(a) New Water Services.
(1) All requests for new water service(s) shall be made on an approved form provided by the Village Utility Department and submitted to the Village Administrator or his Designee. Said form must be signed by the property owner or "authorized agent”, who shall agree to be responsible for the payment of water rents and to adhere to the regulations ofthe Village of Bradford.
(2) Such form shall be accompanied by the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the tap fee. For connections located outside the village the tap fee cost will be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
(b) Existing Services. When water has been turned off and turned on to a property for reasons of nonpayment, or for other violations of village rules, the owner of said property, or his "authorized agent", shall pay any and all delinquencies as determined by the Administrator, shall correct all violations, and pay a charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per turn on and per turn off or seventy-five dollars ($75.00) per turn on and turn off during after work hours or on weekend or holidays before service will be restored.
(c) Responsibilities. The Village shall make all taps at the mains and extend line to curbs. The village shall also be responsible for maintaining all taps and lines from the tap to the curb cock, and shall furnish a meter at a cost of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per meter (residential meter fee; larger meters will be billed accordingly). The village will also maintain and repair all meters, except when damage has occurred due to freezing or neglect. In this event the total cost of repair will be billed to the property owner (time at $25.00/hr per employee, plus the cost of materials). The property owner shall install, furnish and keep in repair the service line from the curb cock to the building, said service line to run directly to or through the meter, depending on the location of the building being served. This line shall be installed in a manner approved by the Village Administrator.
(d) Meter Testing. The Utilities Department, on its own initiative may test and correct any meter which, in its judgment, is registering incorrectly, with or without consent of the owner. The Village shall not be responsible for damage to pipes or valves occurring during removal or installation of meters, where such damage is due to old or faulty plumbing. Upon request from an owner, or his "authorized agent", and owner's agreement to pay for a test charge, the Utility Department will remove residential meters (5/8 inch to 2 inch) and ship to private shop for test. Upon completion of test, the owner or authorized agent will be responsible for the following: 1) If meter registers over 102% (considered unusable), then the Village will cover all costs and refund any overage determined to have occurred and replace such meter; 2) If meter registers under 96.5% (considered unusable), then the owner or authorized agent will pay for the meter test and all charges associated with said test and the village will replace the meter; 3) If meter registers between 102% and 96.5% (determined functional) owner or authorized agent will pay all charges associated with the meter test and a charge of $25.00/hr/employee for the labor to remove meter for testing. For all other meters, a fee equal to the cost of removing and testing of the meter will apply as to the above procedure.
(e) Accounting Practice and Procedure.
(1) A bill for water and/or sewer service will be issued for each billing period during which the curb stop in the service branch is listed in the records of the Utility Department as being in the "on" or "open" position. The charge will normally be determined from the difference between two consecutive meter readings. When, for any reason, a meter reading has not been obtained, the charge may be "estimated" from quantities of water used during previous periods.
(2) The Village of Bradford shall give proper notice of water and/or sewer service charges, but by law cannot guarantee delivery of mail. Failure to receive notice shall not excuse customers from prompt payment of bills.
(3) It shall be the established policy of the Village, to accept only total and complete payments for charges billed unless otherwise determined by Administrator. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to maintain their piping and plumbing fixtures in good repair and only one adjustment will be granted during a twelve month period. The leak adjustment will be calculated by using past usage and will only be adjusted for leaks that register on the meter. Owner shall be responsible for water used on their premises; but payment will be accepted from an "authorized agent". If the "authorized agent" does not pay in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Utility Department, Village of Bradford, water will not be supplied to the property. All unpaid accounts for water and/or sewer service shall be liens against the property served. The authority of the municipality to discontinue or to refuse water service when water and/or sewer charges are delinquent has been upheld by the Courts of Ohio. This authority may be exercised even though payments of both accounts are not normally received from the source.
(f) Right to Enter Premise. The Village of Bradford reserves the right for its employees or authorized agents to enter, at all reasonable hours, the premises to which its service extends, for the purpose of reading, repairing, installing, removing, and/or inspecting water meters, or for any purpose which it may deem necessary to properly safeguard the interests of the Village and the consumer.
(1) When such access is refused, the service shall be immediately discontinued and not continued again until the request of the Village has been complied with, and an "off and on" charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for after hours, weekends or holidays has been paid, for service within the Village for service outside the Village. The Village may require the meter to be relocated in an approved location at such location as the Village directs, at the expense of the property owner.
(2) In case of emergency there will be no "Off and On" fees charged. Such emergency shall be determined by the Village Administrator, or authorized agent. In the event the emergency was caused by the lack of or a malfunctioning shut valve located directly after the meter, reconnection of water service will not be established until such valve is replaced or fixed. Decisions may be appealed to Village Council by submitting in writing the events that occurred along with any additional information related to the occurrence. This request must be submitted to the Clerk's office no later than 10 days following the event.
(g) Meter Reading.
(1) The reading of meters by the Village will be conducted during the months of February, May, August, November between the 15th thru the 20th, unless circumstances prevent this from occurring; and, if so, the water readings will be completed as soon as possible or the water readings for the quarter will be estimated. The estimated charge will be based on the prior quarter consumption.
(2) Readings will be collected by village employees by the use of a hand held touch read system. Once contact is made by the hand held device to a touch read pad attached to each individual residence, a reading is sent and stored in the hand held device. The device is then connected to a computer system and the reading is used to automatically calculate the utility charges.
(h) Leaking or Damaged Services. If any service is found to be leaking, out of order, or used for any purpose other than for which it was intended, the supply will be cut off without any prior notice. Should any meter become inoperative or damaged from any cause, the same shall be reported to the Administrator or Utility Department immediately.
(i) Waste of Water.
(1) There shall be no waste of water, either to prevent freezing in the winter or to lower the temperature in the summer; this is strictly prohibited.
(2) Persons violating this rule will be promptly turned off and will not be serviced again, except upon payment of a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) or seventy-five dollar ($75.00) for after-hours, weekends or holidays turn on and turn off fees. The Village reserves the right to decide what shall be considered a waste or proper use thereof, as it deems necessary.
(j) No Supply of Water. No owner or authorized agent of any premises supplied with water will be permitted to supply water to other persons or property through pipes or otherwise. Each separate property must have its own service line and individual curb cock.
(k) Double Service. No double service will be permitted unless by special action of the council when one or more parties is supplied with water from one service pipe, and upon the failure of any one of said parties to pay the assessment when due, the water shall be turned off at
the curb cock.
(l) Property Owner of "Authorized Agent" Discontinuing Service. Any property owner or "authorized agent" wishing to discontinue the use of water on his premises must have completed a disconnection/connection form either by obtaining one at the Utility Office or by calling a request in. The regular charge will apply until such notice has been given.
(m) Service of Delinquents. When water is turned off due to a "Delinquent Bill", it will not be turned on again until all delinquent charges have been paid, together with an "Off and On" charge of twenty-five ($25.00) dollars for services or seventy-five ($75.00) dollars for after-hours, weekends or holidays.
(n) Check Valves. All boilers connected with the service pipes, must have suitable check valves, to prevent accidents from collapse or damage in case the water is suddenly drawn off the main pipes.
(o) No Claims Against the Village. It is expressly stipulated by the Village of Bradford, that no claim shall be brought against the Village, for damages by reason of bursting or breaking of any pipes or fixtures, within the limits of private property, or the interruption of the supply caused by the breakage of machinery or stoppage for necessary repairs, alterations of extensions, or shortage of water from any cause.
(p) Rebate for Leaks. One time each year a leak adjustment will be allowed and no additional adjustments will be approved from 12 months from the date of adjustment. The adjustment will be calculated based on the average usage determined by the past three readings prior to the leak. The average usage will then be subtracted from the reading taken after the leak was repaired. Full charges will be calculated on the averaged amount (water and sewer fees) and only the water overage charges will be calculated on the leak amount. The two charges will then be added together to make the total amount due. No leak adjustment will be completed until leak is repaired.
(q) Independent Fire Lines and Sprinkling Systems. Special independent fire lines and day sprinkling systems will be permitted upon application; all cost must be borne by the user. A suitable and proper sized meter acceptable to and approved by the Village shall be furnished at the applicant's expense. Complete plans of the system must be provided to and approved by the Village.
(r) Water Sales to Casual Users. The Village may sell water to casual users at the rate of fifty dollars ($50.00) per load plus an additional charge of five dollars ($5.00) per thousand gallons. The user must secure written permission from the Village Administrator. The person, firm, corporation, or organization receiving the water, shall provide the containers, if applicable and pay for the water at time of receipt.
(s) Tampering with Fire Hydrants. No person, other than those duly authorized by the Village, are permitted to open or to, in any manner, tamper with a public fire hydrant. Contractors desiring to use water from a hydrant for any purpose must first receive permission from the Village Administrator, and an employee will be sent to open and close the hydrant, and supervise
the use of water therefrom. Violators of this article will be prosecuted.
(t) Stop Cock Must Be Installed. All service pipes, including replacements for supply, must be supplied or provided with an approved stop cock on the water side of the meter, by the property owners which are easily accessible and are so installed that the water can be shut off and
drained from the pipes and meter.
(u) No Cross Connections. No person, firm, or corporation, shall establish or permit to be established, or maintain or permit to be maintained, any connection whereby a private, auxiliary or emergency water supply other than the regular public water supply of the Village of Bradford, may enter the supply or distributing system of said Village, unless such private, auxiliary or emergency water supply and the method of connection and use of such supply shall have been approved by the Village of Bradford, and approved by the Ohio Department of Health.
(v) Charges for Water Service Disconnection and Connections. A charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be applied to the owner or tenant each time water service is turned on or off during normal business hours. A charge of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) will be applied to the owner or tenant each time water is turned on or off after normal business hours and holidays.
(w) Payment of Former Delinquencies. Any property owner owing a water or sewer bill and moving to other premises where water connections are in use, or shall thereafter be installed, shall, before being permitted to use any water at the new location, pay all delinquencies. Parties buying property have the duty to check and to make sure that all unpaid water or sewer bills are paid, as unpaid water or sewer bills may become a lien on the property, the same as assessments or taxes.
(x) Meter Repaired at Owner's Expense. Meter damage by misuse, frost, or accident or any act of carelessness or negligence will be repaired, or replaced, by the Village at the expense of the consumer, at a charge for the actual cost of repairs or replacement of the meter or any connection thereof.
(y) Payments. Net payments of water, sewer, and refuse charges are due and payable on the tenth day of each month. Payments of utilities can be made at the Covington Savings and Loan Bank branch in Bradford, at the Village Utility office, the lock box located on the south side of City Building and inside the building to the Utility Clerk office (no cash in drop boxes) or by sending payment in the US mail. If net payment date falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or a Holiday, it shall be due on the next open business day. If not paid by the net payment date, a penalty of 10% will be added on all bills. A payment reminder will be sent on or about twentieth of each month. Arrearages not paid by the second Tuesday of each month will result in disconnection and the water shall be turned off without further notice and not turned on again until all amounts due and back rents are paid in full. No deduction will be made for the time the water was off and a payment of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for after-hours, weekends or holidays shall be paid for turning the water on and off again, together with the amount of water rent due.
(z) Reserved Rights of the Village. The Village reserves the right to change the rules, regulations, and rates for the use of water at the Village Council's discretion; to make special rates or contracts when occasion requires; to shut off the water for non-payment of water rents, refusal to comply with orders, rules, and regulations of the Village of Bradford, or for alterations or repairs.
(aa) Removal of Meters. A meter shall be removed by an authorized employee of the Village only. Unauthorized persons removing or tampering with meters may be fined, not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(bb) Severability. Each part of this section is hereby declared to be separate and distinct enactment, and should any subsection be held inoperative or void, it shall not affect the validity of any other subsection or part of subsection.
(cc) General Penalty. Any person, firm, or Corporation violating any of the provisions of this section, or as otherwise so stated herein, upon conviction thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one-hundred dollars ($100.00), and each day that such Violation is not corrected shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(dd) Repealer. All Ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, with the exception of any ordinance pertaining to the issuance of any or all types of bonds.
(ee) Multiple Services.
(1) All multiple apartments, and even if empty or not rented, will be charged the full minimum charges, for each apartment unless individual shut-offs are provided by the landlord/owner.
(2) Individual meters will be provided by the Utility Department of the Village of Bradford, Ohio, (at a cost of $200.00 per meter) for each apartment in multiple apartment buildings, provided that the proper plumbing is installed at the landlord/owner's expense.
(ff) Remote Meters. Installation of remote meters is mandatory in all new construction or where taps are made. Installation of remote meters will be the responsibility of the Village of Bradford; however, once installed any damage by misuse, accident or any act of carelessness or negligence to the remote meter or if remote meter is removed from structure for any reason, a fee of $25.00/hr. will be billed to the property owner for the additional installation.
(Ord. 15-04. Passed 6-11-15.)