[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
There is hereby established a schedule of Municipal sanitary sewer collection and treatment rates, which shall be known as sewer service charges.
[Editor's Note: The Municipality contracts for the collection of sewer service charges. Copies of the latest relevant legislation may be obtained from the Manager.
Res. 21 of 1981, passed 3-4-1981, approved and adopted rules and regulations promulgated by the Central Tax Bureau, Inc. Copies of such rules and regulations are available, at cost, from the Manager.]
[Ord. 2107, passed 2-18-1992; Ord. 2129, passed 11-9-1992; Ord. 2305, passed 12-22-1998; Ord. 2461, passed 12-29-2006; Ord. 2489, passed 12-31-2007; Ord. 2500, passed 7-7-2008; amended 12-30-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-2591; 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-2643; 12-30-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-2659]
The classification of users and the units assigned to each user for determining the quarterly rate and charge for billing purposes, based upon the unit rate and charge and upon the volume rate and charge specified in and established by the provisions of this chapter, shall be as follows:
(a)
Residential. (Per Quarter)
(Single-family, two-family and multiple-family)
(c)
Public Buildings and Schools, Churches, Schools, Hospitals, Rest Homes, Nursing Homes, Convalescent Homes and Mental Health Institutions. (Per Quarter)
(d)
Nonresident Rate. (Per Quarter)
(1)
Rate schedule.
Volume (gallons) | Charge | |
|---|---|---|
2016 | 2017 | |
Per 1,000 gallons | $13.08 | $18.79 |
(e)
Right of Municipality to Collect Additional Fees. The Municipality reserves the right to assess additional fees to cover any reasonable costs incurred by the Municipality in reviewing and processing applications for the discharge of industrial waste.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
The rates herein adopted shall be subject to change by Council upon any change of circumstances as Council determines. Such rate changes shall be adopted by ordinance.
[Ord. 1848, passed 5-7-1984]
All fees and charges shall be payable as follows:
(a)
All billing procedures shall be done by the Manager or his or her designated agent.
(b)
Bills shall be issued to users as classified in § 1042.02(a), (b) and (c) during the months of January, April, July and October.
(c)
Payments shall be made upon presentation of the bill and shall be made payable to the Municipal Sewer Fund or such other payee as the Manager from time to time may designate.
(d)
Requests for adjustments, corrections, etc., to any bill shall be made in writing, to the Manager or his or her designated agent.
(e)
The sewage bill shall be sent to and shall be payable by the party to whom water bills are addressed, and in the case of all water users to whom no water bills are addressed, the sewage bill shall be sent to and shall be payable by the occupant of the premises.
(f)
In the event the party billed by the Municipality under Subsection (e) hereof is not the owner of the property, and if the occupant does not pay the sewage bill within 60 days from the billing date, it shall be sent to such owner who shall be responsible for such payment.
(g)
The quantity of water which does not reach a metered water user's sewer, if separately metered, shall not be included in the quantity upon which the sewage charge is calculated. Subject to the prior written approval of the Manager, a commercial or industrial water user may install a sewage meter, in which event the sewage charge shall be based upon the quantity of sewage so metered. A non-water user single-family resident may also request such approval.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
No person shall make any connection or tie-in to the Municipality's system unless and until all fees and charges are paid.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
Where two or more separate users or classes or types of uses within a class exist in the same building, as uses are classified and typed in § 1042.02, the annual charge for each use, shall be as set forth in § 1042.02, provided, however, that each and every use separately connected to the Municipality's system shall be charged and the full connection charge therefor shall be paid, as well as all annual charges, and provided, further, that the full annual charge shall be paid for each and every use in separate buildings, connected to the system by a single connection or by more than one connection.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
Owners of a real property use not falling into one of the categories listed herein shall pay such service charges as are determined by the Municipality upon the recommendation of the Manager and after a consideration of all those factors relevant to such a determination. In the event that any user is dissatisfied with the classification assigned to his or its use hereunder, such user may, if he or it so chooses, or shall, before initiating any action for relief before any tribunal having jurisdiction, notify the Municipality in writing that he is so dissatisfied. The Municipality shall give such user an opportunity to be heard at a public meeting occurring within 45 days of its receipt of such written notice and shall make its decision on the matter at the regular meeting of the Municipality following such hearing, which will be the following month. In making its determination, the Municipality shall forthwith supply such user its findings in writing.
[Ord. 1848, passed 5-7-1984]
Sewage service charge bills which are not paid promptly shall be subject to surcharges and interest as follows:
(a)
Bills of Water Users. All sewage charges billed to water users shall be paid on or before the due date shown on the sewage bill. A surcharge of 5% shall be added to the bill of all sewage users if such bill is not paid by the due date. The surcharge will be charged only on the most recent delinquent bill and not assessed to prior delinquent bills that have already been surcharged. In addition to the surcharge, interest shall be charged on all delinquent bills at the rate of 1% per month, which interest shall begin on the 31st day after the due date.
(b)
Bills of Nonwater Users. All sewage service charges, flat rate, billed to non-water users shall be subject to the surcharge provided in Subsection (a) hereof.
(d)
Liens; Attorney's Commission. All unpaid bills, in addition to such surcharges and interest, shall, after 61 days of their due date, be subject to a lien in accordance with law, plus an attorney's commission of 5%.
(e)
Adjustments. Requests for adjustment corrections, etc., to any delinquent bill, surcharge or interest assessed against a delinquent bill shall be made in writing to the Manager or his or her designated agent.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
Every person applying for a permit, connecting a building or premises with or using the system of the Municipality, shall have thereby consented to the Municipality's duly appointed representative entering and inspecting any such building or premises at all reasonable times, for the purpose of ascertaining the use or uses made or being planned and whether or not the same are in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
(a)
There is hereby established a separate fund to be known as the Municipal Water Pollution Control Fund, otherwise known as the Municipal Sewer Fund, as provided by law.
(b)
Revenues of such Fund shall not be commingled with the Municipal General or any other Municipal Fund, and no surplus which may accrue at the end of the fiscal year to such Fund shall be transferred to the Municipal General Fund. Such surplus, if any, shall be applied in any one or all of the following at the option of Council.
(c)
No portion of such Fund's revenues or any surplus therein may be used as an interfund loan to the Municipal General or any other Municipal Fund.
[Ord. 1460, passed 8-31-1976]
The management of the Municipal Sewer Fund and of the Municipal sanitary sewerage system shall remain under the direction of the Manager.
(a)
All Municipal employees assigned to perform sanitary sewer system operations and maintenance duties as of the effective date of this section (Ordinance 1460, passed August 31, 1976), shall remain under the direction of the Manager.
(b)
The Manager shall prepare a separate annual Municipal Sewer Fund Operating and Capital Budget in the form prescribed by the Municipal Charter, which budget shall be adopted by Council as prescribed by the Charter and State statute.
(c)
No contract for any improvement or capital project of such Fund shall be executed by the Mayor or authorized by Council unless it is fully funded through operating or capital budget appropriations, short term notes or revenue bonds issued in accordance with State law.
[Ord. 2305, passed 12-22-1998]
The rate schedule set forth in this chapter shall be effective on March 1, 1999.
[Ord. 1572, passed 8-22-1979; Ord. 1848, passed 5-7-1984]
(a)
The Municipality shall directly bill the Borough of Churchill for any sanitary sewer service charge incurred by Borough of Churchill property owners who utilize the Municipal sanitary sewer system, as set forth in the 1956 Agreement (§ 1044.03 of these Codified Ordinances).
(b)
The Municipality shall directly bill the Borough of Wilkinsburg for any sanitary sewer service charge incurred by Borough of Wilkinsburg property owners who utilize the Municipal sanitary sewer system, as set forth in the 1971 Agreement.
(c)
If property owners, not residing in Penn Hills, but residing in municipalities other than the Borough of Churchill and the Borough of Wilkinsburg, desire to utilize the Municipal sewer system, then the municipalities in which the property owners reside must enter into an agreement with the Municipality of Penn Hills, whereby such municipalities agree to be directly billed by the Municipality of Penn Hills for sanitary sewer services rendered.
(d)
The sanitary sewer service charge for users residing outside the Municipality of Penn Hills shall be computed as set forth in § 1042.02(e).
(e)
The billing, payment and collection procedures shall be controlled by the provisions of this chapter.
(f)
The Manager shall forward certified copies of this chapter to the Borough of Churchill, the Borough of Wilkinsburg and any other Municipality that enters into an agreement with the Municipality of Penn Hills similar to the agreements between the Municipality of Penn Hills and the aforesaid Boroughs. Further, the Manager shall also give immediate notice of any rate change in the sanitary sewer service charge.
(g)
The Manager shall periodically request a list of those nonresidents utilizing the Municipal sewer system.
[Ord. 1608, passed 1-23-1980; Ord. 1618, passed 4-2-1980; Ord. 1848, passed 5-7-1984; Ord. 2062, passed 3-5-1990]
(a)
Sewer Payment Required. No person shall fail to pay any sewage fee imposed by the Municipality.
(c)
Sewer Service Termination. All accounts that are more than three months delinquent in payment of sewage may be subject to a termination of water service. To effectuate such termination, any authority is hereby authorized and required, at the request of the Municipality or its agents, to terminate water supply to such premises until all such overdue sanitary sewer service charges, together with penalty and interest, are paid. Termination can be requested prior to the filing of a claim or lien being filed for nonpayment for sanitary sewer service. Any termination shall be done by any authority and shall comply with the provisions of the Act of November 26, 1978, P.L. 1255, 68 P.S. § 399.1.
(d)
Sewer Service Termination Procedures.
(1)
If an account is three months delinquent, the Manager or his or her agent shall send to the person whose account is delinquent a notice of termination of sewage service.
(3)
The notice of termination shall contain the following:
A.
The amount to be paid;
B.
The Date of the notice of termination;
C.
The date of termination, which shall be at least 15 days from the date of the notice of termination;
D.
Notice that unless the Municipality receives complete payment of the amount shown prior to the date of termination, water service will be terminated; and
E.
Notice that in lieu of paying the entire amount shown, a residential customer, prior to the date of termination, may notify the Municipality that he or she disputes the correctness of all or part of the amount shown, if all or part of the amount shown was not the subject of a previous dispute.
(4)
If, prior to the date of termination,
A.
The Municipality has not received complete payment of the amount shown on the notice of termination; or
B.
The person whose account is delinquent has not requested the establishment of a deferred payment plan; or
C.
The person whose account is delinquent has not notified the Municipality that he or she disputes the correctness of all or part of the amount shown on the notice of termination, then the Municipality shall cause to be terminated the water service provided to the person whose account is delinquent on the date of termination.
(e)
Request for Hearing.
(1)
Any person who disputes an order to terminate service may request a hearing to challenge the propriety of such termination. All requests for hearings shall be made to the Manager within 15 days of notice of termination of service. Upon request for a hearing, all proceedings shall be stayed.
(2)
The hearing shall be conducted by the Manager or his or her designated agent. The Manager or his or her designated agent shall, within seven days, notify the person whose account is delinquent of his or her decision.
(3)
The Manager or his or her designated agent, in deciding to cause the water supply to be terminated, shall consider the following:
A.
The payment history of the person relative to delinquent sanitary sewage accounts;
B.
Prior notices of delinquency;
C.
Promptness of the householder in response to the notice of delinquency;
D.
Other criteria bearing on the general welfare of the Municipality;
E.
The financial hardship that might be created.
(f)
Claims and Liens. Nothing contained in this section shall preclude the Municipality or its designated agent from filing a claim or lien for unpaid delinquent sewer service charges.
(g)
Costs. Any person whose water supply is terminated because of a delinquent sewage fee shall pay all costs incurred by the Municipality in shutting off and turning on the water supply.
[Res. 91-021, passed 3-4-1991]
Council hereby authorizes the Municipal Attorney's office to utilize assumpsit lawsuits for the collection of delinquent sewer service charges when such suits are deemed appropriate.
[Ord. 2305, passed 12-22-1998; Ord. 2489, passed 12-31-2007; Ord. 2514, passed 10-19-09; Ord. 2516, passed 11-16-2009; Ord. 2531, passed 12-30-2010; amended 12-30-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-2591; 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-2643; 12-30-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-2659]
A customer service charge shall be imposed on sewer service, to be provided for the period commencing January 1, 2020. The customer service charge shall be imposed for every three month periods thereafter (quarterly).
Year | Charge |
|---|---|
2016 | $15 |
2017 | $30 |
2019 | $25 |
2020 | $20 |
[Ord. 2477, passed 10-1-2007]
The Mayor and Council hereby authorizes the automatic incorporation of any fee increases from ALCOSAN to the Municipality into the ALCOSAN portion of the sewer user fees billed to residents by the Municipality, without further action of Mayor and Council.
[Ord. 2499, passed 6-10-2008]
In the event the Municipality enters into an agreement with one or more Municipal Authorities to provide billing and collection services to the Municipality for sewer service charges, the following shall apply:
(a)
Sections 1042.04, Payment of Charges; 1042.08, Surcharges and Interest on Late Payments; and 1042.14, Delinquency; Remedies of Municipality, shall be null and void and the rules and regulations, as may be amended from time to time, of the Municipal Authority(ies) with which the Municipality has entered into such billing and collection agreement(s) shall apply as to customers located within the service area of the Municipal Authority(ies).