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§ 54.51 NATURAL GAS SERVICE FUND.
   (A)   The city hereby establishes a Natural Gas Service Fund.
   (B)   This will be an income fund to receive all revenues generated by the natural gas service charge system and all other income dedicated to the operation, maintenance, replacement, and construction of the natural gas utility including taxes, special charges, fees, and assessments intended to retire construction debt.
   (C)   The city also establishes the following income and expenditure accounts relative to the Natural Gas Service Fund:
      (1)   Operation and Maintenance Account;
      (2)   Equipment Replacement Account; and
      (3)   Debt Service Fund.
   (D)   All revenues generated by the natural gas service charge system, and all other income pertinent to the system including taxes and special assessments dedicated to retire construction debt, shall be held by the Clerk/Treasurer separate and apart from other funds of the city.
   (E)   Revenues generated by the natural gas service charge system sufficient to ensure adequate replacement of system components, shall be held separate and apart in a Capital Equipment Replacement Account.
   (F)   Revenue generated by the natural gas service charge system sufficient for operation and maintenance shall be held separate and apart in the Operation and Maintenance Account.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)
§ 54.52 ADMINISTRATION.
   The natural gas service charge system shall be administered according to the following provisions.
   (A)   (1)   The Clerk/Treasurer shall maintain a proper system of accounts suitable for determining the operation and maintenance, equipment replacement, and debt retirement costs of the natural gas facility and shall furnish the City Council with a report of such costs annually in the city’s financial report.
      (2)   The City Council shall annually determine whether or not sufficient revenue is generated for the effective operation, maintenance, replacement, and management of the natural gas facility and whether sufficient revenue is being generated for debt retirement.
      (3)   The city shall reassess and, as necessary, revise the natural gas service charge system to ensure the proportionality of the consumer charge and to ensure the sufficiency of the funds to maintain the capacity and performance to which the facility was constructed, and to retire the construction debt.
   (B)   The Clerk/Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining all records necessary to document compliance with the natural gas service charge system.
   (C)   Bills for natural gas service shall be issued on a monthly basis succeeding the period for which service was rendered. The Clerk/Treasurer shall compute the amount due to the city from each consumer of the natural gas service and shall mail the consumer a statement of charges as soon as practicable after the end of each period of service. The Clerk/Treasurer shall establish such monthly or other service periods for a consumer as the Clerk/Treasurer deems best. The Clerk/Treasurer shall establish and shall specify in the statement a due date to be uniform as to time allowed for payments for all consumers and to be not less than 15 days after mailing of the statement, upon which all charges then due for municipal natural gas service are to be paid. Amounts owed for municipal gas service shall be due and payable to the Clerk/Treasurer on the due date specified in the statement and shall be paid on or before that date. Any bill not paid in full five days after the due date will be considered delinquent. The penalty shall be computed as 10% of the original bill and shall be increased the same 10% for every month the bill is outstanding.
   (D)   The owner of the premises shall be liable to pay for the service to such premises, and the service is furnished to the premises by the city only upon the condition that the owner of the premises is liable to the city, with the exception of those services established by renters who have prepaid for natural gas service until satisfactory credit history has been established.
   (E)   Volumes of gas used shall be determined on the basis of the meter reading, and billings shall reflect the units of gas utilized. Any error in reading the meter shall not affect the liability for gas used as determined by a correct subsequent reading of the meter. When a meter is not able to be read, the city may estimate the volume of gas used and issue a billing based on such estimate. A meter registering between 3% fast and 3% slow shall be deemed for all purposes to be registering correctly. A meter registering incorrectly shall be replaced by the city at its expense. Periodically, the city may test meters using standard industry practices to determine accuracy. If a consumer requests a meter test and the meter is found to be correct as defined above, the consumer shall pay the applicable meter testing fees.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)
§ 54.53 DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE.
   (A)   The city may discontinue gas service to a consumer as follows.
      (1)   In any case where charges for natural gas service have not been paid within 30 days after the date due, and where satisfactory arrangements have not been made, natural gas services to the premises may be discontinued in accordance with the provisions of this division (A)(1) and of division (A)(2) below. When service has been discontinued, service shall not be restored until all delinquent charges, including reconnection charges, are paid, or arrangements satisfactory to the Clerk/Treasurer are made for their payment.
      (2)   The procedure set forth in this section shall apply to discontinuance of service for non-payment of amounts owed. This shall also be subject to such additional requirements, if any, as are provided by law or by regulation.
      (3)   The Clerk/Treasurer shall cause written notice of intention to discontinue service for non-payments of amounts owed to be served upon the consumer. Mailed notice shall also be given to the owner, if the owner is not the consumer served. The notice shall state that if payment is not received on or before a date stated in the notice, the natural gas service will be discontinued. The date shall be not less than three days after the date upon which the notice is given. The notice shall also state that the person may, before that date, file with the Clerk/Treasurer a demand for hearing on the matter, in which case, service shall not be discontinued, pending decision on the issue at the hearing. If a timely demand is made for a hearing, a hearing at which the applicant for hearing shall be heard shall be held by the City Council not sooner than three days after the date upon which the request is received by the Clerk/Treasurer. If, as a result of the hearing, the City Council finds that there is an unpaid charge and that there is no legal reason why service shall not be discontinued, the City Council may order that service be immediately discontinued.
      (4)   Pursuant to M.S. § 216B.097, as it may be amended from time to time, no service of a residential consumer shall be discontinued if the disconnection affects the primary heat source for the residential unit when the disconnection would occur during the period between October 15 and April 15, the consumer has declared inability to pay on forms provided by the city, the household income of the consumer is less than 185% of the federal poverty level as documented by the consumer to the city, and the consumer’s account is current to billing period immediately prior to October 15 or the consumer has entered into a payment schedule and is reasonably current with payments under the schedule. The Clerk/Treasurer shall, between August 15 and October 15 of each year, notify all residential consumers of these provisions.
   (B)   The procedure for discontinuance of gas service by a consumer is as follows.
      (1)   Volume charges, as set forth in the appendix to the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, may be discontinued by a consumer upon sale or conveyance of property to a new owner (contract for deed arrangements will not be recognized as a property transfer unless recorded with the County Recorder). The new property owner will remain responsible for the base rate.
      (2)   Gas service may be discontinued upon removal of a structure from a property.
      (3)   Discontinuance of gas service by a consumer in any other case shall not terminate a property owner’s responsibility for base rate charges as established in the appendix to the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.
      (4)   Discontinuance of gas service for any other reason shall be made in accordance with requirements set forth in other parts of this code pertaining to discontinuance of service for those reasons.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)
§ 54.54 DELINQUENT CHARGES; LIEN, SUIT, INTEREST.
   The City Council has declared the following.
   (A)   Each and every natural gas service charge levied by and pursuant to § 54.52(D) is hereby made a lien upon the land or premises served, and all such charges which are on December 31 of each year past due and delinquent shall be certified to the County Auditor as taxes or assessments on the real estate. Nothing in this subchapter shall be held or construed as in any way stopping or interfering with the right of the city to levy as taxes or assessments against any premises affected by any delinquent or past due natural gas service charges.
   (B)   As an alternative to levying a lien, the city may, at its discretion, file suit in a civil action to collect such amounts as are delinquent and due against the occupant, owner, or user of the real estate, and shall collect as well all attorney’s fees incurred by the city in filing the civil action. Such attorney’s fees shall be fixed by order of the court.
   (C)   In addition to all penalties and costs attributable and chargeable to recording notices of the lien or filing a civil action, the owner or user of the real estate being serviced by the gas utility shall be liable for interest upon all unpaid balances at the rate of 18% per annum.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)
§ 54.99 PENALTY.
   Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days.
(Ord. passed 12-13-2016)