The Town Council hereby approves and adopts for the town, its
citizens and water customers the new water conservation and water
resource and emergency management plan (the "plan"), attached to Ordinance 2024-30 as exhibit A and incorporated
herein for all purposes. A copy of this ordinance and the plan are
available in the town secretary's office.
(Ordinance 19-21, adopted 4/23/2019; Ordinance 2024-30, adopted 4/16/2024)
Any customer, defined pursuant to 30 Texas Administrative Code
chapter 291, failing to comply with the provisions of the plan shall
be subject to a fine of up to $2,000.00 per day per occurrence and/or
discontinuance of water service by the town. Proof of a culpable mental
state is not required for a conviction of an offense under this section.
Each day a customer fails to comply with the plan is a separate violation.
The town's authority to seek injunctive or other civil relief available
under the law is not limited by this section.
The town may elect to exercise the following administrative
remedies for violations of the plan in lieu of pursuing criminal penalties
against single-family water account holders, business and professional
parks, homeowners' associations, apartments, homebuilders, land developers,
and any other entities.
(1) Administrative fees.
Administrative fees shall be added to the customer's regular monthly town utility bill, as established in appendix
A to this Code.
(2) Contesting violations.
A water customer as defined above
may request a hearing before a hearing officer(s) appointed by the
Executive Director of Development and Community Services within 15
business days after the date on the notice. The hearing officer(s)
shall evaluate all information offered by the petitioner at the hearing.
The customer shall bear the burden of proof to show why, by preponderance
of the evidence, the administrative fee should not be assessed. The
hearing officer(s) shall render a decision in writing within three
business days of the conclusion of the hearing. A customer may appeal
the decision from the hearing officer(s) in writing to the Executive
Director of Development and Community Services within three business
days of the conclusion of the hearing. The decision by the Executive
Director of Development and Community Services is final and binding.
(3) Paying assessed fees.
If, after the expiration of the
15 business days from the date on the notice, the customer has not
requested an administrative hearing to contest the assessment of an
administrative fee or paid the administrative fee, the town shall
apply and charge the assessed administrative fee to the customer's
next town utility bill.
(Ordinance 14-33, § 2,
adopted 5/27/2014)