(a) Legislative Findings. Council hereby finds and declares the following, among others, are essential municipal services: to maintain and pave City streets; to keep City streets clean so as to minimize solid matter entering the storm sewers; to provide recreational programs for the City; and to collect and remove prepared garbage. Council believes it is in the best interest of the City and its people to fund these services with a municipal service fee to be collected from the residential users of such services. Council further directs, in the case of rental property, that landlords shall pay such fee and may recoup such fee from their tenant or tenants in the form of rent.
(Ord. 1819. Passed 8-5-93.)
(b) Levied; Schedule. There is hereby levied and shall be collected a charge against residential users of Municipal services situate within the City for essential Municipal services, including street maintenance, street resurfacing, street cleaning, recreational programs and collection and removal of prepared garbage, but excluding those services rendered as fire and police protection. The charge for such services shall be at the following rates for single-family unit residences, per unit, and for multiple-family dwellings or apartment houses, per residential unit or apartment, whether or not occupied:
IN ADVANCE | IN ARREARS | |
1 year | $160.00 | $180.00 |
3/4 year | 120.00 | 135.00 |
1/2 year | 80.00 | 90.00 |
1/4 year | 40.00 | 45.00 |
(Ord. 2147. Passed 7-21-11.)
(c) Presumption of Liability; Responsibility for Collection. Subject to such reasonable regulations as may be promulgated by the City Treasurer, the record owner of the property upon which a single-family residence is situate shall be presumed to be the user of Municipal services rendered for the benefit of such property and shall be liable to the City for such charges; and the tenants or occupants of the residential units of a multiple-family dwelling or apartment house shall be presumed to be the users of such Municipal services and shall be liable to the City for such charges; provided, that in the event a residential unit of a multiple-family dwelling or apartment house is temporarily unoccupied, the record owner of the property upon which such multiple- family dwelling or apartment house is situate shall be presumed to be the user of the residential services provided to each such unoccupied unit and shall be liable to the City for such charges. Subject to such reasonable regulations as may be promulgated by the City Treasurer, the record owner of the property upon which such multiple-family dwelling or apartment house is situate shall be charged with the responsibility of collecting, in advance, the charges imposed by this section from tenants or occupants of such dwelling units or apartments and promptly remitting such charges to the City Treasurer and shall be liable to the City in the amount of such charges for failure to so remit such charges or for failure to maintain adequate records from which such liability may be ascertained. The City Treasurer shall make every attempt to locate the record owner of the subject property and bill the same directly for these services. However, the failure to bill the record owner shall not be grounds for exemption from this liability.
(Ord. 1819. Passed 8-5-93.)