user charge for the use of and for service supplied
by the wastewater facilities of the City shall consist of a basic
user charge for operation and maintenance plus replacement, and a
surcharge, if applicable. It shall apply to all users of the sanitary
sewer system.
(3)
Water meter readings shall be assumed to equal sewage flow except
in cases where the user may show adequate proof that water passed
through the meter is not returned to the sewer. An adjustment in meter
readings will be made in such cases if the user furnishes the meter
readings of water flow not discharged to the sewer.
(4)
The user charge shall consist of operation and maintenance costs
plus replacement and shall be computed as follows:
(a)
Estimate the projected annual revenue required to operate and
maintain the wastewater facilities, including a replacement fund for
the year.
(b)
Estimate wastewater volume discharged to the sewer system based
on total water meter readings after appropriate adjustment for water
not returned to the sewer and/or water from unmetered private sources
which is discharged to the sewer system.
(c)
Compute costs per 1,000 gallons for normal sewage strength wastes.
B.
Surcharge; review of charges.
(1)
A surcharge will be levied to all users whose waters exceed the normal
concentration for BOD (200 mg/l) and SS (250 mg/l). The surcharge
will be based on water usage as recorded by water meters and/or sewage
meters for all wastes which exceed the 200 mg/l and 250 mg/l concentration
for BOD and SS, respectively.
(2)
The adequacy of the wastewater service charge shall be reviewed annually
by certified public accountants for the City in their annual audit
report. The wastewater user charge shall be revised periodically to
reflect a change in operation and maintenance costs, including replacement
costs, and adjusted as required. One of the purposes of the annual
review shall be to maintain service charges in relation to cost and
assure that all use classes are being charged an equitable share.
C.
Measurement of flow. The volume of flow used for computing user charges
and surcharges shall be the metered water consumption read to the
lowest even increments of 100 gallons.
(1)
If the person discharging wastes into the public sewers procures
any part or all of his water from sources other than the City water
system, all or a part of which is discharged into the public sewers,
the person shall install and maintain, at his expense, water meters
of a type approved by the Director of Public Service for the purpose
of determining the volume of water obtained from these other sources.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
(2)
Devices for measuring the volume of waste discharged to the sanitary
sewer may be required by the City Council if these volumes cannot
otherwise be determined from the metered water consumption records.
(3)
Devices for measuring the volume of waste not discharged to the sanitary
sewer may be required by the City Council.
(4)
Metering devices for determining the volume of waste shall be installed,
owned and maintained by the person. Following approval and installation,
such meters may not be removed, unless service is canceled, without
the consent of the City Council.
D.
User rate. There shall be and there is established a minimum charge
and a basic user rate for the use of and for service supplied by the
wastewater facilities of the City in amounts set forth in the fee
schedule.
[Amended 12-18-2006 by Ord. No. 859; 1-7-2008 by Ord. No. 877; 5-4-2009 by Ord. No. 885; 6-6-2011 by Ord. No. 915; 5-21-2012 by Ord. No. 929; 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
E.
Surcharge rate. For waste strengths above normal strength of 200
mg/l BOD and 250 mg/l SS, a surcharge as set forth in the fee schedule
shall be applied. The surcharge for each monthly period shall be computed
by the following formulas:
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
|
SCBOD
|
=
|
(X - 200) x A x 0.0000083 x $0.06
| |
|
SCSS
|
=
|
(Y - 250) x A x 0.0000083 x $0.03
|
|
Where:
| |||||
|
SCBOD
|
=
|
Surcharge above the basic user rate for BOD concentration above
200 mg/l.
| |||
|
SCSS
|
=
|
Surcharge above the basic user rate for SS concentration above
250 mg/l.
| |||
|
X
|
=
|
Average BOD concentration in mg/l.
| |||
|
Y
|
=
|
Average SS concentration in mg/l.
| |||
|
A
|
=
|
One-month metered water flow adjusted for appropriate losses
in gallons
| |||
F.
Computation of surcharge. The concentration of wastes used for computing
surcharges shall be established by waste sampling. Waste sampling
shall be performed as often as may be deemed necessary by the City
Council and shall be binding as a basis for surcharges.
G.
Computation of total wastewater user charge. The wastewater user
charge shall be computed by the following formula:
|
CW = MC + BC = SCBOD + SCSS
|
|
Where:
| ||||
|
CW
|
=
|
Total wastewater user charge.
| ||
|
MC
|
=
|
Minimum charge as set out in Subsection D of this section.
| ||
|
BD
|
=
|
Basic user charge as set out in Subsection D of this section.
| ||
|
SCBOD
|
=
|
Surcharge for BOD as computed in Subsection E of this section.
| ||
|
SCSS
|
=
|
Surcharge for SS as computed in Subsection E of this section.
| ||
[Amended 1985 by Ord. No. 591; 1988 by Ord. No. 612; 1992 by Ord. No. 662; 7-6-2009 by Ord. No. 889; 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
The owner of the premises, the occupant thereof and the user of the service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the services on such premises, and the service is furnished to the premises by the City only upon condition that the owner of the premises, occupant and user of the service are jointly and severally liable therefor to the City. All bills for service shall be rendered no later than the first day of the month succeeding the period for which the service is billed and shall be payable not later than the close of business on the 10th day of the same month. A penalty of 10% shall be added to all bills not paid by the close of business on the 10th day of the month following receipt of the bills. When the 10th day of any month shall be Sunday or a legal holiday, then such bills for service shall be payable on the next succeeding secular day without any additional penalty. A charge as set forth in the fee schedule shall be assessed to the user on all checks returned for insufficient funds or returned for any other reason. In the event the bill for service is not paid by the end of the month succeeding the period for which the service is billed, and the City sends a notice of delinquency to the owner of the premises or the occupant thereof and the user of the service, a penalty of $10 shall be added to the outstanding bill, which penalty shall become a part of the bill and shall be included as part of the lien which may be filed upon the real estate as provided in § 302-88 hereafter.
In the event the charges for service are not paid within 40
days after rendition of the bill for such service, such charges are
declared to be delinquent, and thereafter such delinquencies shall
constitute liens upon the real estate for which such service is supplied
and the City Clerk is authorized and directed to file sworn detailed
statements showing such delinquencies in the office of the Recorder
of Deeds of Woodford County, Illinois, and the filing of such statements
shall be deemed notice of the lien for payment of the service rendered.
[Amended 1985 by Ord. No. 591; 1986 by Ord. No. 597; 1992 by Ord. No. 662; 1994 by Ord.
No. 677]
A.
In the event the charges for such services become delinquent as defined in § 302-88, the City Clerk or Collector is authorized and directed to cause notification to be given in writing to the owner of the premises, the occupant thereof, and the user of the service that such delinquency exists and that services shall be discontinued without further notice. The notice to be sent or given in writing shall give the recipient an opportunity to request a hearing before the Sewer and Water Committee at a reasonable time. If the recipient of the notice requests a hearing before the Sewer and Water Committee, no disconnections of any service shall be made unless the Sewer and Water Committee so decides following the hearing. Any forty-day period described herein shall be extended by the number of days between the request for the hearing by the recipient of the notice and the actual hearing date if the Sewer and Water Committee does, in fact, require services to be disconnected following the hearing. It shall be the duty of the Director of Public Service to secure copies of the notices of all delinquencies from the City Clerk, or Collector of said City, on the 11th of each month, and to shut off services to such delinquent user at the end of the heretofore-mentioned forty-day period. Upon the disconnection of any service, a charge as set forth in the fee schedule shall be made for reconnecting the same after settlement of the current as well as delinquent account, in addition to the deposits as above mentioned in § 302-87, unless previously deposited.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
B.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the head of the Sewer and Water Department
and the City Administrator or Acting City Administrator shall have
the discretion to adjust sewer and water bills up to a $100 amount
adjustment in lieu of a hearing by the Sewer and Water Committee.
Any proposed adjustments in excess of $100 may be made by the concurrence
of the Sewer and Water Committee following a hearing.
[Added 7-6-2009 by Ord.
No. 889]
A.
No free service of the combined waterworks and sewerage system of
the City shall be furnished to any person, firm, organization or corporation,
public or private. Every user of the combined waterworks and sewerage
system of the City shall have an accurate operating metered water
connection to such system and every such water meter shall be sealed.
It shall be the duty of the Director of Public Service to maintain
all meters of such system in good and accurate working condition,
and to replace all meters as he shall determine have become inaccurate
or faulty.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
B.
If any water meter at any time fails to register the quantity of
water running through it, the quantity shall be determined and the
charge made based on the average monthly use registered during the
month preceding the date of such failure, or the usage for the same
month of the preceding year.
The City Council shall designate a Collector for the combined
waterworks and sewerage system of the City, and it shall be the duty
of such Collector to render bills for service and all other charges
in connection therewith and to collect all moneys due thereon. The
Collector shall be covered to the maximum amount on hand at any time
by an approved corporate surety bond.
All revenue and moneys derived from the operation of the combined
waterworks and sewerage system shall be held by the City Clerk or
Collector separate and apart from all other funds of the City and
all such sums, without any deduction whatever, shall be delivered
to the City Treasurer not more than 10 days after receipt of the same,
or at such more frequent intervals as may from time to time be directed
by the City Council.
The City Treasurer shall receive all such revenue from the combined
waterworks and sewerage system and all other funds and moneys incident
to the operation of such system as the same may be delivered to him
and deposit the same in a separate fund designated as the "Waterworks
and Sewerage Fund" of the City, and the Treasurer shall administer
such fund in every respect in the manner provided for by the Illinois
Municipal Code and all laws amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto,
in addition to the requirement of an ordinance creating an issue of
$735,000 waterworks and sewerage revenue bond of 1967. The City Treasurer
shall be fully covered by a corporate surety bond.
A hydrant rental charge shall be paid into the waterworks and
sewerage fund of the City computed on the basis of the number of fire
hydrants connected to the system. The amount of such charge shall
be set by the City Council so that adequate funds are received to
defray the cost of: A) repairing and replacing hydrants; and B) adding
new hydrants where needed in order that adequate facilities are available
for fire protection.
A.
The City Clerk or Collector shall establish a proper system of accounts
and shall keep proper books, records, and accounts in which complete
and correct entries shall be made of all transactions relative to
the combined waterworks and sewerage system; and at regular annual
intervals he shall cause to be made an audit by a certified public
accountant of the books to show the receipts and disbursement of the
combined waterworks and sewerage system as well as other necessary
information. Two copies of said audit shall be furnished the underwriter
of the aforementioned bonds.
B.
In addition to the customary operating statements, the annual audit
report shall also reflect the revenues and operating expenses of the
waterworks facilities and wastewater facilities, including a replacement
cost, to indicate that the sewer service charges under the waste cost
recovery system, in fact, meet these regulations. In this regard,
the financial information to be shown in the audit report shall include
the following:
(1)
Flow data showing total gallons pumped to the water distribution
system.
(2)
Flow data showing total gallons received at the wastewater plant
for the current fiscal year.
(3)
Billing data to show total number of gallons billed for water use
and sewer use.
(4)
Debt service for the next succeeding fiscal year.
(5)
Number of users connected to the system.
(6)
Number of nonmetered users.
(7)
A list of users discharging nondomestic wastes (industrial users)
and volume of waste discharged.
C.
Furthermore, it shall be the duty of the City Clerk or Collector
to file with the City Council a monthly report which shall include
for the month:
(1)
A list of the turn-off notices which he provided the Director of
Public Service.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
(2)
A list of the current month's delinquencies.
(3)
The number of bills mailed.
(4)
The number of gallons billed or sold.
(5)
The number of gallons pumped into the system.
(6)
A list of the various revenues of the system for the month and total
year-to-date along with the expenses for the month and year-to-date.
(7)
The cash balances and investments on hand in each of the several
funds of the waterworks and sewerage system.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
A.
No connection shall be made with the combined waterworks and sewerage
system without the written permission of the Director of Public Service.
Any connection or opening made with the waterworks and sewerage system
without such permission or in any manner different from the mode prescribed
for such opening or connection shall subject the maker to a penalty.
A copy of the written permit to connect to the water system or sewer
system of said City shall be filed with the Collector for billing
and deposit purposes.
B.
The fee for sewer and water connection permits shall be as set forth
in the fee schedule, plus costs of installation. The City Council
shall determine costs of installation.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
The Director of Public Service is authorized to grant such permits
as he may deem proper allowing persons to connect to the waterworks
and sewerage system upon compliance with the rules, regulations and
charges as provided for below. The Mayor and City Council are authorized
to establish such rules, regulations, and charges for the granting
of such permits and amend the same from time to time as may be deemed
necessary.
The Mayor and City Council are authorized to make such rules
and regulations consistent with this chapter for the connection to
the waterworks and sewerage system, specifying the types and sizes
of pipes and all the other appurtenances and extensions thereto, and
amend the same from time to time as may be deemed necessary. All service
pipes and connections to the combined waterworks and sewerage system
shall comply with the specifications and rules for connection to the
waterworks and sewerage system and violation shall be subject to a
penalty as hereinafter provided.
Employees of the waterworks and sewerage system shall have the
right of access at all times to any person's premises, for the purpose
of ascertaining the number and type of water and sewer connections
to the combined system. Any person refusing the right to permit the
employees of the waterworks and sewerage system the above-described
right of access to his premises shall be subject to a penalty as hereinafter
provided.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency or their authorized representative shall have access
to any books, documents, papers and records of the City which are
applicable to the City system of user charges for the purpose of making
audit, examination, excerpts and transcriptions thereof to ensure
compliance with the terms of the special and general conditions to
any state or federal grant.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Ch. 13.16 of the 1979 Code, Special
Assessment District, which immediately followed this section, was
repealed 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994.
