(A) The municipality owns and operates the municipal sewer system through the Utilities Superintendent. For the purpose of paying the cost of extending and improving the sewerage plant of the sewerage system of the city, for the purpose of paying the principal and interest of any bonds issued for such purposes, for the purpose of creating reserves for any of such purposes and for no other purpose there is hereby established a sanitary sewer use charge against each lot, parcel of land or premises served by such sanitary sewerage system or which may otherwise discharge sewage and industrial waste, either directly or indirectly, into such sanitary sewerage system or any part thereof. The revenue from the sewer use charge, based on actual use, shall be known as the Sewer Revenue Fund. The Utilities Superintendent shall have the direct management and control of the sewer system and shall faithfully carry out the duties of his or her office. He or she shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations for the sanitary and efficient management of the system subject to the supervision and review of the governing body.
(2005 Code, § 3-202)
(B) For the purposes hereof, the word
CONSUMER shall mean all users of the sanitary sewerage system of the city, including all persons whose premises are served thereby, all owners and tenants of real estate and buildings connected with such sanitary system or served thereby and all users of such system who in any way use the same or discharge sanitary sewage, industrial waste water or other liquid, either directly or indirectly, into the sanitary sewerage system of the city. The governing body may classify for the purpose of rental fees the customers of the city’s Sewer Department; provided that, such classifications are reasonable and do not discriminate unlawfully against any consumer or group of consumers. The classification must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, relative to the user charge grant condition.
(2005 Code, § 3-203)
(C) (1) The Mayor and City Council shall review, at least annually, the user charge system and revise the charges, if necessary, to accomplish the following:
(a) Maintain the proportional distribution of operation, maintenance and replacement (OM&R) costs among users and user classes;
(b) Generate adequate revenues to pay the costs of OM&R; and
(c) Apply excess revenues collected from a class of users to the costs of OM&R attributable to that class for the next year and adjust the rates accordingly.
(2) Rates shall be set by ordinance and at least three copies of the schedules currently in effect shall be kept on file in the office of the City Clerk for the use and examination of the public. In addition to other elements of the total user charge system, the rate schedule on file with the Municipal Clerk shall provide for the following surcharges.
(a) A high strength waste surcharge established for pollutant levels (BOD, SS and the like), etc.) which exceed the levels contained in the domestic strength wastewater of the service area. The surcharge shall be expressed as a formula with a per unit charge established for each applicable pollutant. (See App. B of 40 C.F.R. § 35.900.)
(b) The authority and intent shall be established to require each user discharging any toxic pollutants to pay the increased costs of managing the effluent or the sludge of the treatment works resulting from such discharge.
(2005 Code, § 3-204)
(D) Commercial and industrial consumers under this article may, at their option and expense and with the approval of the Utilities Superintendent, install sewage flow measuring devices to measure all sewage discharged into the sanitary sewerage system. These consumers shall be billed at the regular commercial and industrial rate using the sewage flow as measured in lieu of water meter readings. The Utilities Superintendent shall have the right to remove, repair and reinstall all such sewage flow measuring devices at the expense of the consumer.
(2005 Code, § 3-205)
(E) Where, in the judgment of the City Council, by reason of special conditions, the application of the use charges set forth in this article would be inequitable or unfair to either the city or the user a special rate may be established by contract or by resolution, duly passed and approved by the City Council. To assist the City Council in determining whether or not special conditions exist, any consumer shall, upon the request of the Utilities Superintendent provide a satisfactory means of measuring water consumption and/or the sewage flow from the consumer and obtaining a representative sample of sewage.
(2005 Code, § 3-206)
(F) At least once each month, the Utilities Superintendent shall cause a charge to be made upon all users of the city sanitary sewage system. At least once each month, the City Clerk or Collector shall cause statements for sewer usage to be sent to each user at the address where used or at such other address as may be known to the City Clerk or Collector, at the same time that bills are rendered for city water service. Each user shall pay the City Clerk or Collector for sewer usage. Such statements shall be due on the date mailed and shall be delinquent 15 days thereafter. Whenever any sewer use charge levied by this article is not paid before it becomes delinquent, the water service of such consumer may be discontinued. Any termination shall comply with the notice and procedures of § 3-131.
(2005 Code, § 3-207)
(G) All sewer use charges prescribed by this article shall be a lien upon the premises and real estate for which the sewer service is supplied and used, and if not paid when due such charge shall be certified to the City Treasurer and may be recovered by the city in an action at law from the owner or the person requesting the service, or may be certified to the tax assessor and assessed against the premises served and collected or returned in the same manner as other municipal taxes are certified, assessed, collected and returned.
(2005 Code, § 3-208)
(H) (1) The sewer use charge made pursuant to this article shall be sufficient at all times to pay the interest and principal of the revenue bonds issued on the sanitary sewerage system of the city and for the operation and maintenance of the sanitary sewerage system and disposal plant. All money collected for such sewer use shall be set aside and placed in a separate fund designated the “Sewer Revenue Fund” and shall be used only for the purpose of paying for the reasonable expense of operation and maintenance of the sanitary sewerage system and disposal plant, for paying the interest and principal of the revenue bonds issued for such purposes and for the purpose of creating reserves for any of such purposes. Said Sewer Revenue Fund shall have as a minimum two primary accounts:
(a) An O&M account with provision for carry-over of the fiscal year-end balance to meet the overall O&M costs in the subsequent fiscal year; and
(b) A non-lapsing sinking fund for replacement costs which accrues funds through deposits made at least annually from OM&R use charge revenues. The deposits shall provide adequate revenues to meet the “replacement” needs of the treatment works over its service life and shall be used for no other purpose. Fiscal year-end balances in the non-lapsing sinking fund will be carried over to the same fund in the subsequent year.
(2) REPLACEMENT is defined as expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the service life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
(2005 Code, § 3-209)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 18-503