The following rates are hereby fixed as the fair, proportional and reasonable rates for sewer service charges and user charges based on the metered consumption of water. All users discharging waste to the sewage collection system shall be billed for wastewater treatment services, including governmental or institutional users such as schools or other public buildings.
(a) The minimum user charge for each user for the first 1,000 gallons of water used, or fraction thereof, in a month, shall be $27.32 per month. The charge for use of any amount in excess of the first 1,000 gallons of water shall be $7.86 per 1,000 gallons per month. The charge for each user who is not connected to the City water system shall be $52.93 per month.
(b) The sewer service charges and user charges may be reviewed annually by the City of East Palestine, Ohio, in order to determine whether of not they are sufficient to defray the fixed charges, amortization costs and annual costs of operation, maintenance and repair of the sewerage system. If the difference between the total annual revenue derived and the total annual cost is sufficient to justify an increase or decrease in the sewer service charges or user charges, the City of East Palestine will adjust the rates as required. The purpose of the annual review is also to maintain a proportional user charge. Each user shall be notified at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate and that portion of the sewer charge which is attributable to operation, maintenance and repair costs of wastewater treatment services.
(c) In the event it can be shown to the satisfaction of the City Manager, with respect to any premises, that a portion of the water from any source consumed on such premises does not and cannot enter the system, then in each such case the owner or other interested party may at his or her expense install and maintain separate watering devised to the extent necessary to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Manager the portion of the water consumed on the premises which is discharged into the system, which portion shall constitute the basis for measuring the sewerage service charge for such premises under this section, or the owner or other interested party may, at his or her option, request the Manager to determine the amount of water that does not and cannot enter the sanitary sewerage system from such premises. Such determination shall be made in accordance with accepted engineering practices, shall be conclusive on the owner or other interested party and shall constitute the basis for measuring the sewerage service charge.
(d) In the event that a premises discharging sanitary sewage, industrial waste, water or other liquids into the City's sanitary sewerage system, either directly or indirectly, is not a user of water supplied by the Municipal Water Works Department of the City, and the water used thereon or therein is not measured by a the City water meter or by a meter acceptable to the Manager, then in each such case the amount of water so used shall be measured and determined by a meter installed and maintained at the expense of the owner or other interested party, and acceptable to the Manager for such purpose, or the owner or other interested party, at his or her option, may request the Manager to determine the amount of water used or consumed in or on such premises in accordance with accepted engineering practices. The rate set forth herein shall apply and shall be determined by the amount measured by such meter or determined by the Manager.
(e) When a premises discharges industrial waste, either directly or indirectly, into the City sanitary sewerage system, and the Manager finds that it is not practical to attempt to measure such waste by meter, then such waste shall be measured or determined in accordance with accepted engineering practice and in conditions and attendant circumstances of the case, in order to determine the sewerage service charge under rates set forth herein.
(f) Any premises making a connection with the sanitary sewerage system and using the same after the first day of any month shall be charged a per diem prorated amount based on the monthly minimum charge, from the time the connection is made or such discharge into the system is begun, until the commencement of the next following month, except that if the measured service should exceed the prorated minimum charge, the measured rate shall be charged.
(g) All users of the sanitary sewerage system shall be billed for sewer service charges. There shall be no free service.
(h) All sanitary sewer rental charges shall be due immediately upon issuance. All sanitary sewer charges rendered by the City shall be paid within twenty days from the billing date to the City or to the collection agencies designated by the City. Any sanitary sewer charge not paid within twenty days shall be considered delinquent and a ten percent late charge shall be assessed against all delinquent sanitary sewer bills and must accompany the sanitary sewer bill when paid. However, no more than one ten percent delinquent charge shall be assessed against a given account when both water and sewer bills remain unpaid for a period of thirty days from the billing date, after which the sewer services shall be cut off and terminated immediately by means of shutting off the water supply. The sanitary sewer service shall be resumed only upon payment of the delinquent charges together with a reconnection charge of five dollars ($5.00) in addition to any reconnection charges established with respect to the water system.
(Ord. 28-96. Passed 11-25-96; Ord. 29-00. Passed 12-11-00; Ord. 42-2005. Passed 12-12-05; Ord. 4-2008. Passed 1-28-08; Ord. 20-2009. Passed 12-28-09; Ord. 14-2015. Passed 7-27-15; Ord. 13- 2017. Passed 5-22-17.)