"City philosophy—general policy statement" The purpose
of the city's utility rates are to recover the city's cost of operating
the utility. The application and administration of the provisions
of this code shall be performed in a manner which fulfills the purpose
of the rates and provides the highest level of customer service to
rate payers.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
The wastewater system access fees for new or enlarged wastewater
service connections shall be charged in compliance with the City of
Fort Worth, Wholesale Wastewater Contract Number 15804, and reflected
on the city fee schedule.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
The minimum monthly rates to be charged for each connection
to the water and sewer systems shall be as established by the city
council from time to time. Said rates are on file in the office of
the city secretary.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
(a)
The due
date for the payment of the utility statement will be 20 calendar
days from the billing date. A penalty charge will be assessed to all
balances not paid by the due date. If not paid within 30 calendar
days from the billing date, service may be discontinued in accordance
with policies established by the city manager or his/her designee
governing the termination of water service. In the event of discontinuance
of service, a charge shall be assessed for the resumption of service.
Before service is resumed, all past due bills, including any additional
charges, shall be paid in full. In the event the meter is locked and
service is restored by unauthorized personnel, the meter will be removed.
Before the meter is reinstalled, all past due bills must be paid in
full, plus a service charge to reinstall the meter. All service charges
will be determined by the city user fee schedule as adopted by the
city council.
(b)
A customer
may be granted an extension on their account not to exceed 14 calendar
days and not more than three separate extensions per calendar year
with a charge being assessed after the second extension. No extensions
will be available for a customer's first bill unless the security
deposit is paid in full.
(c)
A customer
will be charged a service fee on any form of payment returned from
the bank. If a customer has more than two returned payments in a one-year
period, he will be required to make payments with cash or money orders
for a one-year period.
(d)
A security
deposit shall be required for all fire hydrant contractor meters and
a service fee assessed for installing the meter.
(e)
A service
charge shall be required for all customers requesting to have meters
tested for accuracy. Service charges shall be determined by meter
size. If the meter is found to be in compliance with the AWWA specifications
(tolerance two percent), a testing fee shall be charged. No fees will
be charged to customers whose meters run fast two percent or more.
(f)
An additional
security deposit shall be required for any customer whose service
has been disconnected on three occasions for nonpayment within the
last 24 months. The amount of the additional deposit shall be in each
instance the difference between the customer's current deposit and
the largest total unpaid balance during the previous 12 months of
the account rounded to the nearest $5.00. If after a one-year period
the account has experienced no penalty charges, the additional deposit
will be applied toward the account balance.
(g)
Any account
which reflects a 12-month history with no penalty charges will be
eligible for deposit refund. The customer will be required to submit
another deposit if water service is disconnected for non-payment.
All deposits will be applied to final billings.
(h)
New service.
(2)
A
customer who has past due amounts for utility service at any previous
location(s) must pay the current standard security deposit plus all
past due amounts before any new service will be initiated. If, after
a one-year period, the new service has not experienced any penalty
charges, the standard security deposit will be applied to the account.
(3)
Should
new service be inadvertently initiated under (2) above due to the
customer's failure to disclose past due amounts owed the city or the
city's failure to identify such past due amounts at the time of application,
the past due amounts will be transferred to the customer's active
account upon discovery by the city and utility service shall be discontinued
by the city until payment in full is made, inclusive of any service
charge(s).
(4)
In
no case will the cohabitants of a location be allowed to open a new
account at the same or any other location by alternating the name
of the account holder among the cohabitants in order to avoid the
payment of any past due amounts owed by any cohabitant.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
(a)
Every
owner, occupant, tenant, builder, or lessee, using or occupying any
building, house or structure within the city for residences, churches,
schools, lodges, businesses, or other purposes is required to put
up a security deposit for utility services or provide the following:
(1)
A
good credit reference letter from the customer's last previous water
or electricity utility company. Good credit is to be determined by
city criteria.
(2)
A
deposit may be waived if the account holder has a previous record
of good credit history with the city. A former account holder has
a good credit history if during the last 12 months of service the
account holder was late on a maximum of one payment and had no water
service disconnections due to non-payment during this same time period
(b)
The city
council, on the city user fee schedule, shall adopt a schedule of
charges and fees for security deposits for utility services for residential
and commercial customers.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015; Ord. No.
CSO#321-09-2015 , § 1, 9-21-2015)
(b)
Rental
property.
The city's lien shall not apply to bills for
service connected in a tenant's name after notice by the property
owner to the city that the property is rental property.
(c)
Application
to prior bills.
The city's lien shall not apply to bills
for service connected in a tenant's name prior to the effective date
of the ordinance from which this article derives.
(d)
Recording
of lien.
The city's lien shall be perfected by recording
in the real property records of the county where the property is located
a notice of lien containing a legal description of the property and
the account number for the delinquent charges. The lien shall include
an administrative charge as set forth in the city fee schedule.
(e)
Priority
of lien.
The city's lien is inferior to a bona fide mortgage
lien that is recorded before the recording of the lien provided for
herein the real property records of county. The lien herein is superior
to all other liens, including previously recorded judgment liens and
any liens recorded after the lien provided for herein.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
A customer may only receive one complimentary data log report
of the water consumption recorded through a meter at their service
address in a 12-month period. This only applies to customer's that
have a meter with the technical capability to digitally download the
consumption. Any additional data logging reports of these meters beyond
one every 12 months will be subject to the data log fee listed in
the fee schedule.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
The City of Burleson shall have the right to temporarily discontinue,
disconnect, and reconnect water supply for the purposes of making
repairs, connections, extensions, and cleaning of mains, machinery,
reservoirs, or any part of said water system.
The city shall have the right to temporarily disconnect service
to a customer having a break on their private line should that break
present a hazard to the general public or be in violation of the city's
drought contingency plan or water conservation plan.
Except in cases of emergency, the city shall make a reasonable
effort to notify customers of any disruption of service arising from
the city's routine operation and maintenance of the utility system.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
It shall be unlawful for any person, except authorized employees
of the city to open or use water from a fire hydrant except for the
use of construction water with a City of Burleson issued construction
meter attached to the fire hydrant. Fire hydrant operation for construction
meters will be in accordance with the water meter agreement. The contractor
will be responsible for any damage to the water system (mains, valves,
hydrants, etc.)
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
No person shall willfully interfere with or circumvent the city's
meter in such a manner as to obtain water without the full amount
thereof being registered on such meter. Service shall be disconnected
from any account holder where a bypass or other such device is discovered.
Such account shall be reconnected at the discretion of the city and
only, after the customer's account is paid in full, including all
penalty charges and volume charges as estimated by the city.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015)
No person except authorized employees of the city shall circumvent,
remove or break any lock on the stopcock in the water meter box. Service
to any account where a broken lock is found will not be restored until
all charges, including charges for water received and all applicable
fees, including tampering fees, as listed in the City of Burleson
fee schedule, have been paid.
(Ord. No. CSO#130-01-2015 , §
1, 1-20-2015; Memo of 7-8-2015; Ord.
No. 5229-09-2023 adopted 9/18/2023)
(a)
A consumer shall be held responsible for loss of water including
breakage in pipe or plumbing on the discharge side of the meter, and
if this water is not paid for according to the established rates when
it becomes due, the service shall be discontinued until all charges
are paid.
(b)
All customers may request a "one-time every twenty-four (24) months"
leak adjustment credit to their water utility account with the city.
Any request for adjustment must be initiated by submitting an acceptable
form of documentation within ninety (90) days of the water loss incident.
Acceptable forms of documentation are intended to provide proof of
leak with adequate and responsible repairs and may include but are
not limited to:
(1)
A receipt for repairs accomplished by a licensed plumber.
(2)
Proof of leak and receipt showing parts purchased by homeowner.
(3)
Proof of leak and documentation by city records which reflect
date and time called in for shutoff of water meter for repairs.
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All dates on documentation or city work orders must coincide
with dates of high water usage. Failure to submit an acceptable form
of documentation may result in denial of the "one-time every twenty-four
(24) months" credit, but can be appealed to the city manager or his/her
designee. The "one-time every twenty-four (24) months" credit will
be applied to any water consumption surpassing the customer's
average from the previous twelve (12) months. Any usage beyond this
twelve-month average will be credited to the customer at a rate of
fifty percent (50%), up to a total of five hundred dollars ($500.00).
Months in which a leak occurred will not factor into the calculation
of this twelve-month average. In cases where a customer has not yet
established a twelve-month average water consumption history, the
city may consider any available historical data or utilize the citywide
average. A credit may be applied for two months of usage if there
is documentation or evidence indicating that a leak persisted throughout
two consecutive billing periods. However, no credit for sewer charges
will be extended to residential accounts, as the city employs "winter
quarter averaging." Sewer credits may be considered for commercial
accounts, provided the documentation demonstrates that the leak originated
outside of the building and did not impact the sanitary sewer system.
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(c)
Should any meter fail to register correctly the amount of water used
by a consumer since the previous reading, the right shall exist on
the part of the city water and sewer department to average the month
and charge for water on the basis of same basis of the prior three
months' average, twelve (12) months' average, or same month
in previous year (whichever one of the three options appears to be
the most accurate and fair for the customer).
