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(A) User classes.
(1) Users of the city wastewater treatment works shall be identified as belonging to one of the following user classes:
(a) Residential/commercial/institutional; or
(b) Significant industrial user (SIU).
(2) The allocation of users to these categories for the purpose of assessing user charges and debt service charges shall be the responsibility of the Director of Finance and City Administrator. Allocation of users to user classes shall be based on the substantive intent of the definitions of these classes contained herein.
(B) Operation, maintenance, debt service, capital equipment, and replacement costs. The user shall pay operation, maintenance, and replacement costs in proportion to the user's proportionate contribution of wastewater flows and loadings to the treatment plant. The Director of Finance will recommend sanitary sewer base rates and flow rates on an annual basis to City Council giving consideration to the Sanitary Sewer Fund's operating, capital, debt service, and forecasted capital improvement plan. The Sanitary Sewer Fund is to be entirely self-supporting through the payment of base rates and flow rates. Base rates will cover all capital costs, debt service, and forecasted capital improvement plan. Flow rates will be set to recover annual operating costs for the sanitary sewer system.
(C) User charges for normal domestic strength users. Calculating billable flows and loadings.
(1) The billable amount of flow will be calculated from the volume of metered water usage. The monthly billable flow shall be equal to monthly metered water usage rounded to the nearest 1,000 gallon mark.
(2) For users discharging NDSW but not connected to the city water system, the billable amount of flow will be calculated from the volume of their well's metered water usage or, at the discretion of the city, from the measurement of effluent flow at the user's point of discharge. Measurements shall be according to a regular program prescribed by the city. The city may require a flow meter to be installed to measure the sanitary sewer flow for accurate billing.
(D) Meters. The city may, at its discretion, require nonresidential users to install wastewater flow meters or such additional water meters as may be necessary to determine wastewater volume. The city may require residential connections to install water meters for the purpose of determining wastewater volume. When so required, such meters shall be of a type approved by the city, equipped with remote registering recorders and located at an accessible site on the owner's property.
(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)
The city has established a "Sanitary Sewer Enterprise Fund" as a fund to receive all revenues generated by the sanitary sewer service charge system and all other income dedicated to the operation, maintenance, replacement, debt service, capital, and construction of the wastewater treatment works, including taxes, special charges, fees and assessments intended to retire construction debt. All Sanitary Sewer Enterprise Fund accounts shall be established in accordance Minnesota Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards as published by the Office of State Auditor.
(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)
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)
(A) Penalties. A late payment penalty of 5%, with a minimum of $5, shall be assessed on all accounts with a past due balance.
(B) Shut-off for nonpayment. Water/sewer shall be shut-off after a notice of intent to shut-off has been mailed by first class mail and an opportunity for a hearing before the City Council or an employee designated by the City Council have provided to the occupant and owner of the premises involved.
(1) If any bill is not paid by the due date listed on the bill, a second notice stating the balance due will be mailed by first class mail and shall state that if payment is not made within ten days of the mailing of the second bill, water/sewer service to the premises will be shut off for nonpayment.
(2) The second notice (shut-off notice) must 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.
(3) The notice shall also state that the any occupant or owner has the right to a hearing before the water/sewer service is shut off. The owner or occupant may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing. The owner or occupant may present orally or in writing his or her complaint to the city official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order continuation of the customer's service and shall have the authority to adjust the customer's bill or enter into a mutually agreeable payment plan.
(4) If an occupant or owner requests a hearing, the water/sewer shall not be shut off until the hearing process is complete.
(5) If a customer fails to pay and fails to request a hearing under this part, service will be shut off at the time specified in the notice but not until the charges have reached $200.
(6) If the customer's water/sewer is shut off by the city and is turned back on by anyone other than a city employee without paying the utility bill in full, they will be fined $500 per occurrence. This fine if not paid will be certified for collection with taxes. This matter can also be referred to the city's prosecuting authority for criminal charges for tampering with a municipal sanitary sewer system.
(C) Certification for collection with taxes.
(1) Unpaid charges on sewer accounts shall not be certified to the County Auditor until notice and an opportunity for a hearing have been provided to the owner of the premises involved. The notice shall be sent by first class mail and shall state that if payment is not made before the date for certification, the entire amount unpaid plus penalties will be certified to the County Auditor for collection as other taxes are collected. The notice shall also state that the occupant may, before such certification date, attend or schedule a hearing on the matter to object to certification of unpaid utility charges.
(2) In addition to any penalties provided for in this subchapter if any person, firm, or corporation fails to comply with any provision or this subchapter, the Council or any city official designated by it, may institute appropriate proceedings at law or at equity to procure payment.
(3) The city will have a maximum of 12 certification cycles per year. Certifications will be scheduled and heard at the Council meeting which occurs on the third Monday of each month. All city utility accounts, unless payment arrangements have been made with the city or exempt for other legal reason, which are delinquent and remain unpaid as of the certification cut-off date shall have the balance on the account included in the preliminary certification list.
(D) Optional payment before certification. The owner of the property shall have the option of paying the balance due on the account until the date the notice of the certification hearing is mailed. After the date the notice of certification hearing is mailed, payments will still be accepted but will include unpaid penalties.
(E) Hearing required. A hearing shall be held on the matter by the City Council. Property owners with unpaid utility charges shall have the opportunity to object to the certification of unpaid charges to be collected as taxes are collected. If, after the hearing, the City Council finds that the amounts claimed as delinquent are actually due and unpaid and that there is no legal reason why the unpaid charges should not be certified for collection with taxes in accordance with this subchapter, the city may certify the unpaid charges to the County Auditor for collection as other taxes are collected.
(1) Hearing options. For each certification sustained, the property owner shall have the following options after the hearing:
(a) To pay the delinquent amount listed on the preliminary roll prior to the certification being delivered to the county for inclusion on the tax rolls; and
(b) To pay the certified charges as billed to them by Isanti County on their property tax statement with a collection term of one year.
(2) Delivery to county. Prior to December 1 of each year the certified roll, minus any payments, shall be delivered to Isanti County.
(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)
ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
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