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(a) Definitions.
Board. The Board of Directors of the Department of Storm Water Management, the membership of which consists of and is coextensive with the members of the Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Carmel, Indiana (“BPW”), pursuant to I. C., 8-1.5-3-3(a)(1).
Council. The Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana.
Department head. A person appointed by the Mayor of the City of Carmel pursuant to I.C., 36-4-9-2.
Effective date. The date upon which this Ordinance is passed and approved.
Fiscal body. Defined for this Ordinance by I.C., 36-1-2-6 and specifically means the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana.
Legislative body. Defined for this Ordinance by I.C., 8-1.5-1-7 and specifically means the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana.
Operations date. That date upon which the Department of Storm Water Management commences providing services to the City and is currently established as November 1, 2014, or upon such other date as the Board directs.
Superintendent. A person appointed by the Board pursuant to I.C., 8-1.5-3-4(a)(3) whose powers and duties are described therein.
(b) The provisions of I.C., 8-1.5-5, as the same may be amended from time to time, are hereby adopted by the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana (“Council”), when referring to the legislative and fiscal body of the City) and are hereby effective and operative within the City.
(c) Pursuant to I.C., 8-1.5-5, a Department of Storm Water Management (“Department”), consisting of a department head recommended by the Mayor and approved by the Board, one or more superintendents appointed by the Board, and designated staff, is hereby created for the purpose of providing for the collection, treatment, drainage, and disposal of storm surface water in the City.
(d) Pursuant to I.C., 8-1.5-3-3(a) BPW shall act as the board of directors for the Department of Storm Water Management (“Board”, when referring to controlling body of the Department of Storm Water Management) and is hereby directed to control the City’s storm water facilities and shall have all of the powers and responsibilities set forth in I.C., 8-1.5-3-4(a) and I.C., 8-1.5-5-6, and as otherwise provided by law or in equity.
(e) Pursuant to I.C., 8-1.5-3-3(a)(1), the membership of the Board shall be coextensive with the membership of the BPW.
(f) Pursuant to I.C., 8-1.5-5, there is hereby created a special taxing district, known as the “Carmel Storm Water District,” which shall include all of the territory within the corporate boundaries of the City of Carmel, Indiana (“District”).
(g) The City of Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety has conducted a storm water program and capital improvement budget study (“Study”), a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein, as Exhibit B, which Study recommends an initial monthly Storm Water User Fee of $4.95 for each residential property located in the District based on an average impervious area which has been calculated by the Study to be 4,150 square feet per residential lot.
(h) The BPW, acting with the assistance of the Department, shall annually:
(1) Prepare, approve, and implement a budget;
(2) Prepare, prioritize, and approve a list of capital projects for the purposes of controlling, mitigating, remediating, and/or otherwise managing storm water and issues related thereto to be systematically undertaken;
(3) Develop and implement a “Credit Manual” consistent with the recommendations of the Study and any additional assistance from the Department deemed necessary or helpful that provides credits in the form of adjustments in Storm Water User Fees and/or related charges for landowners and property owners whose properties exhibit characteristics materially different from the calculated ERU value or who have undertaken demonstrable and objective infrastructure improvements upon the landowners’ property which reduce the area of impermeable surface, capture, retain, or detain storm water runoff or otherwise, in the objective determination of the Department as reflected in the Credit Manual, warrant an adjustment in Storm Water User Fees;
(4) Manage the finances of the Department with an annual goal that all administrative expenses and overhead not exceed 20% of the gross total of all Storm Water User Fees collected on an annual basis, thus ensuring that storm water funds are significantly dedicated to capital projects designed to improve storm water management;
(5) Approve any and all indebtedness proposed to be incurred by the Department. No debt may be incurred by the Department without the express authorization and approval of the Board as evidenced by special resolution or annual budget approval;
(6) Determine reasonable and just rates and charges for services to utility patrons;
(7) Make monthly reports to the City’s fiscal officer of the Department’s receipts and disbursements and an annual report of the condition of the Department; and
(8) Take such other actions as are required or permitted by law.
(i) The Clerk of the BPW shall function as the Clerk of the Board. Within twenty-four (24) hours of any appropriation made by the Board, the Clerk shall provide notice of said appropriation, in writing, delivered electronically, to all members of the Council. If no written objection is made by a Council member to the Clerk within ten (10) days after the date notice was sent, the appropriation shall be deemed valid. If however, after receiving said notice, any member of the Council objects in writing to the appropriation, the appropriation shall appear on the next Council agenda and shall be approved only if upheld by a majority vote of Council members present at the meeting.
(Ord. D-2154-13, As Amended, 7-21- 14; Ord. D-2265-16, 1-4-16)
(a) The Council, acting under the authority granted to the City’s fiscal body by I.C., 8-1.5-5-7(b) to approve a storm water user fee, adopts and approves the storm water user fees proposed by the City of Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety in the Resolution for the District, to wit:
(1) The monthly storm water user fees shall be uniform for all residential properties located in the District, and the same shall be assigned one equivalent residential unit (“ERU”).
(2) The monthly storm water user fees for all non-residential properties located in the District shall be determined by using an ERU multiplier, which shall be the quotient obtained by dividing the total square feet of impervious surface area within a nonresidential property by a divisor of 4,150 square feet, which quotient will then be multiplied by the ERU to obtain the storm water user fee, except that the monthly storm water user fee for a non-residential property located in the District shall not be less than one ERU.
(3) The monthly storm water user fees for all unimproved property located in the District shall be the product of the ERU multiplied by 0.33.
(4) The ERU shall be $5.10.
(5) Annual COLA Increase. On January 1 of each year, beginning in 2017, a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment shall be added to the previous year’s rates and charges. This 3% increase shall occur automatically each year unless and until such time that the Carmel City Council amends or adjusts the percentage of the COLA increase for the next fiscal year.
(b) If the monthly storm water user fee is not paid by its due date, as stated on the Department's fee invoice, which may be combined with and made a part of the City's billings issued pursuant to City Code § 9-231, a late charge of 10% will be assessed, together with the costs of collection, if any, including reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) The Department shall be responsible for calculating and assessing all monthly storm water user fees and for establishing billing and collection procedures for the same, the storm water user fees so collected to be segregated and deposited in a non-reverting fund, and for taking all other lawful actions, including, but not limited to, those set forth in City Code § 9-231 and I.C., 8-1.5-5-7, as are necessary or convenient in order to implement the City's storm water management and user fee system.
(Ord. D-2154-13, As Amended, 7-21- 14; Ord. D-2273-16, 1-4-16)
ARTICLE 8. PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE.
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