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The time allowed for correction or elimination of any cross connection found shall be as follows:
(1) Cross connections which pose an eminent and extreme hazard shall be disconnected immediately and so maintained until necessary protective devices or modifications are made;
(2) Cross connections which do not pose an extreme hazard to the water supply system but nevertheless constitute a cross connection should be corrected within a reasonable period of time. The length of time allowed for correction should be reasonable and may vary depending on the type of device necessary for protection. The water utility shall indicate to each customer, where a cross connection is found to exist, the time period allowed for compliance.
(1993 Code, § 68-74) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
Sufficient data to complete an annual report to the State Department of Public Health and to monitor the program adequately for city purposes will be maintained by the City Water Department and its responsible agents. An inspection form will be used during the initial inspection procedure. Inspection forms will be used to monitor the status of the protective device as well as the test results reported by a qualified backflow preventer tester. Inspection forms will also be used for reinspection for cross connection.
(1993 Code, § 68-75) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
§§ 68-76 – 68-95 RESERVED.
ARTICLE III. WATER AND SEWER RATES
The City Council has determined that, in order to provide safe, adequate water to the users of the system, and to assure safe transportation and treatment of sewage discharged into the system by all users of the system, the system must receive sufficient total annual revenue to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of the system, the development and perpetuation of the system, and the preservation of the financial integrity of the system. The City Council has also determined that the system shall be self- sustaining, supported solely by the revenues of the system and not dependent upon the property tax payers of the city. To meet those ends, City Council shall annually fix the rates and charges to be imposed on all users of each component of the system in accordance with the principles and standards set forth in this article.
(1993 Code, § 68-96) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
(A) The City Council has determined that the purpose of sewer and water rates is to produce sufficient revenues each year to pay the costs of service. The City Council has found that annual revenues and expenditures of the system can fluctuate as much as 25% from year to year. Based on the recommendations of the city's engineers, City Council has determined that, in order to provide adequate, but not excessive, annual adjustments in revenue levels in a timely manner, the Department shall develop the costs of service based on 5 year projections of cash needs, adjusted for inflation, and shall base rates each year on the estimated needs for those 5 year periods, adjusted annually.
(B) The costs of service to be paid from revenues shall include all of the following:
(1) Operation and maintenance expenses;
(2) Debt service expenses; and
(3) Capital expenses not funded from bonded indebtedness.
(1993 Code, § 68-97) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
(A) The city shall pay the same water and sewer rates for service to the city as would be payable by a private user for the same service.
(B) In addition, in recognition of the capacity requirements of fire hydrants, the city shall pay a fee equal to 5% of the annual budgeted revenues of the water supply system.
(1993 Code, § 68-98) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
(A) Charges for water and sewer usage shall be paid within 30 days of the date which they are billed. Payments shall be deemed made when they are received in the Treasurer's office or a city authorized depository. If payment is not made as provided in this section, a penalty of 10% shall be added to the bill. Failure to receive a bill shall not relieve the customer from the responsibility for payment.
(B) Such charges shall constitute a lien upon the respective properties served and if any charge is not paid before it becomes delinquent it may be recovered by the city in an action in assumpsit against the owner of the property served as well as any tenant supplied with such water, or such charges may be certified to the City Treasurer by the City Council and assessed against the property on the next city tax roll, in which event such charge shall be collected and returned in the same manner as other city taxes are collected and returned; provided that any charge shall not be so certified which has not been delinquent for a period of a least 6 months. The effective date of certification by City Council shall be May 1 of each year. In addition to any other remedy provided in this chapter or by law, if such charges for water consumed is not paid as provided in this section, the City Treasurer shall have the authority to shut off the supply of water to any such premises, provided:
(1) Delinquent notice is provided by first class mail to the account holder, which shall serve as due process, prior to the water being shut off;
(2) Shut off notice is provided to any occupant(s) of the property by posting notice of same at the premises at least 3 days prior to the water being shut off;
(3) After shut off, such connection shall not thereafter be reconnected until all such water charges and penalties shall be paid, together with turn-on charges.
(C) If the city shuts off the water supply by mistake, the City Manager or his designee is authorized to credit the property owner an amount equal to the shut-off fee.
(D) (1) It is the policy of the city to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The city’s form for application for utility service and all bills shall contain, in addition to the title, address, room number, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect:
(a) That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill; and
(b) That if any bill is not paid by or before that date, a second bill will be mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within ten days of the mailing of the second bill, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
(c) That any customer disputing the correctness of his bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his choosing and may present orally or in writing his complaint and contentions to the city official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint.
(2) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due and unpaid for at least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the city to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, along with a turn-on charge of such amount as is authorized from time to time by Council by resolution.
(1993 Code, § 68-99) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. passed 1-14-2002; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27- 2014; Ord. 2021-10, passed 8-2-2021)
(A) The City Council has determined that not all classes of users of the system cause the same costs of service. Based on the recommendations of independent engineering consultants to the city, City Council has determined the following:
(1) The commodity costs of water supply and some portions of the costs of sewage disposal are uniform among users in accordance with the volume of use;
(2) Indirect costs of water supply and sewage transportation, including size of service pipe, materials used, locations of meters, size of storage and treatment facilities, and maintenance, billing and collection costs vary according to the size of meters;
(3) While all users benefit equally from capital improvements to the system, users taking possession of previously undeveloped properties, and users changing the nature and amount of use of the system at renovated or expanded properties would not bear equally the cost of those capital improvements unless required to pay a system equity charge;
(4) Certain types of property uses require a reservation of a greater capacity of the system than others;
(5) At least 50% of the costs of service to all customers is related to the indirect costs of service;
(6) Current technology does not support the efficient and cost effective metering of sanitary sewage discharged into the sanitary sewage disposal system. As a result, the city has determined that the most equitable measure of the volume of sanitary sewage discharged into the system is the amount of water consumed;
(7) The city will offer service to properties located outside the city limits only pursuant to city-township contract.
(B) The City Council has therefore developed the following classes of users.
(1) For meters of the following sizes, the following meter equivalency ratios for purposes of allocating the base amount of the indirect costs of service and calculating the quarterly base rate per meter size:
Meter Size (inches) | AWWA Meter Capacity Ratio |
Meter Size (inches) | AWWA Meter Capacity Ratio |
5/8 and 3/4 | 1.0 |
1 | 1.6 |
1-1/2 | 3.3 |
2 | 5.3 |
3 | 10.0 |
4 | 15.5 |
6 | 33.3 |
(2) All classes of users shall pay the same rate per gallon of metered water for water supply and sewage transportation services.
(3) For purposes of calculating the system equity charge, City Council has decided to use a table of unit factors, a copy of which is on file with the Director, based on a unit equaling 250 gallons of water consumed per day per year, as recommended by the city's consulting engineers.
(4) The base charge shall be calculated so as to produce no less than 50% of the annual budgeted expenditures of the system.
(5) The amount of water consumed is generally an appropriate and fair indicator of the amount of sanitary sewage discharged into the sanitary sewage disposal system.
(6) Where a user discharges sanitary sewage into the sanitary sewage disposal system but does not use the water supply system, or where a property uses large quantities of water that are not disposed of through the sanitary sewage system, the Department shall propose and the City Council shall adopt, methods of allocating the costs of service to those properties based on the estimated use of the sanitary sewage system.
(1993 Code, § 68-100) (Ord. passed 1-22-2001; Ord. 2014-01, passed 1-27-2014)
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