921.03 DEPOSITS, SERVICE CHARGES.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, utility customers shall pay the applicable deposits indicated in the following table upon application for any utility service. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (d) below, once a deposit has been placed on account for any utility service at any Premises, no further deposit shall be required of that customer for that account. Deposits will not earn interest.
Type of Premises | Deposit |
Residential Apartment | $200.00 |
Residential Single Family, Townhouse or Duplex | $250.00 |
Residential All Electric | $250.00 |
Commercial (Small/Medium) (GSS and GSM electric schedules; water meters less than 1") | Lesser of 2 Months usageor $1,000, but not less than $250.00 |
Commercial (Large/Distribution) (all other commercial electric schedules; water meters 1" or greater) | Lesser of 2 Months usage or $10,000 |
(b) Required deposits must be received by the Utility Billing Department before new service or a new account will be established. Notwithstanding subsection (a), but subject to subsection (d) below, the following conditions shall apply to any request to establish new service, open new account, or re-establish service after involuntary termination:
(1) A deposit will not be required of a bona fide owner-occupant of a residential premises, unless the customer has twice been delinquent on a utility account within the prior two years.
(2) A deposit will not be required of an Owner to secure water and sewer accounts if a tenant or other customer has placed a deposit on the account or is exempt from placing a deposit pursuant to subsection (b)(3) below.
(3) A deposit will not be required of any prior customer whose immediate past account history with the City is twenty-four (24) consecutive bills each paid in full by the due date.
(c) Deposits will be held in trust for the customer's account and will be applied to the account and/or refunded to the customer as follows:
(1) When all accounts held by a customer at a premises are voluntarily closed, any deposit on those accounts will be applied to the final bill, and a refund of any remaining balance will be paid to the depositing customer.
(2) When any utility service is involuntarily terminated, or the Premises served by a delinquent account is vacant or abandoned, the customer's accounts at that premises may be closed if the customer does not reestablish service within fourteen (14) days of termination, or bring the account current within fourteen (14) days' notice to do so. In that event a final bill shall be prepared, any deposit on those accounts will be applied to the final bill, and a refund of any remaining balance will be paid to the depositing customer.
(3) When a customer pays each of twenty-four (24) consecutive bills at any premises in full by the due date, the customer's deposit on accounts at that premises shall be refunded to the depositing customer.
(4) The accounts of a customer who becomes a petitioner in U.S. Bankruptcy Court shall be closed, with final charges prorated as of the petition date. Any deposit held on the accounts will be applied to any outstanding pre-petition balances of that customer, and any remaining balance will be paid to the depositing customer.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1) through (4), a deposit placed by an Owner solely to secure water and sewer accounts at a tenant-occupied premises shall not be applied to settle outstanding balances on any account except water and sewer accounts at that premises. A deposit placed by a tenant or other customer shall not be applied to settle outstanding water and sewer account balances unless there are no other outstanding account balances at that premises and the tenant or other customer has previously agreed to be responsible for water and sewer charges. Application of tenant deposits to water and sewer charges does not affect the Owner's primary liability for water and sewer charges that remain unpaid.
(d) Any new account opened by a bankrupt customer or a customer that has been a petitioner in bankruptcy in the previous six (6) years shall be subject to the deposit requirements of subsection (a) of this section, without regard to the deposit waiver provisions of subsection (b). Charges on a new account opened at the same location by the bankrupt customer shall be prorated forward from the petition date. A bankrupt customer who does not open a new account and pay a new deposit in accordance with this subsection within twenty (20) days of the order for relief issued in the customer's bankruptcy case shall be subject to termination of service.
(e) The following service charges shall apply to all customers:
SERVICE | CHARGE |
Connection, reconnection or disconnection of any utility service at the request of the customer on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and after 5:00 p.m. (in addition to full payment of unpaid utility balance) | $100.00 |
Connection, reconnection ordisconnection of any utility service at the request of the customer on regular business days from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (in addition to full payment of unpaid utility balance) | $50.00 |
Electric and water meter testing at the request of the customer. Should the meter be found to register more than two percent high, the fee shall be returned to the customer. | $25.00 |
Late payment penalty, charged for each bill that is not paid in full by the due date shown on the bill. For purposes of this provision, a bill is considered paid when the payment is received by the City. | 10% of bill |
Charge for NSF or Account Closed Check | $30.00 |
Nonrefundable Application Fee to establish Account | $10.00 |
Administrative charge applied to customers that have been put on notice of termination for non-payment of utilities pursuant to Section 921.08
. (There is no fee for the first time such notice is issued in each calendar year) | $25.00 |
Administrative charge applied to customer’s who tamper with, or allow another to tamper with, a utility meter under their control as defined in Section 921.10
(d). | $250.00 |
(f) The fees provided for under subsection (e) shall be waived as follows:
(1) Connection fees shall be waived for a new customer opening a new account and physically occupying the premises served.
(2) Disconnection fees shall be waived where an active customer requests a final reading, permanently closes the account, and physically vacates the premises served.
(3) Disconnection and reconnection fees shall be waived when, in the opinion of the Director of Public Service, the request was made as a result of a bona fide emergency such as fire, flood, or storm damage resulting from no fault of the requesting customer.
(4) The nonrefundable application fee shall be waived if the customer has had an active utility account within the previous twenty-four (24) months, or has made an application within the previous twenty-four (24) months.
(Ord. 38-2019. Passed 6-10-19.)