(a) Meters Provided. All water meters and related meter reading equipment shall be provided by the City. One meter shall be provided for each tap to the City water line, on payment of charges as provided in this chapter, but all such meters shall remain the property of the Department of Public Works and shall at all times be under its control. A meter charge will be levied on a first time installation to cover the actual cost of the meter and related meter reading equipment. There is no charge for installation.
(b) Maintenance. The expense of maintaining meters shall be borne by the Department except in cases where replacements, resealing, repairs and adjustments of a meter are made necessary by the act, negligence or carelessness of the customer. The expense to the Department caused thereby shall be charged and collected from the customer in the same manner as other charges provided for in this chapter.
(c) Location. A meter shall be set in an accessible location approved by, and in a manner satisfactory to, the Director of the Department of Public Works. All new construction shall have a telephone jack located near the water meter in an accessible location approved by the Director.
(d) Outside Meters. If the premises contain no basement or cellar, or other approved location satisfactory to the Director, the meter must be installed outside the premises in a meter pit, the location of which shall be approved by the Director.
(e) Cost of Meter Pits. If it is necessary to set the meter in a pit, such pit shall be built at the expense of the customer, as directed by, and to the entire satisfaction of, the Director.
(f) Meters Sealed. All meters shall be sealed by the Department, and no person except an authorized employee of the Department may break such a seal. In the event a seal is broken in any other manner than by an authorized representative of the Department, the cost of resealing shall be charged to the customer.
(g) Responsibility for Meter. The customer on whose premises a meter is installed shall be held responsible for its care and protection from freezing or from injury or interference by any person.
(h) Injury or Imperfection. In case of injury to a meter, its stoppage, imperfect operation or the breaking of a seal, the customer shall give immediate notice thereof to the Department.
(i) Change in Location. Once a meter has been installed, its location shall not be changed except by a permit from the Department, the cost thereof to be borne by the customer.
(j) Reading. A meter required under this chapter shall be read by the Department at intervals designated by the City Manager, and bills to customers shall be rendered in accordance with such reading and with charges as provided in this chapter by the City Clerk.
(k) Testing. A meter shall be carefully tested before it is installed, and after its installation it shall be tested as frequently as the Department deems advisable. The Department reserves the right to remove and test a meter at any time and to substitute meters, either temporarily or permanently, if deemed advisable by the Department.
Should the customer, at any time, question the accuracy of a meter serving his or her premises, the Department shall, upon the written request of the customer, accompanied by a deposit of twenty dollars ($20.00) for each meter in question, remove and test such meter. If the test shows that the meter has been over-registering more than two percent, such deposit shall be returned to the customer and an accurate meter shall be installed. Otherwise, the deposit shall be retained by the City to cover the cost of testing.
(l) Bill Adjustments. If, upon the testing of a meter, it is found that such meter is over- registering or under-registering by more than two percent, an adjustment in billing shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter relating to billing in the event of meter failures.
(Ord. 623. Passed 10-30-95.)