[R.O. 2007 § 710.260; CC 1979 § 27-13.2; Ord. No. 573 § 2, 3-13-1980; Ord.
No. 648 § 3, 3-26-1981; Ord. No. 697 §§ 3
— 4, 12-10-1981; Ord. No. 713 § 2, 4-15-1982; Ord.
No. 1164 §§ 3 — 4, 8-28-1986; Ord. No. 1304 §§ 3 — 4, 8-27-1987; Ord. No. 1443 §§ 3
— 4, 8-25-1988; Ord. No. 1700 §§ 3
— 4, 12-13-1990; Ord. No. 1734 §§ 2
— 3, 3-28-1991; Ord. No. 2185 §§ 3
— 4, 8-25-1994; Ord. No. 2791 §§ 3
— 4, 12-11-1997; Ord. No. 2972 §§ 3
— 4, 11-12-1998; Ord. No. 3096 §§ 3
— 4, 8-26-1999; Ord. No. 3344 §§ 3
— 4, 12-14-2000; Ord. No. 3538 §§ 3
— 4, 9-27-2001; Ord. No. 3689 §§ 3
— 4, 8-22-2002; Ord. No. 3880 §§ 4
— 5, 8-28-2003; Ord. No. 4113 §§ 3
— 4, 8-26-2004; Ord. No. 4326 §§ 3
— 4, 8-25-2005; Ord. No. 4601 §§ 3
— 4, 8-24-2006; Ord. No. 4849 §§ 3
— 4, 8-23-2007; Ord. No. 5062 §§ 3
— 4, 8-28-2008; Ord. No. 5252 §§ 3
— 4, 8-27-2009; Ord. No. 5462 §§ 3
— 4, 8-26-2010; Ord. No. 5635 §§ 5
— 6, 8-25-2011; Ord. No. 5787 §§ 3
— 4, 8-23-2012; Ord. No. 5966 §§ 6
— 7, 8-8-2013; Ord. No. 6203 § 3 —
4, 8-28-2014; Ord. No. 6266 § 14, 12-18-2014; Ord. No. 6603 § 2, 8-25-2016; Ord. No. 6815, 8-24-2017; Ord. No.
7003, 8-23-2018; Ord. No. 7186, 8-22-2019; Ord. No. 7349, 9-10-2020; Ord. No. 7496, 8-26-2021; Ord. No. 7655, 6-23-2022]
A.
Occupants and owners of premises connected to the sewer system of
the City shall pay for the services provided by the City based on
the use of the treatment works as determined by water meter(s) acceptable
to the City.
B.
Basis Of Charges.
1.
Residential. For residential contributors, bi-monthly user charges
will be based on average bi-monthly water usage during four (4) of
the months of November, December, January, February and March. If
a residential contributor has not (or cannot) established a four-month
winter average, the bi-monthly user charge shall be the City-wide
average of comparable residential contributors, as determined by the
Director of Finance.
a.
The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to establish policies
and procedures by which a residential contributor may request an adjustment
to future bi-monthly user charges by showing evidence of water usage
over four (4) of the months of November, December, January, February
or March, during the immediately prior twelve-month period, or such
other evidence as may be acceptable to the Director of Finance to
evidence average usage by the customer. Any such adjustment shall
be made no more than one (1) time per year. Nothing contained herein
shall obligate the City to make any adjustment to a customer's bi-monthly
user charge.
2.
Industrial And Commercial. For industrial and commercial contributors,
user charges shall be based on water used during the current billing
period. 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(s) or separate water meter(s) installed
and maintained at the contributor's expense, and in a manner acceptable
to the City.
3.
The Director of Finance may require those sewer customers not
receiving City water service to provide a copy of the November, December,
January and February water bills to the City no later than March 31
of each year. Industrial and commercial customers must furnish the
City a copy of their water bill within ten (10) days after receipt
of their bill. If the required water bills are not furnished within
the proper time period, then the Director of Finance shall estimate
the water usage.
4.
Sewer rates can also be established by contract with utilities certificated by the Missouri Public Service Commission and municipalities operating sewers within the City of St. Peters, provided that all such contracts shall be approved by an ordinance of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Peters. Such contract shall not be subject to the provisions of Chapter 135 of this Code.
C.
(Reference is made to Appendix A of this Ordinance, which is on file
in the City offices.) The minimum bi-monthly charge shall be five
dollars sixty cents ($5.60) of which two dollars thirty-eight cents
($2.38) is for billing and collection and three dollars twenty-two
cents ($3.22) is for treatment of Infiltration and Inflow. In addition,
each contributor shall pay a user charge rate of three dollars seventy-two
cents ($3.72) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of water (or wastewater)
as determined in Section 6 of Appendix A to this Ordinance, of which
two dollars eighty-two cents ($2.82) is for operation and maintenance
and ninety cents ($0.90) is for debt service.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of
October 1, 2023.
D.
(Reference is made to Appendix A, which is on file in the City offices.)
For those customers 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 Manager may opt to surcharge
for COD if the ratio of COD:BOD exceeds 3:1. The surcharge for operation
and maintenance including replacement is:
|
One dollar five cents ($1.05)
|
Per pound BOD
|
|
Forty-six cents ($0.46)
|
Per pound SS
|
|
Fifty-three cents ($0.53)
|
Per pound COD
|
|
One dollar ($1.00) per pound of Ammonia-N
| |
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of
October 1, 2023.
E.
Any user which discharges any 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 substance 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 including
testing. The charge to each such user shall be determined by the responsible
plant operating personnel and approved by the Board of Aldermen.
F.
The user charge rates established in this Article apply to all users, regardless of their location, of the City's sewer system. A charge for sewer service shall be included with the bi-monthly water bills and shall be calculated as herein above set out. Penalty for delayed payments shall be the same as provided for in Chapter 700, Section 700.050.
G.
The proceeds of such sewer service charges will be used and maintained as per Section 700.060 of this Code.
H.
The City will review the user charge system at least every two (2)
years, 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.
I.
The City will notify each customer at least annually of the fixed
sewer charge.
J.
When there is excessive water usage due to a leak or break in the
water system, and where it can be established that said water did
not enter into the sanitary sewer system, then the sewer usage charge
computed from the excessive usage may be abated by the Director of
Finance.
K.
A fee, in addition to the fees provided for in this Section, shall
be charged to all existing and/or future industrial developments which
contribute process waste to the facilities constructed under EPA Project
No. C290660. Such fee shall be in accordance with Ordinance No. 240
and all amendments, continuations and new enactments on matters related
thereto.
L.
(Reference is made to Appendix C of this Section, which is on file in the City offices.) In addition to all other charges payable under this Title VII, each customer of the sewer system located outside the City limits of St. Peters, Missouri, and located in a Special Service Area, as that term is defined in Section 710.010, shall pay in addition to such other fees, a bi-monthly surcharge of twenty-two dollars and fifty-nine cents ($22.59).
M.
In addition to all other charges payable under this Title VII, each customer of the sewer system located outside the City limits of St. Peters, Missouri, that is: 1) causing or allowing stormwater or groundwater to drain into sewers intended for sewage only; 2) in violation of Section 1101.3 of the Plumbing Code of the City adopted pursuant to Section 520.010 of the City Code, as amended; 3) in violation of Section 715.040 of the City Code, as amended; or 4) in violation of Section 1101.3 of Plumbing Code of St. Charles County, Missouri, adopted pursuant to Section 500.050 of the Ordinances of St. Charles County, Missouri, as amended, shall pay in addition to such other fees, a bi-monthly surcharge of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
1.
The City Administrator is hereby authorized to establish policies and procedures for appeals by customers challenging the assessment of the surcharge authorized pursuant to this Subsection (M). Customers shall be permitted no more than one (1) appeal during any twelve-month period. Such appeals shall be submitted, in writing, with supporting documentation to the City Administrator within thirty (30) days from the date of the sewer bill upon which the surcharge being challenged appears. Upon review of the appeal and any supporting documentation, the City Administrator may:
a.
Grant the appeal and rebate the surcharge being challenged;
b.
Deny the appeal; or
c.
Stay the appeal upon the customer agreeing, in writing, to take
such remedial action to fix, maintain or remove the conditions that
resulted in the imposition of the surcharge under such terms and conditions
as may be acceptable to the City Administrator. During the stay of
the appeal, the City Administrator may stay the assessment of the
surcharge subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the agreement
with the customer.
