Every person or corporation operating a public utility within the city limits, whether under a grant heretofore or hereafter obtained, shall keep and maintain at some place within the city suitable and complete books of account, showing in detail the assets, financial obligation, gross revenue, net profits and all the operations of such utility which are usually shown by a complete system of bookkeeping.
Each such person or corporation, within sixty (60) days after the end of each of its fiscal years, unless the city commission shall extend the time, shall file with the city commission a report for the preceding fiscal year showing the gross revenue, the net profits, expenses or repairs, betterments and additions, amount paid for salaries, amount paid for interest and discount, other expenses or operation, and such other information, if any, as the city commission from time to time may prescribe. If the city commission shall prescribe the form for such reports, then such reports shall be made in the form from time to time prescribed by such commission.
It shall be the duty of each such person or corporation to furnish the city commission such supplementary or special information about its affairs as the commission may demand; and the commission, or its authorized representative, shall at any and all reasonable times have access to all books, records and papers of each and every such person or corporation, with privilege of taking copies of same or any part thereof.
The duties herein prescribed may be specifically enforced by appropriate legal proceedings; and in addition, each such person or corporation, for failure to comply with the provisions of this section, shall be liable to The city of Springfield, Ohio, in the sum of two hundred fifty dollars per day for each day of such failure, to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the city.
The provisions of this section do not apply to any utility extending in its operations to other communities not properly suburban to The city of Springfield, Ohio; but the city commission by ordinance may make the same, or any part thereof, applicable to the portion of any such utility operated within the limits of the city.