For the purpose of providing for the cost of the management, maintenance, operation, repair and capital improvement development of the City of Bellefontaine Sanitation Sewer System, the following rates are hereby established for services provided, commencing with all billings, beginning July 1, 2021:
(a) (1) Resident. The charge for sanitation sewer service to any residential home or commercial or industrial consumption within the City of Bellefontaine shall be, unless otherwise provided herein, as follows:
CHARGE | |
OPERATIONS/ADMINISTRATIVE FEE | $16.00 |
GALLONS PER MONTH | BEGINNING JULY 1, 2021 through DECEMBER 31, 2021 |
0-2,000 | $2.00 PER 1,000 GALLONS |
OVER 2,001 GALLONS | $2.60 PER 1,000 GALLONS |
BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2022 | |
CONSUMPTION CHARGE | $3.00 PER 1,000 GALLONS |
(2) All charges for sanitation sewer for residential, commercial or industrial purposes shall be billed and paid monthly. All bills not paid during the month when due and payable shall be subject to a ten percent (10%) penalty. When Council has authorized the City to provide Sanitation Sewer service outside the corporate limits of the City, the City shall furnish service to all authorized properties at the two times the rate set forth in subsection (a) hereof.
(3) A ten percent (10%) additional charge shall be made upon those customers utilizing a lift station.
(b) To ensure adequate funding for future operations, an annual evaluation of sanitation sewer rates is to be made by May 1st of each calendar year by members of Utilities Committee of the City Council, the Administration, the Utilities Superintendent and the City Auditor. This provision is subject to review of current and projected revenue needs and to allow for funding of infrastructure maintenance, development and capital improvements.
(Ord. 21-30. Passed 6-8-21.)
(c) The sewage rate for a single meter covering several units shall be computed by dividing the number of units into the number of gallons used to obtain the average rate per unit. The average rate per unit shall then be multiplied by the number of units, resulting in the rate to be paid.
(d) When there is a connection made to the City Sanitation Sewer System and there is not a Water Connection for the same service address, non-payment of charges may result in the following once an account is more than 120 days past due with those provisions under Ohio Revised Code 6117.02:
(1) Certify the unpaid rates or charges, together with any penalties, to the county auditor, who shall place them upon the real property tax list and duplicate against the property served by the connection. The certified amount shall be a lien on the property from the date placed on the real property tax list and duplicate and shall be collected in the same manner as taxes, except that, notwithstanding section 323.15 of the Revised Code, a county treasurer shall accept a payment in that amount when separately tendered as payment for the full amount of the unpaid sanitary rates or charges and associated penalties. The lien shall be released immediately upon payment in full of the certified amount.
(2) Collect the unpaid rates or charges, together with any penalties, by actions at law in the name of the county and/or city from an owner, tenant, or other person or public agency that is liable for the payment of the rates or charges;
(3) Terminate, in accordance with established rules, the sanitary service to the particular property and, if so determined, any county and/or city water service to that property, unless and until the unpaid sanitary rates or charges, together with any penalties, are paid in full;
(4) Apply, to the extent required, any security deposit made in accordance with established rules to the payment of sanitary rates and charges for service to the particular property.
(e) Surcharges.
(1) The following terms as used in Section 925.01
shall have the meanings ascribed to them as shown below:
A. "Normal sewage" means sewage which when analyzed shows by weight a daily average of not more than 300 parts per million of suspended solids, and not more than 250 parts per million of BOD, and not more than 20 parts per million of ammonia.
B. "Suspended solids" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage, or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
C. "BOD" (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter, under standard laboratory procedures, in five days at twenty degrees Centigrade, expressed in parts per million by weight.
D. Ammonia means a chemical combination of hydrogen (H) and nitrogen (N) occurring extensively in nature. The combination used in wastewater is expressed as NH3.
(2) Sewage or industrial wastes above normal sewage strength but acceptable for discharge into the sanitary sewage system shall be subject to a monthly surcharge. The surcharge shall be determined on the basis of either or each of the three constituents of the water or wastes:
A. Total suspended solids, and/or
B. Five-day BOD at twenty degrees Centigrade and/or
C. Ammonia and as herein provided.
(3) When the total suspended solids, BOD or ammonia of a water or waste accepted for admission to the system exceeds the values of these constituents for normal sewage, the excess concentration in either or any as the case may be, shall be subject to a surcharge as follows:
A. Pounds* of excess suspended solids per day x $0.10 per pound = SS surcharge.
B. Pounds* of excess BOD per day x $0.10 per pound = BOD surcharge.
C. Pounds* of excess ammonia per day x $0.25 per pound = ammonia surcharge.
(*The flow figure used for this determination will be either a metered wastewater flow, a metered water usage or an agreed upon constant.)
(4) In addition to the surcharge, the service charge on all industrial wastes discharged to the sewage system for sewage treatment service by the City shall be the charge specified in the current City ordinance pertaining to sewer service charges of the City. In addition, all industrial users shall pay all applicable surcharges and penalties as stated and defined in this chapter. Failure to pay these charges shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
(5) The pounds of BOD per day and/or pounds of suspended solids and/or pounds of ammonia per day above the concentrations previously described for normal strength sewage that are discharged to the sewage system shall be determined by the City or its authorized representative.
(Ord. 16-56. Passed 11-7-16.)