(a) Each new customer making application for utility service shall submit a cash deposit to the city to serve as a guaranty for payment of services thereafter furnished to the property to be connected to utility services. In the discretion of the City Clerk, the deposit required of the customer may be waived after a review of the customer’s previous utility payment history conducted in advance of the initiation of services.
(b) Cash deposits for the indicated utility services shall be as approved by the governing body and listed in the latest City of Kingman Schedule of Fees.
(c) The City Clerk is authorized, in his or her discretion, to refuse any customer, whether owner of the premises or not, utility service until a cash deposit has been made to the city if said customer has previously had services disconnected or discontinued.
(d) The deposit so made shall be kept by the City Clerk in a separate account and deposited in a fund designated as the Meter Deposit Fund. Interest shall be payable at the rate determined by the State Corporation Commission yearly and credited to the customer’s account January 1 of each calendar year.
(e) On the second interest payment date following the deposit required above, the City Clerk shall refund the deposit of any depositor wherein such utility service is being furnished and has not been delinquent in payment of any utility service charge during the past year. Interest due and accrued shall not draw interest.
(f) Upon the discontinuance of any service at the request of the depositor, the deposit shall be refunded upon surrender of the original receipt therefore together with the accrued interest thereon, less any amount due and owing the city for services furnished prior thereto or it may be credited towards the payment of the final bill rendered to the customer.
(g) Any security deposit not refunded within three years after discontinuance of service shall be deposited in the Utility Fund of the city upon compliance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-822, as amended.
(h) If a prospective utility customer is unwilling to provide his or her Social Security number on the application for electric or water service, the deposit required shall be the equivalent of two months of utility service as determined by averaging the service bills at the location for the previous 12 months that service was available at the location to be served. If the service is a new connection to the location and historical data is not available, the cash deposits shall be $150 for water service and $300 for electric service. The provisions of this division (h) take priority over division (b) above when Social Security numbers are not provided by the prospective customer.
(Ord. 1951, passed 6-23-2011; Ord. 1990, passed 5-28-2015)