[Added 6-25-1992]
A. 
A sewer rental charge schedule shall be used for deriving revenues for financing and maintaining sewage collection and treatment facilities. The funds derived from these charges shall be used for all municipal expenses associated with design, engineering, constructing, improving or maintaining a sewage system, including engineering, planning, construction, reconstruction of sewers and sewage treatment works and all necessary appurtenances thereto, including pumping stations, extension, enlargement, replacement or additions to the sanitary and stormwater sewer system, separation of sanitary and stormwater sewers, or the preliminary or other studies and surveys relative thereto and for the acquisition of land or rights-of-way for any of the capital improvements.
B. 
The sewer rental charge shall be assigned to owners of properties located within or without the corporate limits of the City of Auburn who contribute wastes to the municipal sanitary sewer system.
C. 
The basis for the normal sewer rental charge for properties located within the City of Auburn shall be the volume of water consumed from the public water supply system by the individual property owner. The sewer rental charge shall be determined by multiplying the cubic feet of water used by a specific rate per 100 cubic feet as determined by City Council:
[Amended 6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 7-1998; 6-19-2003 by Ord. No. 11-2003; 6-15-2005 by Ord. No. 7-2005; 6-14-2007 by Ord. No. 15-2007; 6-12-2008 by Ord. No. 8-2008; 6-18-2009 by Ord. No. 5-2009; 6-3-2010 by Ord. No. 5-2010; 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
D. 
The basis for the normal sewer rental charge for properties serviced which are located outside the geographic boundaries of the City of Auburn shall be the volume of water consumed from the public water supply system by the individual property owner. The sewer rental charge for these properties shall be determined by multiplying the existing sewer rental charge for properties located in the City of Auburn by a multiplier determined by City Council per hundred cubic feet of water.
[Amended 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
E. 
The City Council reserves the right to change the stated percentage multiplier of the water bill in accordance with the requirements of the above subsections. The determination of the property owner's classification as industrial or domestic shall be according to the present water charge schedule.
F. 
The sewer rental charge assigned to any property owner who is not connected to the public water supply system but who is connected to the public sewers shall be based on the estimated or measured volume of sewage contributed to the public sewers by such property owner, as determined by the Director of Municipal Utilities or the City Manager. Such charges shall be expressed in terms similar to water charge arrangements.
[Amended 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
G. 
The sewer rental charge assigned to any property owner with both a public and private water supply, whose contribution of sewage to the public sewers exceeds the volume of public water consumed by that owner, as evidenced by his water bill, shall be based on the estimated or measured volume of sewage entering the public sewers as determined by the Director of Municipal Utilities or the City Manager. Such charges shall be expressed in terms similar to water charge arrangements.
[Amended 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
H. 
The sewer rental charge assigned to any property owner who contributes industrial wastes to the public sewers, or who contributes a combination of sewage and industrial wastes to the public sewers, shall be determined as follows:
(1) 
The sewer rental charge shall be determined in accordance with the previous subsections.
(2) 
A surcharge shall be added to the sewer rental charge for any waste which exceeds the maximum strength and concentration standards set up. The charge shall depend on the strength and character of the industrial waste finally admitted to the public sewer. The surcharge amount shall be established by the Director of Municipal Utilities or the City Manager.
[Amended 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
I. 
A special sewer rental charge shall be assigned to any industrial firm or organization which, by virtue of the volume, strength or unusual characteristic of its waste alone, would overload or upset the capacity or efficiency of the sewage works or any part thereof if such waste entered the public sewer, or whose waste disposal situation is such that it does not discharge all of its waste into the public system. The Director of Municipal Utilities or City Manager shall assign a special sewer rental charge to the industrial firm by separate agreement with said firm. The applicable portions of the preceding provisions as well as the equitable rights of the public shall be the basis for such an agreement.
[Amended 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
J. 
Payments.
[Added 5-23-1997 by Ord. No. 18-1997]
(1) 
Sewer rental charges shall be billed with the water bill monthly for industrial accounts or quarterly for domestic accounts. Gross amounts due on these bills shall be due one month from the billing date. Net amounts are due by the 15th day from the billing date. A minimum sewer service charge shall be assessed for usage at or below minimum water usage which shall be the specific rate per 100 cubic feet as set forth in Subsection C of this section times 1,000 cubic feet of water.
(2) 
Sewer rental charge payments shall constitute a lien upon the real property against which the charge is made. Delinquent sewer rental charges shall be levied and collected as taxes annually against the real property for which they are made. If at any time net and gross billings are dropped from the water bill, the sewer rental charge at the rate established by this chapter shall be applied to the water bill with payments due at the same time as the water bill.
K. 
The City Council reserves the right, from time to time, to change sewer rental charges originally or previously assigned to any property owner.
All charges and moneys collected under the provisions of this article shall be credited to the revenues of the sewer rent fund for sewer facilities.
The increase in the rental charge shall become effective July 1, 1992.
[Added 11-20-2014 by Ord. No. 12-2014]
Owner's responsibility. The owner of the premises to which sewer service is supplied shall be charged for sewer service utilizing the total volume of water consumed from the public water supply system, whether used, wasted or lost by leakage. The Director of Municipal Utilities or the City Manager may make an adjustment to the sewer service charge, at his/her discretion, wherein it appears that the water did not enter the sewer and it is determined that the owner or user did not reasonably know that the leak had occurred and would have had an opportunity to correct the leak. Such reduction to the sewer service shall not exceed 1/2 of the estimated loss of water, and the adjustment may only be allowed to the owner or user one-time basis unless there has occurred exceptional circumstances causing the loss.