(A) The municipal wastewater utility provides access to wastewater collection, treatment and disposal service to all properties within the corporate limits of the municipality. In some cases, the property owners have elected not to seek connection to the utility systems, and at this time, the municipality's policy is to permit these customers to remain disconnected, so long as there is no health or environmental violation.
(B) The policy of providing access to the wastewater utility means that the city has the necessary interceptor and trunk lines available to collect and transport wastewater to the sewage treatment plant, however, in some cases, the individual collector sewer to serve an individual parcel of land might not be installed. There can be several reasons that the individual collector sewer is not installed, including a lack of interest in service on the part of the larger neighborhood, a lack of sufficient developmental density necessary to make the collector sewer economically feasible, or a simple satisfaction on the part of the property owner with the function of the current wastewater facility on site.
(C) The policy of providing access to wastewater utility service is completely commensurate with the construction of the northwest water and sewer interceptor project in 2001. In that project, Peru Utilities constructed major water and sewer interceptor facilities with the design capacity sufficient to serve the entire unincorporated area south of US24 and east of US31, and areas beyond. Now that the interceptor is installed, Peru Utilities will extend sewer and water service to any property owner or proposed development in the service area which has access to these facilities, at the expense of the property owner. Again, as stated above, there is no free lunch. While individual property owners may have difficulty with this concept, it is standard practice on a statewide basis for developers to pay for the cost of utility extensions to their developments.
(D) This policy further states that the municipality meets the parameters of providing complete municipal wastewater service to a property when a municipal sewer is located within 300 lineal feet of the nearest property line. In some cases, where property owners have not connected their property to the municipal sewer system and use private wastewater disposal facilities (primarily septic tanks), instead, the owner may suddenly choose to have municipal utility service. In that case, if a line currently exists within 300 lineal feet of the property, the service is deemed to exist for purposes of these policies. This decision is based purely upon the owner's election and the development standards of the original property development. The municipal wastewater system extends beyond the corporate limits of the municipality and municipal wastewater service is provided to property in unincorporated areas.
(E) The wastewater utility is administered by a Utility Service Board which is responsible for developing and recommending a system of user charges to the legislative body of the municipality for implementation. These user charges must cover the cost of both capital and operations of the wastewater utility. According to the “Speedway” decision, the Utility Board is allowed to set charges for unincorporated area customers differently from those inside the corporate limits of the city. The legislative body of the municipality may consider changes to the user charge system to reflect special situations, as well as changes in policy with regard to the type of customer and/or the location (inside or outside of the corporate limits of the municipality).
(F) The policy of providing municipal wastewater service is also not to be construed as being "free" in any respect, and the costs of such services are certainly not covered by property taxes. The wastewater utility is supported by a system of user charges which is administered by the Utility Board to cover both capital and operating expenses, in cooperation with the municipality. Property tax revenues are not a part of the wastewater utility budget. The development standards of the municipality are such that the capital cost of wastewater utility services is afforded by the property owner/developer as part of the development of the property. In addition to monthly service charges, the wastewater utility may consider and/or establish a system of fees for other services such as various connection fees, and/or supplemental fees for special facilities installed to meet the needs/demands of various customers. The wastewater utility is also subject to regulatory requirements which are administered at the state and/or federal level. As such, the system of fees and charges must be adjusted from time to time to remain current with regulatory and other requirements.
(Ord. 24-2002, passed 8-5-02)