[Adopted by Ord. No. 92-13]
The ordinance codified in this chapter shall
be known and cited as the "uniform utility regulatory ordinance" of
the City of Evanston, Wyoming.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning
given in this section. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future tense, words in the plural
number include the singular number and the words in the singular number
include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and
not merely directory.
The City of Evanston, Wyoming.
The mayor of the City.
The council or governing body of the City.
The several organizational units of the executive branch
of the City through which its services and programs are performed.
The designated head of the department specified in this chapter
or an authorized agent.
Any person, firm, corporation or association, itself or through
an agent, employee or partner, who engages in the business or occupation
or solicits patronage therefor, actively or passively, or performs
or attempts to perform the business or occupation of loading, collecting,
hauling, dumping and/or disposal of refuse and garbage to any authorized
landfill or disposal site. This term shall not include the City.
A board comprised of seven Evanston citizens who shall be
appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City council.
City water, wastewater, sewer, stormwater, refuse collection
and solid waste disposal services provided to a user, owner or agent.
Any person, company, property or service unit owner, partnership,
corporation, firm, business establishment, residence, government agency,
charitable organization, or other entity that uses furnished utility
services by the City.
A building, premises, facility or location, any portion or
subdivision thereof, to which utility services are individually provided.
An accounting and service record established for the purpose
of recording all charges, payments and other transactions arising
from the use or sale of utility services.
Any title company, bank financial institution, realtor, or
any other person legally acting as agent in a sale or exchange of
property.
It shall be the responsibility of the chief
executive to manage and oversee the application of this chapter and
the administration of the responsibilities and activities prescribed.
No user shall be authorized any utility service
without having first established a utility account with the City.
It shall be further unlawful for users to receive or take utility
service in the absence of the required utility account.
A.
The City shall not open any utility account nor shall
the director of public works initiate any utility services unless
authorized to do so by the user in person or through written notification.
B.
Users receiving utility services shall be billed by
the City treasurer in accordance with the rate schedule established
by the annual budget resolution. All fees or charges provided under
this chapter shall be due on the date of billing.
C.
Any billing for utility services remaining unpaid
after the last working day of each month from the date of the billing
shall be considered delinquent and subject to a penalty for late payment.
The late payment penalty shall be computed on the rate specified in
the annual budget resolution.
D.
All unpaid delinquent utility service charges shall
constitute a lien against the service unit to which utility services
are delivered. The City treasurer is authorized to collect payment
of outstanding liens through civil action against the owner or by
foreclosure of the lien and sale of the premises. Any action taken
in collection of a lien shall be by the City attorney in a court of
competent jurisdiction after approval by the City council.
E.
The City is authorized to bill utility accounts on
a monthly cycle based on monthly readings or on quarterly readings
as furnished by the director of public works.
All utility charges, fees and billings shall
be assessed against the owner of the service unit any other agreement
between the owner and occupants notwithstanding.
Utility services shall not be provided by the
City to any user unless the appropriate tap fees and other charges
for access to City utility service lines have been paid in full in
the amount specified in the annual budget resolution. Tap fees shall
not be transferable from one utility account to another.
All utility services shall be metered and each
utility service unit shall have individual meters, taps, service lines,
valving and related components. When a multi-unit utility service
unit is supplied by a single tap or connection each subunit shall
have a separate meter, valving and related components as prescribed
by the City engineer.
Utility services and connections made solely
for the purpose of fire protection shall not be assessed a tap fee.
The governing body may, in its sole discretion, waive tap fees for
a limited period of time for a class of users to promote a governmental
purpose by the enactment of a resolution describing the governmental
purpose and setting forth the period of time in which the tap fee
would be waived for the designated class of users.
Any user wishing to voluntarily discontinue
delivery of a utility service permanently or temporarily shall notify
the City treasurer in writing or in person at least five days in advance
of the date of requested discontinuance. Upon receipt of a request
for discontinuance, the City shall terminate service.
Applications for tap connections shall be made
to the City upon forms specified by the City at least forty-eight
hours in advance. The application for authorization to tap or connect
to a utility service shall contain the legal description, working
plans and expected cost of the connection, the length, size and other
dimensions of the project together with other information required
by the City engineer. The application shall contain a statement holding
the City harmless against any liability resulting from the installation
of the taps or connections and waiving all claims for damages against
the City. All fees and charges must accompany the application.
It shall be unlawful for any user or person
without prior approval or supervision by the City engineer to excavate,
tap, connect, repair, install or otherwise obstruct or disturb any
utility service lines.
In the event a user does not tap into or connect
with a utility service line within a six-month period after the payment
or acquisition of a tap fee and upon written application for a refund,
the director of public works may authorize a refund not to exceed
seventy-five percent of the fee paid.
A.
Any user who fails, refuses or neglects to pay delinquent
utility charges, fees or penalties within sixty days of the due date
shall have the utility service terminated by the director of public
works upon notification from the City treasurer that the utility account
is delinquent. The delinquency shall be subject to collection by the
City in an action brought by the City attorney in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
B.
The director of public works, upon notification that
a utility account is delinquent, shall terminate service to the service
unit within twenty-four hours of such notification.
C.
If situations where two or more users are supplied
from the same service, a delinquency of payment by any single user
shall lead to a termination of service for all.
When an account becomes delinquent and subject
to termination for nonpayment or other causes, the City treasurer
shall notify the user by first-class mail at said user's last known
address, of the City's intent to terminate utility service at least
ten days prior to the date of such termination.
The City will continue to provide utility services after the date for termination if, during the ten-day period specified in Section 23-15, the user makes payment of the delinquent charges in accordance with the policy set by the governing body in its annual budget resolution.
A user with a delinquent utility account at
one certain unit shall not be allowed to open another utility account
unless the delinquency of another account is first satisfied by payment
in full.
The director of public works is authorized to
terminate, disconnect or interrupt a utility service for:
A.
Failure to conform to any applicable federal, state
or local laws or regulations related to utility services;
B.
Wilful damage or molestation of a utility service
line or component;
C.
Theft or diversion of a utility service or component;
D.
Vacancy or abandonment of a utility service unit;
E.
Failure of a user to install a meter or other required
devices or meet prescribed specifications of installation;
F.
Failure to allow access to a service unit during reasonable
hours;
G.
Failure to correct damage, leaks or other malfunctions
for which the user is responsible;
H.
Repairs, testing, construction or maintenance;
I.
Obstructions of any type which prevent or make it
impracticable to obtain meter readings or undertake repairs and maintenance;
J.
Any other reasons prescribed by this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any user or unauthorized
person to turn on a utility service when the service has been terminated.
A.
Prior to initiation of restoration of any utility
service terminated for delinquency or terminated at the request of
the user, the user shall be subject to and shall have paid the restoration
or service fees and required deposit in the amount specified in the
annual budget resolution.
B.
When a utility service is terminated by the City for
reasons stemming from nonpayment or delinquencies, the fees established
by the annual budget resolution for restoring service as well as all
delinquent charges shall be assessed to and paid in full by the respective
user prior to restoration of service by the City.
For purposes of this chapter, each service unit
shall be defined as being in the status of "on" or "off". If the curb
box valving is set so that utility services are not being delivered,
the service shall be considered in an "off" status and no fees or
charges shall be assessed to the service unit of user, except for
penalty charges for late payments. If the curb box valving is set
so that utility services are being delivered, the service shall be
considered in an "on" status and a rate based upon usage or upon flat
fee together with the basic capital replacement fee shall be assessed
to the service unit. It shall be the responsibility of the director
of public works to advise the City treasurer as to the "on" or "off"
status of each service unit. If any service is in an "on" position
any portion of a month, it will be considered on for the entire month
for purposes of billing the capital replacement fee.
Each single-family residential, commercial and industrial service unit shall be assessed a fixed capital replacement fee under the conditions set forth in Section 23-20 and at such a rate as specified in the annual budget resolution of the City. Multifamily residential dwellings, hotels, motels, and mobile homes (including mobile home parks and courts) service units shall be assessed a fixed capital replacement fee as specified in the annual budget resolution of the City.
Users receiving utility services which are unmetered
shall be billed by the City treasurer on a flat-rate basis as specified
by the annual budget resolution in the same manner as all other users.
Deposits shall serve as a guarantee for proper
and timely payment of utility account by users and may be applied
against any outstanding balance owed to the City at the time the account
is closed. For the purpose of encouraging prompt and routine payment
by users of utility services, the City treasurer shall require a deposit
in the amount specified by the annual budget resolution when:
A.
Establishing a new utility account or reopening a
lapsed nondelinquent utility account;
B.
A user's utility account has been delinquent in payment for utility services, and the user has failed to make payment as required by Section 23-15.1;
C.
A utility account is restored or reactivated after
a termination of utility services for reasons related to nonpayment
or delinquencies;
D.
Upon application by a user with an account registering
twelve months in good standing the City treasurer may refund the account
security deposit without interest, or may apply the deposit towards
the current utility charges. A user with a record of twelve months
of good standing account shall not be required to make an account
deposit.
Deposits shall be returned to the last known
address of the user, after deduction of any outstanding payments due
the City, within forty-five days after the utility account is closed.
Any deposit not claimed by the user within one year after the utility
account is closed shall become the property of the City.
In instances where a meter is malfunctioning
or does not correctly measure consumption or when an authorized person
designated by the director of public works is unable to obtain a correct
reading the City treasurer shall compute charges as follows:
A.
Residential users shall be billed an amount based
on the average City-wide residential consumption as calculated from
the most recent three months' readings;
B.
Nonresidential users shall be billed an amount based
on the user's average consumption for the most recent three months'
readings;
C.
In all other cases the user shall be billed an amount
based upon an estimate computed from average consumption for a like
service unit.
A.
In the event a user discovers or has evidence of a
prospective error or has questions related to the fees or charges
assessed to a utility account, it shall be the responsibility of the
user to advise the City as soon as possible.
B.
In those instances where the error or adjustment is
not greater than five hundred dollars, the City treasurer is authorized
to make adjustments or corrections to any utility account rendered
in error or which is otherwise incorrect, or the City treasurer may
refer the matter to the public service board for resolution.
C.
Adjustments in an amount greater than five hundred
dollars but not more than one thousand five hundred dollars may be
authorized by the chief executive, or the chief executive may refer
the matter to the public service board for resolution.
D.
Adjustments in an amount greater than one thousand
five hundred dollars may be granted by the public service board. No
adjustment by the chief executive or public service board shall be
made unless the user has provided fifteen days' advance notice of
error to the City treasurer or advised the director of public works
by proper notice of malfunctioning service.
E.
Upon request, the governing body of the City shall
have the authority to review, confirm, reverse or modify any decision
of the public service board.
Upon receipt of notice of intended foreclosure
of a utility service unit and a delinquency exists, the City treasurer
shall advise the director of public works to terminate service immediately
and make such arrangements with the City attorney to collect any delinquent
or past due amounts.
A.
Any user sixty-five years of age or greater who owns
or dwells in a residential service unit and makes payment of utility
account charges and fees is entitled to a monthly credit of twenty-five
percent of the gross monthly utility service charge.
B.
Each user shall first make application in person for
credit on forms prescribed by the City treasurer no later than June
30th of each year. In making application the user shall present proof
of age and attest that the credit is applicable only to the user's
principal place of residence.
C.
The credit shall not be granted to any user for commercial
or business purposes and only one credit for each eligible user shall
be allowed.
As a condition to a closing settlement with
respect to the sale or exchange of real property by the user receiving
utility services, the closing agent shall inquire of the City treasurer
if any outstanding balances or delinquencies exist with regard to
the utility account and accordingly provide for payment of the due
amounts as part of the closing settlement.
Where service is a multi-unit residential or
a multi-unit commercial service unit, each service subunit shall be
represented by a meter and on/off valving and each subunit shall be
considered for billing purposes as a separate utility account, whether
billed collectively or to each subunit separately and shall be billed
at the subunit rate in the amount specified by the annual budget resolution.
No person other than an authorized City employee,
agent or contractor operating with the approval of the City engineer
or under the supervision of the director of public works shall make
any connection or terminate service to any service unit.
In cases where service is to be temporarily
interrupted to allow for repairs, replacement, testing, cleaning or
adjustment, users served shall be given at least a two-day advance
notification. If the service interruption stems from an emergency
or unanticipated disruption, users shall be given as much advance
notice as possible by the director of public works.
All tap connections shall be made by or performed
under the supervision of and inspected by the director of public works.
The City shall not provide utility services
or allow any service connections unless the meter, curb boxes, connections,
lines, valving and all components conform to the Uniform Plumbing
Code or standards established by the City engineer. Meter, curb boxes,
valving, connections and other accessors shall be accessible to and
located as specified by the City engineer and shall remain the property
of the City.
All materials utilized in the construction,
maintenance and repair of utility service lines shall meet the specifications
established by the City engineer and they shall be constructed as
required by the Uniform Plumbing Code. All meters shall be furnished
and installed by or under the supervision of the director of public
works.
A.
The City engineer shall specify those connections
to the utility service which will be required to install an approved
backflow or back siphonage prevention device.
B.
Utility lines shall be protected against damage and
freezing during construction or repair and planking maintained over
the trench excavation and crosswalks or sidewalks provided that proper
warning lights and protective barriers shall be installed as specified
by the City engineer.
C.
Upon completion of construction or repair of any utility
service lines requiring excavation, the excavation shall be backfilled
and compacted as specified by the City engineer.
It shall be the responsibility of the user to
notify the director of public works of any damage or malfunctioning
of a meter, valving or other components supporting utility services
to a service unit.
Unless a meter valving or other components are
found to be malfunctioning, they shall be presumed correct and the
quantity recorded conclusive and binding upon the user and the City.
Upon receipt of an inquiry-or complaint that
a meter or other component of the utility service system is malfunctioning
or the quantities recorded are incorrect, the director of public works
shall take immediate steps to verify that a problem exists and determine
if the responsibility rests with the City for repair or with the user.
In the event the user is responsible, the director of public works
shall advise the user of the needed repairs and the time limits in
which they shall be made. When a calibration of the meter is deemed
correct by the director of public works the user shall be assessed
a service charge in the amount established by the annual budget resolution.
A.
All users of utility services are prohibited from
supplying utility services to others or allowing any other person
to take water from the user without the prior authorization of the
director of public works.
B.
No user of utility services shall have a cross-connection
between a private line carrying well water and a line carrying from
a City utility service without the prior approval of the City engineer.
C.
No user or any other person, unless authorized by
the director of public works, shall use a key or wrench to a curb
box, control valve, fire hydrant or any other device which is part
of the City's utility system.
D.
No user or any other person shall interface, damage,
obstruct or in any way molest any utility service line or associated
apparatus. Sec. 23-41. Right of access.
The director of public works, chief of police,
fire chief, any authorized City employee, or bona fide volunteer under
their supervision shall have the right to enter with full and free
access, during reasonable hours, any service unit premises or facility
receiving utility services, for the purpose of inspection, repair
and compliance with applicable City ordinances.
When entering any utility service premises,
the employee of the City shall present his or her official City identification
card when requested by the occupant.
The users of utility services shall be responsible
for the maintenance, repairs of service connections and devices from
the curb box to the utility unit. Users of utility services, at their
own expense, shall be responsible for maintenance and repair of all
service piping, connectors, meters, valves and other associated components
when the repairs and maintenance are the result of negligence or misuse
by the owner or occupant. Users shall keep all utility service components
in good repair and proper working order. Users shall likewise protect
the utility service from obstructions, frost and freezing and other
damage. Unless authorized by the City council, no claim shall be allowed
against the City for damages or repairs of service lines, connectors,
meters, valves and associated apparatus.
The City shall be responsible for the maintenance
and repair of service connections and devices to and including the
curb box. In the case of a wastewater utility service the user shall
be responsible for the maintenance and repairs from the service unit
to the wastewater main line. The City shall be responsible for the
maintenance and repair of the wastewater main line.
Utility service units operating a steam boiler
or other hot water heat systems requiring City utility services shall
have a reserve tank approved by the director of public works containing
an adequate supply of water to support the boiler system during a
termination of utility services.
The City shall not be liable for any damage
to a utility service unit or any user arising from backflows, failure
of supply, interruption of service or any other incident beyond the
reasonable control of the City.
The director of public works shall test the
water utility supply at least monthly and submit samples to the state
or other approved laboratory for bacteriology and other examinations
and to maintain the water utility supply at acceptable levels of purity
and potability.
It shall be unlawful for any user or other person
to:
A.
Pollute, poison, contaminate or add any substance,
chemical or material to the City's utility service system or to any
well reservoir or water supply source or otherwise obstruct, damage
a utility service line;
B.
Install fixtures, meters, connections or other devices
unless such devices meet the standard specifications set by the City
engineer and for which all fees and charges have been paid in advance;
C.
Drill or tap a well for the production of water within
the corporate boundaries of the City.
The City council may extend utility services
to designated service areas beyond the corporate boundaries of the
City. Before the City council authorizes any extension of utility
services, it shall find one or more of the following:
A.
That the extension of the utility service is economically
feasible;
B.
That the extension can be accomplished within twenty-four
months;
C.
That the extended service area is compatible to and
conforms to the specifications of the City's utility service components;
D.
That the extended service area can reasonably be expected
to be annexed to the City;
E.
That the extension would assist in the orderly growth
and development of the City;
F.
That the extension will promote the health, safety
and welfare of the inhabitants of the City;
G.
That the extension would promote ecological, environmental
and aesthetic considerations to the benefit of the City;
H.
That the extension will not overload or in any way
degrade the present level of utility services to users within the
corporate limits of the City;
I.
That the extension is otherwise in the best interests
of the inhabitants of the City;
J.
That the extended service area conforms to the comprehensive
land plan.
Fees for the delivery or provision of any utility
service to a designated service area beyond the corporate boundaries
of the City shall be billed by the City treasurer in the amounts specified
in the annual budget resolution.
A.
The chief executive shall have the authority to declare
a water shortage for the City, and shall be authorized to establish
and enforce any water restrictions which are necessary to protect
the public's health and welfare.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any user or person to knowingly
or intentionally irrigate during any period during which water is
required by the City to prevent, suppress or combat a fire.
