(A) Unit rates, monitored and non-monitored contributors.
(1) Minimum unit rates for service billed after 7-1-2022 will be assessed contributors to the sewage works, as follows:
7/2022 (2%) | 7/2023 (2%) | 7/2024 (2%) |
7/2022 (2%) | 7/2023 (2%) | 7/2024 (2%) | |
Non-monitored customers - Class 1 rates | |||
Basic service charge (per bill) | 26.53 | 27.06 | 27.60 |
Volume charge (per 1,000 gallons) | 6.13 | 6.25 | 6.38 |
Minimum monthly charge (per 1,000 gallons for non-metered contributions) | 5.55 | 5.55 | 5.55 |
Monitored customers | |||
Basic service charge (per bill) | 26.53 | 27.06 | 27.60 |
Volume charge (per 1,000 gallons) | 1.95 | 1.99 | 2.03 |
BOD (per pound) | 0.80 | 0.81 | 0.82 |
SS (per pound | 0.84 | 0.85 | 0.86 |
NH3-N | 2.52 | 2.57 | 2.62 |
COD | 0.39 | 0.40 | 0.41 |
(2) Effective July 1 of each year, beginning in 2021, the customer base service charges and volume charges as set forth in this section shall be increased 2% from the prior year, except as amended by ordinance of the City Council. The city shall review said charges and rates every two years to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues to pay the full costs of operation, maintenance and any debt service and to maintain adequate fund balances.
(3) Past due bills will be subject to a 10% late fee.
(4) The portion of this rate system applicable to monitored contributors is applicable where wastewater volume is continuously measured and wastewater strength is determined on the basis of regular sampling and analysis. Monitored contributors will be billed for a minimum volume of 30,000 gallons per month. If the analysis for BOD produces unreliable or erroneous results, as determined by the Superintendent, due to inhibition or interference of the waste sample, the monitored contributor may be billed on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in lieu of BOD.
(5) The charges for total nitrogen and total phosphorus will be developed by the Wastewater Superintendent and implemented by 7-1-2023 so as to meet the nutrient requirements in the current POTW NPDES permit as amended by ordinance of the City Council.
(6) The city has adopted reasonable charges and fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the city’s billing program, monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures and all laboratory testing required which include:
(a) Fees for wastewater laboratory testing at the city’s Water Pollution Control Plant are updated annually by the Wastewater Superintendent effective July 1 of each year, beginning in 2022;
(b) Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures including the cost of collection and analyzing an industrial user’s discharge and reviewing monitoring reports submitted by industrial users. Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures at the city’s Water Pollution Control Plant are updated annually by the Wastewater Superintendent effective July 1 of each year, beginning in 2022;
(c) Fees for reviewing and responding to accidental discharge procedures and construction;
(d) Fees for filing appeals; and
(e) Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained herein. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this chapter and are separate from all other fees, fines and penalties chargeable by the city.
(7) Haulers of septic tank wastes and industrial or other wastes that are hauled to the wastewater treatment plant for discharge and treatment are subject to all provisions of this chapter. Contributors not falling within the rate system provided herein shall be subject to charges and requirements, as determined by the Superintendent.
(B) Base rate. Each individual residential and commercial unit being supplied city sewer, including each individual home within a mobile home park, shall be assessed, on a monthly basis, a base rate for sewer rental, whether separately metered for water or not. For example, each occupied unit of a four-plex being serviced with city sewer shall be assessed for a base rate each month. The usage rate, however, shall be assessed per meter, not per unit served. Units within a complex, whether residential, commercial or mobile home park that has a master meter and then each unit is separately metered for water usage shall be separately billed for both base and usage rates and the amount of water used by those units within the complex shall be subtracted from the amount of water shown as being used by the master meter for the complex for purposes of billing usage to the owner of the complex.
(C) Minimum sewerage charge. The minimum charge for service shall be assessed for each month or fraction thereof. This minimum sewerage service charge shall apply to any contributor connected to the sewage works. Any contributor which is not connected to a public sewer but should be under the requirements of any chapter shall pay this minimum sewerage charge.
(D) Classification system, non-monitored contributors.
(1) The following classification system for non-monitored contributors is adopted to recognize wastewater strengths greater than domestic wastewater. Wastewater strength less than domestic wastewater concentrations shall be recognized as domestic wastewater. The classification system establishes standard strength units which combine the three strength parameters, BOD or COD, suspended solids and NH3-N into a single, common measurement. The number of strength units assigned are based on the ratio of sewage works unit cost for each parameter. Presently, the ratio of sewage works unit cost associated with BOD to suspended solids to NH3-N is 1.35:1:1 and COD to suspended solids to NH3-N is 0.64:1:1. Therefore, standard strength units are:
(BOD mg/l x 1.35) + (suspended solids mg/l) + (NH3-N mg/l)
or
(COD mg/l x 0.64) + (suspended solids mg/l) + (NH3-N mg/l)
(2) The classification system defines the relative sewage works costs associated with the wastewater strength for each class. The sewage charges shall be calculated from metered water use times the sewage rate stated in division (A) above, times the factor presented in the following table:
7/2022 (2%) | 7/2023 (2%) | 7/2024 (2%) |
7/2022 (2%) | 7/2023 (2%) | 7/2024 (2%) | |
Non-monitored customers - Class 1 rates | |||
Basic service charge (per bill) | 26.53 | 27.06 | 27.60 |
Volume charge (per 1,000 gallons) | 6.13 | 6.25 | 6.38 |
Minimum monthly charge (per 1,000 gallons for non- metered contributions) | 5.55 | 5.55 | 5.55 |
Monitored customers | |||
Basic service charge (per bill) | 26.53 | 27.06 | 27.60 |
Volume charge (per 1,000 gallons) | 1.95 | 1.99 | 2.03 |
BOD (per pound) | 0.80 | 0.81 | 0.82 |
SS (per pound | 0.84 | 0.85 | 0.86 |
NH3-N | 2.52 | 2.57 | 2.62 |
COD | 0.39 | 0.40 | 0.41 |
(3) The customer charge, referred to in division (A) above, is applicable to all of the above classes, regardless of wastewater strength.
(E) Customer class.
(1) The Wastewater Superintendent shall be responsible for assigning each contributor to a customer class. Any customer may appeal the assignment to a customer class by presenting wastewater sampling data and/or other pertinent data relative to the customer operation and wastewater characteristics. The wastewater sampling shall be 24-hour composite samples unless otherwise directed by the city. The samples shall be obtained with facilities constructed for metering and recording wastewater flow and for proportional sampling and preservation of samples. Samples may be split for analysis and preservation by both the customer and the city. Sample analysis shall be in conformance with federal guidelines establishing test procedures as set forth in the “Federal Register”, volume 40, part 136, as amended. The Wastewater Superintendent will review the submitted data to determine the reasonableness of the customer’s assignment to a customer class and the reasonableness of the sewerage rate system allocations and assessments.
(2) Any customer may review the sewerage rate system procedures, accounts and records, including procedures for assigning each customer to a customer class. In the event that there are unresolved questions or continued disagreements, the city and the customer shall submit the matter to a qualified third party arbitrator, said arbitrator to be selected by mutual agreement of the parties. In the event the arbitrator determines that the customer is entitled to a change of classification from that determined by the city the cost for the arbitrator’s services shall be borne equally by the parties, but if no change of classification is made the cost shall be paid by the customer.
(Ord. C-083, passed 5-21-1991; Ord. C-421, passed 6-21-2005; Ord. D-015, passed 5-20-2014; Ord. D-54, passed 7-2-2019; Ord. D-089, passed 6-6-2022)