From and after April 1, 1980, the wastewater system shall be operated and maintained, on the rate basis as authorized by law and provided for in this chapter.
A. 
The City Manager is hereby authorized, with the consent of the City Commission, to determine and establish a schedule of construction charges for the various sizes and types of sanitary sewer connections for each calendar year. Each schedule shall become effective when approved by motion duly adopted by the City Commission. Such schedule of charges shall be based on the following, as applicable:
(1) 
Recovery of all costs normally incurred for this type of construction.
(2) 
The size and length of pipe to be used for connection.
(3) 
Extra costs of construction during winter months.
(4) 
Repair or replacement of pavement and sidewalk.
(5) 
Exceptional surface repairs, including landscaping.
B. 
The Director may establish advance deposits for sanitary sewer connection construction charges for each calendar year. Advance deposits toward sanitary sewer connection construction charges established under this section shall be made before construction. Any balance owed shall be due within 30 days after billing. Interest at the rate of 1% per month shall be charged upon any delinquent unpaid balance. If such unpaid balance, with interest, is not paid within six months, that fact shall be reported to the City Commission for the establishment for a lien against the real estate.
A. 
The rates to be charged for wastewater service furnished by the wastewater system shall be charged to all buildings or premises having any connection with the system. Such rates shall be based upon the rate schedules adopted from time to time by resolution of the City Commission as provided by § 28-23.04 of this chapter.
B. 
The owner of any building or premises receiving water from any source other than the City Water Department shall register the same with the Director and shall arrange to have suitable metering facilities installed at the owner's sole expense to measure such private supply. The meters shall be provided, maintained, and read by the Water Department, for which the customer shall be charged the applicable water service charge in addition to the established charges for wastewater services. In any interim period allowed by the Director prior to such installation, the Director may establish such charges as deemed equitable by the Director, considering the anticipated wastewater discharge.
C. 
Subject to other applicable laws and regulations, a user of the wastewater system may elect to rearrange the water supply pipes and metering on the user's premises, for the purpose of eliminating from the total water consumption applicable to wastewater charges the water not running to the sanitary sewers, or the user may elect to establish metering facilities registering the discharge from the premises to the sanitary sewers. All such arrangements shall be made subject to the approval of the Director, and the expense thereof, including installation, maintenance, and operation, shall be borne by the user.
D. 
No statement contained in this section shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial user whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment. Any user who enters into a special agreement or arrangement with the City shall be subject to all user and industrial costs or fees established in the special agreement. No special agreement shall be entered into which is in conflict with any other local, state, or federal law or regulation.
A. 
Each user of the treatment works shall pay the service charges, commodity charges, quality/quantity charges, and other sewer service charges according to the rate schedules and associated rate methodologies, conditions, and requirements as established and adopted from time to time by resolution of the City Commission.
B. 
In establishing the rates, the City Commission may consider factors including, but not limited to, wastewater quantity; wastewater strength; the presence of infiltration/inflow; the source of the wastewater (septage, dewatering, etc.); whether the wastewater is metered or non-metered; meter size and type (individual or master); the amount of water from public or private sources consumed; the amount of wastewater discharged; customer class (retail, wholesale, residential, commercial, industrial, private, municipal, etc.); whether or not the wastewater is monitored and/or tested by the City; whether the wastewater source is located inside the City or outside the City; operation, maintenance, and repair costs; capital costs; and such other factors determined necessary and appropriate by the City Commission.
C. 
In addition to the above charges, each user shall pay the charges for miscellaneous service and monitoring, as determined by the Director. The charges may be revised by the Director whenever, in the Director's opinion, it is deemed appropriate. All charges shall be paid to the Department of Public Services, and all funds received as result of the miscellaneous charges will be credited to the wastewater system receiving account.
D. 
Users will be notified at least once per year how much they are being charged for their proportional operation, maintenance, and replacement costs, if required by applicable state or federal laws or regulations.
E. 
The rates established under the authority of this section shall go into effect for sewer service charge bills rendered on or after the date they are established from time to time by resolution of the City Commission.
A. 
Users of the treatment works shall be divided into classes. Classes shall be groups of users for which the wastewater characteristics are approximately equal and services provided are essentially the same. Classes and subclasses of users shall be established from time to time by resolution of the City Commission as determined relevant and appropriate by the City Commission.
B. 
The user charges shall result in the distribution of operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of the City's wastewater system to each user class in proportion to such user's contribution of the total wastewater loading of the treatment works. Factors such as strength, volume, and delivery flow rate characteristics shall be included to ensure a proportional distribution of the costs. The Director may from time to time establish additional user classes as are determined necessary by the Director.
Properties which have water service or a water supply and abut a sanitary sewer and have not been connected thereto shall become liable for payment of the demand charge established by resolution of the City Commission upon the expiration of a five-year period following the date when the sanitary sewer was accepted by the City as being ready for use.
Wastewater service charges shall be billed quarterly, except that customers billed monthly for water shall be billed monthly for the wastewater service charge. The person paying or responsible for payment of the water bill shall, in like manner, be responsible for payment of the wastewater service bill.
All charges for wastewater service shall become due and payable on the date indicated on each bill. Payment made after such date shall include an additional 5% of the amount due on the due date.
A. 
The charges for wastewater service are hereby recognized to constitute a lien on the premises receiving such service. This lien shall become effective immediately upon providing wastewater service to the premises but shall be not enforceable for more than three years after it becomes effective. Whenever any such charge against any property shall be delinquent for three months, the City officials in charge of the collection thereof may certify to the tax assessing officer of the City the fact of such delinquency, whereupon such charge shall be entered upon the next roll as a charge against such premises and shall be collected and the lien thereof enforced in the same manner as general City taxes against such premises are collected and the lien thereof enforced. Nothing in this section, however, shall be deemed to prevent the City from suing in a court of law to collect the amount due it for wastewater service charges as provided in Subsection C below. In addition to the other remedies provided in this section, the City shall have the right to shut off and discontinue the supply of water service to any premises for the nonpayment of wastewater service charges when due in accordance with the procedure established in Subsection B below.
B. 
If a charge for wastewater service prescribed by this article is not paid within 30 days after the billing therefor, and after the customer has been given notice and an opportunity to be heard as provided by law, all water service may be shut off and discontinued to the customer owing or liable for such charge. Water service shutoff pursuant to this section shall not be restored until all sums due and owing have been paid in full, including a collection fee in the amount and appropriate security deposits as established and prescribed by resolution of the City Commission.
C. 
At its option, the City may, in addition to the remedies above, in its corporate name, bring suit in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of any wastewater service charge which, 30 days after the billing therefor, has not paid. The production of the meter record or cost record shall be prima facie evidence of the liability to pay the amount therein shown to be due.
A. 
The revenues of the wastewater system derived from the collection of rates established by this article are hereby ordered to be credited, as collected, to a separate account to be designated as the wastewater system receiving account (hereinafter referred to as the receiving account), and the revenues in such account shall be credited to the following accounts quarterly in the manner hereinafter specified for the purposes therein mentioned. The revenues of the wastewater system may be deposited in such bank accounts and with such depositories as the City Commission may, by resolution or ordinance, designate.
B. 
Out of the revenue in the receiving account, there shall be credited quarterly to a separate account, designated as the operation and maintenance account, all funds collected from user charges to be used for the administration and operation of the system, including billing, accounting, postage and related costs, and such current expenses for the maintenance thereof as may be necessary to preserve the same in good repair and working order.
C. 
There shall next be established and maintained a separate account, designated as the debt retirement account, which account shall be used solely and only for the purpose of paying the principal of an interest on the bonds of the system as are now or may hereafter be issued, except special assessment bonds. Any tax revenues designated for use in retiring such bonds shall likewise be credited to this account as and when received. There shall be set aside from time to time in such account at least a sufficient amount to meet the principal and interest requirements accruing in the current fiscal year.
D. 
After all such funds have been credited as above provided, the revenues derived from the charges collected and taxes designated as aforesaid may be used for the purpose of construction, expansion, extension and improvement of the system.
E. 
Any surplus "capital charge" revenues remaining at the end of any fiscal year, after the above requirements have been met, shall be credited to the system surplus account and shall be disposed of as directed by the City Commission.