The sanitary sewer service charge system and Sanitary Sewer Service Fund shall be administrated according to the following provisions.
(A) (1) The city shall maintain a proper system of accounts suitable for determining the operation and maintenance, equipment replacement and debt retirement costs of the sanitary sewer system and shall furnish the City Council with a report of such costs annually.
(2) The City Council shall annually determine whether or not sufficient revenue is being generated for the effective operation, maintenance, replacement and management of the treatment works and whether sufficient revenue is being generated for debt retirement. The Council will also determine whether the user charges are distributed proportionately to each user.
(3) The city shall thereafter, but not later than the end of the year, reassess and as necessary revise the sanitary sewer service charge system then in use to insure the proportionality of the user charges and to insure the sufficiency of funds to maintain the capacity and performance to which the facilities were constructed and to retire the construction debt.
(B) In accordance with federal and state requirements each user will be notified annually in conjunction with a regular billing of that portion of the sanitary sewer service charge attributable to operation, maintenance, and replacement.
(C) In accordance with federal and state requirements, the city shall be responsible for maintaining all records necessary to document compliance with the sewer service charge system adopted.
(D) Water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and street light utility charges shall be billed on one bill as applicable to each account. All charges shall be due upon receipt and considered delinquent after the 15th day of the month. All bills shall contain the title, address, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing; the title, address and phone number shall be clearly visible and easily readable. Bills shall be mailed to the customers on or before the fifth day of each month and specify the water consumed, sanitary sewer charges, storm sewer charges, and street light utility charges in accordance with the current fee schedule set by ordinance of the City Council.
(E) All accounts shall be carried in the name of the owner who personally, or by his or her authorized agent, applied for such service. The property owner shall be liable for all utility services supplied to the property by the city, whether he or she is occupying the property or not, and any unpaid charges shall be a lien upon the property.
(F) Any additional costs caused by discharges to the treatment works of toxics or other incompatible wastes, including the cost of restoring wastewater treatment services, clean up and restoration of the receiving waters and environs and sludge disposal shall be borne by the discharger(s) of the wastes at no expense to the city.
(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)