City of Burlington, WI Article IV Sewer Service Charges

§ 259-20 Sewer service charge system established.

A. The City shall establish and collect sewer service charges from users of its sewerage system. For purposes of this section, this system includes, without limitation, all facilities within or without the City for collection, transportation, pumping, treatment and disposal of sewage and water-carried wastes created in and to be conveyed away from residential, commercial, governmental, institutional and industrial buildings, structures and facilities in conjunction with the wastewater treatment plant.

B. It shall be the policy of the City to establish sewer service charges in an amount sufficient to i) pay for the costs of the operation and maintenance of the sewerage system (including contributions to a replacement fund); ii) pay for the debt service (including debt service reserves and coverage requirements) of the financial obligations pertaining to the sewerage system; and iii) establish a reserve fund for future projects and/or other expenses.

[Amended 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1973(7)]

C. The City may establish sewer service charges, including customer service charges, volumetric user charges, surcharges for certain industrial users, charges for testing, treatment and disposal of specialized wastes, charges to extraterritorial customers and other charges, as deemed necessary by the Common Council so as to assure that each user of the sewerage system pays its proportionate share of the cost of such facilities.

[Amended 11-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1740(20)]

D. A review of the sewer service charge system shall be conducted at least once every five years. This review shall include an analysis of the total costs of the system and of the wastewater contribution of users and user classes. A review of sewer system capital improvement needs shall also be conducted at least once every five years.

E. The charges established hereunder will be developed using a cash-based method for determining revenue requirements for rate-making purposes.

F. All sewer service charges shall be computed under the direction of the Utility Manager and shall be furnished to the Common Council. The Council shall establish sewer user charges by resolution.

§ 259-21 Types of charges and basis for charges.

A. Customer service charge. A customer service charge will be imposed upon each user connected to the sewerage system. The customer service charges shall recover costs related to wastewater treatment flow not directly attributable to users (infiltration/inflow) and administrative costs relating to the sewerage system. The customer service charge shall be levied to each connection to the sewerage system and will consist of a flat fee per connection.

B. Sewer use charge.

(1) Establishment of charge. A sewer use charge will be hereby imposed upon all users of the sewer system. The charge will recover the component of total operation, maintenance, and capital costs of the sewerage system which relate to sewerage flow attributable to users of the system. The sewer use charge shall be based upon the cost of treating flow, BOD, suspended solids, Total-P, and septage at the strength of domestic wastewater. The sewer use charge shall consist of a volumetric charge in terms of dollars per hundred cubic feet.

[Amended 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1973(7)]

(2) Basis for charge.

(a) Nonindustrial users.

[1] Metered water customers. Each lot, parcel of land or nonindustrial building connected to the City's sewerage system and served by the City's public water supply system shall be assessed a sewer use charge based in part on the quantity of water used as measured by the Burlington Water Utility water meter provided for those premises.

[2] Private wells.

[a] If any nonindustrial user of the City's sewerage system procures any or all of its water from sources other than the City's Water Utility, all or part of which is discharges into the City's sewerage system, that user shall cause to be installed a water meter for the purpose of determining the volume of water obtained from these other sources. The necessary water meter shall be furnished by the City's Water Utility and installed under its supervision. The costs for the installation of the meter shall be borne by the user. If a sewer meter is already installed, a water meter shall not be required.

[b] The City's Water Utility shall establish a rental charge for each meter to compensate it for the cost of furnishing and servicing the meter. The meter rental charge shall be included in each of the user's sewer service bills.

[3] The requirements of this Subsection B(2)(b) shall not apply to any user located within and served directly by an extraterritorial sanitary district.

[4] Irrigation allowance.

[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2069(5)]

[a] A user served by a single water meter and which requests credit for water not discharging into the sewerage system shall be required to install a separate water meter, and no sewerage charge shall be made for this amount of discharge. The property owner making this request shall make application and payment for such separate water meter to the Utility Manager. The property owner shall provide proof to the City Plumbing Inspector that the discharge to be metered does not go to the sewerage system. The property owner shall engage a plumber to take out a plumbing permit, make the necessary piping changes, and install such meter according to the City-approved plans and specifications. The property owner must agree to allow the City to inspect and/or remove the meter for repair. If the owner requests a disconnect of said meter and later a reconnect, a reconnect charge would be payable to the City's Water Utility.

[b] If a user elects to install a separate water meter to record water not discharged to the sewerage system, other than lawn irrigation, provisions must be made by the owner at his expense to discharge this water to the storm sewer system.

(b) Industrial users.

[1] Measurement of flow. The volume of flow for computing sewer service charges shall be based on the records of sewage meter readings maintained by the industrial user or, if approved by the Utility Manager, based on the water consumption of the industrial user as shown in the records of the water meter readings maintained by the Burlington Water Utility, except as provided in Subsection B(2)(b)[2] and [3].

[Amended 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1973(7)]

[2] Deduction. If an industrial user can produce satisfactory evidence for the Utility Manager that more than 10% of its total annual volume of water used for all purposes is not discharged into the City's sewerage system, the Utility Manager and the affected user shall mutually agree on the level of water consumption to be used for computation of volume for purposes of the sewer service charge. If the Utility Manager and the industrial user fail to agree, the Utility Manager shall unilaterally determine in a reasonable manner a percentage of water measured by the meter actually discharged to the City's sewerage system. In the alternative, the Utility Manager may require the installation of other or additional meters to measure the volume of discharged wastewater as permitted by Subsection B(2)(b)[3].

[3] Metering of waste. The Utility Manager may require the installation of devices for measuring the volume of wastewater discharged if the wastewater volume cannot be otherwise determined from the metered water consumption. These wastewater metering devices shall be installed, owned and maintained by the industrial user. Once installed, these meters may not be removed without the consent of the Utility Manager.

C. Surcharges for certain industrial users.

(1) A surcharge shall be levied on all users of the system that discharge wastes which have concentrations of BOD, suspended solids or total phosphorus (Total-P) greater than domestic wastewater. The surcharge shall apply to any additional loadings over and above that which would be generated by wastes at a strength equal to domestic wastewater. The volume of flow used for computing waste surcharges shall be the amount of metered water consumption or an alternative method for determining billable flow volume as defined in Subsection B(2)(b). The amount of surcharge shall reflect the cost incurred by the City in removing BOD, suspended solids and total phosphorous. The surcharges in a given period shall be computed on the basis of the following formulas:

[Amended 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1973(7)]

	SurchargeB = [(B-175) x .00834 x Vu] x Bc
	SurchargeS = [(S-360) x .00834 x Vu] x Sc
	SurchargeP = [(P-4) x .00834 x Vu] x Pc
	SurchargeB = Surcharge for BOD
	SurchargeS = Surcharge for Suspended Solids
	SurchargeP = Surcharge for Total-P
	Bc = Costs for treatment of a unit (pound) of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
	B = Concentration of BOD (mg/l)
	Sc = Costs for treatment of a unit (pound) of suspended solids
	S = Concentration of suspended solids (mg/l)
	Pc = Costs for treatment of a unit (pound) of total phosphorous
	P = Concentration of total phosphorous (mg/l)
	Vu = Billable flow volume in thousands of gallons

(2) Pollutants. The measurement for and determination of BOD, suspended solids, and Total-P charges shall be made on the basis of laboratory analyses of periodic composite sewage samples.

D. Specialized waste disposal charges.

(1) Charges shall be imposed for testing, treatment and disposal of specialized waste, including septic tank waste, holding tank waste and other wastes which are deemed acceptable for treatment and disposal, by the Utility Manager. Charges shall be based on flow, BOD, suspended solids, Total-P and such other constituents which affect the cost of treatment and disposal and shall consist of a volumetric charge in terms of dollars per thousand gallons.

[Amended 11-18-2003 by Ord. No. 1740(20)]

(2) All costs associated with administering the discharge of septage to the WTF, including sample collection, laboratory analysis and billing, will be paid by the specialized waste hauler.

E. Charges to extraterritorial users.

(1) Municipal sanitary sewer service may be provided to extraterritorial locations upon approval by the Common Council.

(2) Extraterritorial sewer recipients shall pay sewer user charges as established in an intermunicipal agreement (§ 66.0301, Wis. Stats.).

F. Connection fees (see § 259-5). A connection fee shall be collected by the City from all new connections to the sewerage system or existing wastewater connections which have a change in operations or activity resulting in the utilization of additional sewerage system capacity. This charge shall be calculated and collected as provided in § 259-5 of this chapter.

G. Special rates. It is understood that the Common Council may at any time hereafter set special rates for any large commercial service, industrial use, extraterritorial areas, contract users or any other unique user that does not readily fit into other categories of users. Special rates may be established to ensure that any user discharging toxic pollutants, wastewater or other wastes to the sewerage system shall pay for the increased operation, maintenance and capital costs caused by their discharge.

§ 259-22 Administration and billing.

A. Customer classification.

(1) Generally. For purposes of the City's user charge system, four categories of customer classifications are established: Category A, Category B, extraterritorial and other users.

(2) Category A users. The class of Category A users shall consist of those users whose wastewater discharge is deemed to be normal domestic strength wastewater. This category includes all City and non-City users of the City's sewerage system, except as otherwise provided in Subsection A(3) and (4).

(3) Category B users. The class of Category B users shall consist of those users whose wastewater discharge is deemed to be high-strength wastewater.

(4) Extraterritorial users. The class of extraterritorial users shall consist of users served in areas outside of the City limits.

(5) Other users. The class of other users shall consist of haulers of specialized wastes.

B. Computation of charges. The methodology for computation of the sewer service charges for the various customer classifications shall be as set forth in i) the most recent sanitary sewer study approved by the City's Common Council; and/or ii) as otherwise provided for in this chapter or action of the City's Common Council.

[Amended 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 1973(7)]

C. Billing period. For all Category A users, the sewer service charges shall be included with the water bill on a quarterly basis. For all other users of the system, the sewer service charges shall be billed by the Utility Manager on a monthly basis.

D. Payment of bills.

(1) All sewer service charges shall be paid in full within 20 calendar days after each specified billing date. If a service charge bill is not paid when due, a penalty of 3% of the total sewer service charge shall be added immediately to the bill, and the total shall be deemed delinquent for purposes of the user's sewer account. If the delinquent service charges are not paid within 30 days after the last allowable due date for payment, an additional 1 1/2% shall be applied to the total unpaid balance for sewer service, including the unpaid late payment penalty. This charge of 1 1/2% shall be assessed thereafter on a monthly basis, or fraction thereof, against the total unpaid balance until all of the accrued charges are fully paid.

(2) All service charge bills shall be payable at the office of the Water Utility. Payment made or mailed and postmarked on or before the last day of the twenty-day calendar period shall constitute payment within that time period. If the end of the twenty-day calendar period falls on a legal holiday or a Sunday, payment made or mailed and postmarked on the next succeeding weekday which is not a legal holiday shall constitute payment within that period.

(3) Each nonoccupant owner of a lot, parcel of land, building or premises served by the City's sewerage system shall notify the Water Utility of his present address. The failure of an owner or occupant to receive a bill for sewer service charges shall not be considered an excuse for nonpayment or grounds for an extension of the time period required for payment of the bill.

(4) If more than one user is served by a single meter, the sewer service charge shall be served on the property owner.

(5) If a customer moves from a location within a billing period, the meter shall be read and the charges for the sewer service shall be prorated.

E. Annual customer notification. The City shall provide each user with an annual notice of the sewer service charge rates. This notice shall be provided to Category A users with their sewer service bill for the last quarter of each year and to all other users with their sewer service bill for November.

F. Charges a lien.

(1) Any delinquent sewer service charge, together with all assessed late payment penalties and charges, may become a lien on the premises to which the sewer service was furnished and thereafter taxed and collected in the manner provided in § 66.0809, Wis. Stats. In addition to or in lieu of this method of collection, the City may initiate civil action against a user for recovery of unpaid delinquent service charges and penalties.

(2) A change of ownership or occupancy of a premises shall not be cause for reducing or eliminating any debt or lien created by unpaid sewer service bills.

§ 259-23 Disconnection of service.

A. Procedure.

(1) If a user fails to pay any sewer service charge within 30 days after becoming delinquent, the Utility Manager may serve personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, on the user a written disconnect notice and order. The order shall become effective 20 days after the date of the notice, unless the user serves on the Utility Manager a written objection to the disconnect order before expiration of the twenty-day period. If the user disputes the disconnection order, the Utility Manager shall promptly investigate the dispute and shall attempt to resolve the dispute by negotiation. During this investigation and negotiation period, the City shall not disconnect the user's sewer service over that matter.

(2) If the disputed disconnection order cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the Utility Manager, he shall serve personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, a second written disconnect order on the user and inform the user that the disconnect order shall take effect 20 days after the date of the order unless the user appeals the disconnect order to the Common Council within the twenty-day period.

(3) The user's failure to object to the initial disconnect order under Subsection A(1) or to appeal the order under Subsection A(2) within 20 days shall constitute a waiver of the user's rights to challenge the issuance of the order or its validity.

(4) If the user appeals the disconnect order to the Common Council, a written notice thereafter shall be served on the user specifying the time and place of the hearing to be held by the Common Council on the matter of the user's objections to the disconnect order. The notice of the hearing shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before the hearing. The notice of the hearing may be served on any officer, director or managing agent if the user is a corporation or an association, or on a general partner if the user is a partnership.

(5) Any testimony offered at the hearing must be taken under oath and recorded by electronic means. A transcript, so recorded, will be made available to any member of the public or any party to the hearing upon payment of the usual fees charged by the City for copies of such records.

(6) After the Common Council has reviewed the evidence, it may issue an order to the user as is necessary and appropriate, including but not limited to an order that, following a specified time period, sewer service shall be discontinued unless the delinquent service charges and penalties are paid in full.

B. Charges and penalties. All delinquent sewer charges and all assessed late payment penalties and charges shall continue to be due even though sewer service may be terminated to a particular building, lot or parcel of real estate due to nonpayment. The City may elect to pursue any and all of the remedies available to it to effect the collection of the delinquent sewer charges and penalties.

C. Reconnection. No sewer service shall be reconnected until the City is paid in full for all amounts due it and, in addition, is paid a deposit equal to an estimated amount of the charge for the next succeeding 12 months. This deposit shall be held by the City in escrow and shall be returned upon satisfactory payment of all sewer service bills for a period of two years.