Town of East Greenwich, RI Rates and Charges

Established. Pursuant to Chapter 3651 of the Public Laws of 1956, Chapter 123 of the Public Laws of 1966, Chapter 187 of the Public Laws of 1970, Chapter 227 of the Public Laws of 1970, and Chapter 38 of the Public Laws of 1972, the following procedures are established to adopt an operating budget, rate structure and capital budget:

(1)

Assessment of sewer use charges.

(a)

Every person whose particular sewer enters into the system at 12:00 midnight on December 31 of each year shall pay a sewer use charge annually.

(b)

In the case of sewers connected to the system subsequent to December 31, the annual rate shall be prorated as determined by the Director of Public Works.

(c)

The Director of Public Works shall supply to the Finance Director a list of persons to be so charged.

(d)

The Finance Director shall prepare and collect the individual amounts due to the Town.

(2)

The Director shall establish the rate on an annual basis for any building or premises connected directly or indirectly into the sewer system, with the approval of the Town Council.

(3)

Budget.

(a)

The Director of Public Works shall prepare an itemized annual budget in a format designated by the Town Manager and submit the budget to the Town Manager no later than the first Monday in April of each year. The budget shall include recommended expenditures including normal operating cost, capital items, principal and interest on all sewer bonds, and reserves for purposes like renewals and replacements. The budget shall also include revenues and a rate structure which shall maintain a balance between the revenues and expenditures.

(b)

The Town Manager shall submit a recommended budget to the Town Council no later than the first Monday in May of each year. The Town Manager's budget shall include expenditures and revenues.

(c)

The Town Council shall, upon receipt of the Town Manager's recommended budget, hold a public hearing on a proposed budget. The public hearing shall be advertised and copies of the proposed budget shall be made available. The Town Council, at the next regular or special meeting, shall by resolution adopt a sewer budget including expenditures, revenues and a sewer use rate structure, which shall maintain at least a balance between expenditures and revenues.

Sewer user classifications.

(1)

The Director of Public Works shall determine the user class of all discharges to the public sewers in the Town, and the annual charge for the use or the availability of such sewers shall be as determined by the Director by the methods set forth in this section.

Class	Description	Basis of Charge
Residential	Residential shall be defined as a structure or portion thereof providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, and containing a separate means of ingress and egress. This shall include residential condominium units.
	1. Residential up to 5 EDUs	1. Charge based on 85% of water consumption at the general rate per unit, or 100% of water consumption if a deduct meter is used
	2. Residential units in excess of 5 EDUs	2. Charge based on 100% of water consumption at the general rate per unit
Commercial A	Commercial A shall be defined as mixed-use residential and commercial, and commercial establishments discharging domestic wastewater	Charge based on 100% of water consumption at the general rate per unit
Commercial B	Commercial B shall be defined as establishments typically discharging nondomestic wastewater requiring pretreatment as indicated in Chapter 134, Article III	Charge based on 100% of consumption at a premium rate of 145% of the general rate
Governmental	Governmental shall be defined as establishments (church, school, public buildings, etc.) discharging domestic wastewater	Charge based on 100% of water consumption at the general rate
Industrial A	Industrial A shall be defined as establishments discharging domestic wastewater	Charge based on 100% of water consumption or on 100% of metered sewage discharge at the general rate
Industrial B	Industrial B shall be defined as establishments typically discharging waste in excess of domestic wastewater as outlined in Subsection D(3) of this section	Charge based on 100% of water consumption or on 100% of metered sewage discharge, plus a surcharge for excess BOD and TSS, and/or other waste constituents impacting system costs
Out of Town	A user, classified as above, located outside of the corporate limits of the Town of East Greenwich	Charge based on 150% of the fee calculated for the user class in Subsection B(1) of this section for in-Town users

(2)

Based on the annual budget for the operation and maintenance of the Town's sewerage facilities, the Director of Public Works shall annually establish a fee rate schedule for use of the public sewers and wastewater treatment facilities in the Town.

(3)

Any sewer user wishing to dispute the sewer user classification, as determined by the Director of Public Works, shall appeal the classification within 15 days of being notified of such classification. The appeal shall be made in writing to the Director of Public Works and shall include all related documentation for the Director to consider in reviewing the assigned classification. Within 30 days of the receipt of such an appeal for reconsideration of a sewer user classification, the Director shall provide a hearing in his office with the sewer user or an authorized representative to review the classification. A final decision on the appeal shall be made within 15 days of the hearing.

Procedures for establishing user charges.

(1)

All users of the public sewers shall be assigned a classification as established in Subsection B of this section. Charges for any individual user shall be based on the rates and methods of determining such charges as set forth in Subsection C of this section.

(2)

All users of the public sewers shall pay regular charges for the use of such sewer services in addition to other charges and assessments for construction of sewers, application fees, permit fees or connection charges, and maintenance and repair charges for work done on private sewers by the Department of Public Works. Such charges shall be those found necessary to provide for the operation and maintenance of the East Greenwich sewage collection system and for the proper treatment of all sewage at the Town's wastewater treatment plant.

(3)

Individual user charges shall be determined by the application of a rate to the user's water consumption, depending upon the assigned classification as presented in Subsection B of this section, unless specified otherwise in this section. In the case of users classified Industrial B or in other cases where sewage of abnormally high strength is being discharged to the public sewers, additional charges shall be made based on the strength of the sewage being discharged. The basic rate and the surcharges for sewage of abnormally high strength shall be as determined by the Director of Public Works.

(4)

Where water meters are not installed, or where a public sewer user obtains all or a part of its water supply from a source other than the Kent County Water Authority system, the Director shall require that the owner install a sealed water meter, of a type and manufacture approved by the Director, to determine the water consumption on the premises.

(5)

Where an individual user can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that water consumption on specific premises does not reasonably reflect proportionate sewage discharge, special provisions may be made to more accurately and equitably determine the means for establishing the basis for the sewer use charge. Such special provisions may include installation of a separate water meter to measure and record water consumption which is not a potential source of sewage discharge, installation of a sewage discharge meter, and allowances for a large one-time or periodic user of water for which there is no potential for sewage discharge. All costs associated with special provisions allowed to determine a sewer use charge shall be borne by the sewer user. A petition for such arrangements may be made at any time and shall be made through the appeal process established under Subsection C(10) of this section. Special provisions related to one-time or periodic water consumption not potentially leading to a sewage discharge shall be arranged prior to the event.

(6)

The user charges established by the Director of Public Works shall apply to all classes of users and all premises which are connected to the public sewers, including residential, commercial, institutional, governmental, industrial, charitable and nonprofit. Surcharges, over and above the standard rates so established, shall be added to those charges to Industrial B users and other dischargers of high strength sewage to recover the added expenses incurred due to the abnormally high strengths of wastewater being discharged by such users.

(7)

In the case of users classified Industrial B, or other users which discharge sewage of abnormally high strength to the public sewers, the Director of Public Works shall require that adequate facilities be provided by the owner to allow for the observation, metering and sampling of such discharges by the Director and that such facilities be readily accessible to the Director at all times. The user shall reimburse the Town for all expenses incurred by the Department of Public Works in carrying out the sampling and testing of such discharges.

(8)

In addition to the stipulations set forth in Subsection C(5) of this section, the Director of Public Works shall establish a minimum charge for all users or potential users of the sewer system. This minimum charge shall apply to all users and be levied on all users or on owners whose property is connected to the public sewers but providing no discharge as a basic charge for the availability and readiness to serve of the overall system.

(9)

The Finance Director shall issue bills for sewer user charges to all owners of premises within the Town which are connected to the public sewers, and the Town shall have the authority to collect those charges and payments when due in accordance with state statutes and the Code of the Township of East Greenwich. In addition to the charges as otherwise determined under this section, the Director may also impose special charges on certain user classes where special services and/or tasks are required to oversee and administer the use of Town sewers by such users.

(10)

Any sewer user wishing to dispute the use of that user's water consumption as the basis for establishing the charge for sewer service may appeal the chargeable water volume base within 60 days of receipt of the annual sewer use charge billing. The appeal shall be made in writing to the Director of Public Works and shall include all related documentation for the Director to consider in reviewing the claim for a chargeable water consumption volume at a lower level than prescribed for that user's classification under this section. Within 30 days of the receipt of such an appeal for reconsideration of a sewer user classification, the Director shall provide a hearing in his office with the sewer user or an authorized representative to review the classification. A final decision on the appeal shall be made within 15 days of the hearing.

Determination of annual user charge.

(1)

All actual or estimated costs allocable to the proper operation and maintenance of the sewerage facilities in the Town for a billing period shall be paid from revenues derived from charges upon all users of those facilities. Such costs shall include but not be limited to those costs for heat, light, fuel, telephone, power, consumables, and maintenance and repair of equipment, for the wages of sewerage facility personnel whose duties are to operate, repair and maintain the system, and for all other miscellaneous costs related to the proper operation of the system.

(2)

The actual or estimated total costs for the operation and maintenance of the sewers in the Town and for the satisfactory treatment of the sewage prior to discharge shall be the basis for the determination of the charges upon users for such use. The user charge rate discussed in Subsection C(3) of this section shall be determined by subtracting from the actual or estimated total sewerage service costs all other revenues, actual or estimated, to be reviewed by the Department of Public Works in relation to the Town's sewers; any grants or stipends awarded the Town for use in operating and maintaining the system; the estimated added revenues resulting from the application of a minimum charge to all users; the estimated added revenues resulting from surcharges for sewage discharges of abnormally high strength; and any surpluses from previous charges which are considered to be in excess of that needed as a reserve fund to offset the impact of unforeseeable major costs of repair or replacement of facilities. The resultant adjusted total cost shall then be divided by the actual or estimated number of billable water consumption units consumed on all premises in the Town, adjusted by a factor of 85% for all residential users when a deduct meter is not used, including water consumed from both public and private sources, which are served by the public sewers. The sewer user charge rate in dollars per 100 cubic feet (HCF) of water so calculated shall then be used to determine the charge for sewer services for all users in the Town.

(3)

Surcharges above and beyond those costs as determined in Subsection D(2) of this section shall be levied upon those sewer users whose sewage exhibits high strength characteristics. These surcharges shall be determined from rates as determined by the Director of Public Works from time to time and shall be reflective of the added costs for handling and treating such sewage. In no case shall a credit be allowed for wastewaters with constituent loadings below the established thresholds of 250 mg/l for biological oxygen demand (BOD) and 250 mg/l for total suspended solids (TSS). Basic use fees allow for the discharge of wastewaters with constituent concentrations up to the threshold limits. Surcharges are due only for wastewaters of greater strength.

(a)

Pounds of BOD subject to a surcharge shall be calculated by the following equation: (C1 - 250) x 0.00624 x Q = lb. of BOD subject to surcharge where C1 is the concentration of BOD in mg/l of the wastewater, and Q is the actual/adjusted metered water use or wastewater discharge measured in units of 100 cubic feet. A negative surcharge or credit shall not be allowed. This calculation is valid only where C1 is greater than 300 mg/l.

(b)

Pounds of TSS subject to a surcharge shall be calculated by the following equation: (C2 - 250) x 0.00624 x Q = lb. of TSS subject to surcharge where C2 is the concentration of suspended solids in mg/l of the wastewater, and Q is the actual metered water use or wastewater discharge measured in units of 100 cubic feet. A negative surcharge or credit shall not be allowed. This calculation is valid only where C2 is greater than 375 mg/l.

(c)

Where wastewater of high strength is generated but the regular monitoring of such discharges is not reasonable, practical and/or desirable, additional charges may be made by means of a basic surcharge. This can be accomplished by assigning a classification "Commercial B" to the user. Additional charges for wastes of high strength discharged by users classified as Commercial B shall be made on the basis of a rate charge which is 145% of the charge for residential class users.

(4)

The Director of Public Works, irrespective of the stipulations set forth in Subsection D(2) of this section, may establish a minimum charge for the use of public sewers in the Town. This minimum charge shall be considered as an availability or readiness-to-serve charge, and no user or user unit as set forth in Subsection B(1) of this section shall pay less than that minimum charge as determined by the Director for use of the system regardless of the water consumption on those premises.