The city hereby establishes a natural gas service charge system whereby:
(A) All revenue collected from consumers of the natural gas utility will be used to defray all expenditures incurred for purchase and transportation of natural gas, annual system operation, maintenance, and replacement and for debt service on capital expenditure incurred in constructing natural gas facilities;
(B) Each consumer and/or property owner, where a meter has been installed, shall pay his or her proportionate share of operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of the natural gas utility based and total annual costs of operating and maintaining the utility;
(C) Each consumer shall pay debt service charges to retire capital costs for initial construction of the utility;
(D) Service rates and charges to consumers of the natural gas utility shall be determined using a budget-based formula found in the appendix to the ordinance establishing natural gas service rates. Subsequent changes in natural gas service rates shall be adopted in an annual ordinance establishing rates and fees and published in the local newspaper; and
(E) Natural gas service charges will be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)