(A) Monthly rates and any associated charges for the use and services furnished by the village sewer system shall be as provided herein.
(B) Sewer charges for all customers shall be based on a minimum charge (hereafter “ready to serve charge”) plus the quantity of water used as measured by the respective village municipal water supply meters, for each billing period, except as otherwise provided.
(1) For the purposes of this section, a SINGLE RESIDENCE is defined as a house, apartment, mobile home, trailer, condominium or other permanent construction, having kitchen and/or toilet facilities, in which a person or family live in an individual or private state apart from other persons primarily as a place of residence per unit.
(2) Other customers are comprised of units or dwellings designed for multiple person occupancy either by single apartments or other multi-family dwellings, individual shops, stores, businesses, restaurants, coin washers, gasoline service stations, tourist homes and other nonresidential buildings.
(3) For those multi-unit premises whose water is measured jointly by one water meter, the ready to serve charge shall be applicable to each separate unit on the multi-unit premises. Usage charges shall also apply.
(4) For the purposes of establishing billing charges for sewer usage on a per month basis, each customer’s water meter shall receive either an actual meter reading, at least one per quarter weather permitting, or an estimated reading based on the average water usage over a period of time. Following an estimated reading, a customer’s billing may be adjusted either up or down when the following actual reading is taken.
(5) For temporary customers such as contractors or for construction purposes and the like, sewer service that is provided shall be charged on the basis of the below stated ready to serve charge (pro rated) and usage rates. When a water meter is installed for such purposes, the ready to serve charge and sewer usage rates shall apply and the temporary user shall pay for the installation and removal of the meter, and shall be responsible for said meter and appurtenances.
(C) (1) Monthly sewer rates of the village customers.
Monthly Sewer Rates | |||
Ready to serve charge: | Additional usage rate per 1000 gallons: | ||
Monthly Sewer Rates | |||
Ready to serve charge: | Additional usage rate per 1000 gallons: | ||
5/8" meter | $37.00 | 0 - 1000 | Included |
1" meter | $37.00 | 1,001 - 4,000 | $6.00 |
1.5" meter | $40.00 | 4,001 - 10,000 | $7.50 |
2" meter | $42.50 | 10,000 and above | $8.50 |
3" meter | $45.00 | ||
Sewer only flat rate: Total per month $55.00 | |||
(2) The above stated rates are established to be sufficient to provide for the payment of expenses of administration and for the operation, maintenance and replacement of the sewer disposal system as are necessary to preserve the same in good repair and in good working order, to provide for the payment of contractual obligations of the village to the state and/or federal government pursuant to statute and contractual obligations as they become due and to provide for such other expenditures and funds for the sewer system as this section may require.
(D) (1) All applications for sewer service attachments to the sewer collection piping for the purposes of collecting sanitary sewage from the premises, as well as application for the sewer must be made at the village offices by the owner of the premises from which the sanitary sewage is proposed to be collected. The application for sewer service shall be upon forms prescribed by the village and signed by the prospective customer or an authorized agent.
(2) The prospective customer shall pay in advance for the sewer service hook-up, as the minimum charge; charges for service piping, backhoe services, operator service and all labor shall be accounted for, then the complete cost of the attachment shall be charged to the customer on a cost plus basis upon completion. Charges for equipment and labor are in addition to the tap charges.
(3) Sewer tap charge: $1,800.
(E) Special rates for miscellaneous services shall be established and fixed by the Village Council from time to time.
(F) (1) The following non-recurring charges shall be made for those transactions and/or services provided by the Water Department:
(a) Service charge: Two times the actual hourly rate labor rate; and
(b) Equipment charge: Per equipment rental schedule utilized by the village to comply with Public Act 51 of 1951, State Transportation Law.
(2) Requests for adjustments of sewer billings shall be made in writing to the village within 30 days of the date of the billing. Adjustments will be made only for clerical errors, misreads or unexplained failure of village-owned equipment; there will be no adjustments made for leaks, pool fills or other causes within the control or responsibility of the property owner. Adjustments may be made for one pool fill per property per year upon prior written request of the property owner to the village.
(G) The village shall review the rate structure annually and shall adjust the fixed charges, usage charges, fees and other customer charges to generate adequate revenues and maintain proportionate system of customer charges. This shall be accomplished by a resolution of the Village Council after a public hearing thereon.
(H) (1) Bills will be rendered monthly and shall be immediately due and payable and may be paid without penalty up to and including the last day of the month when rendered. If the bill is not paid in full on or before the last day of the month in which the bill is rendered, a penalty of 10% on the unpaid balance shall be added.
(2) In addition to the foregoing, the village shall have the right to shut off water service to any premise for which water and sewer services have not been paid by the last day of the following month and such service shall not be reestablished until all delinquent charges, penalties and turn-off and turn-on charges have been paid. Charges and penalties may be recovered through court action.
(I) Collection of all sewer system charges, fees, penalties and any assessment issued in accordance with any provision of this section as adopted by the Village Council shall be performed by the Water Clerk or other appropriately designated village employee, as provided by applicable law and deposited in an approved financial intuition.
(J) Charges for services furnished to a premises may be a lien on the premises, and those charges delinquent for six months or more may be certified annually to the proper tax assessing officer or agency who shall enter the lien on the next tax roll against the premises to which the services shall have been rendered, and the charges shall be collected and the lien shall be enforced in the same manner as provided for the collection of taxes assessed upon the roll and the enforcement of the lien for the taxes. The time and manner of certification and other details in respect to the collection of the charges and the enforcement of the lien shall be prescribed by an ordinance adopted by the village. However, in a case when a tenant is responsible for the payment of the charges and the village is so notified in writing, the notice to include a copy of the lease of the affected premises, if there is one, then the charges shall not become a lien against the premises after the date of the notice. In the event of filing of the notice, the public corporation shall render no further service to the premises until a cash deposit of not less than one full year’s service shall have been made as security for the payment of the charges. In addition to any other lawful enforcement methods, the payment of charges for sewer service to any premises may be enforced by discontinuing the water service to the premises and the payment of charges for sewage disposal service or storm water disposal service to a premises may be enforced by discontinuing the water service, the sewage disposal service or the storm water disposal service to the premises, or any combination of the services.
(Ord. 74, passed 11-14-1979; Ord. 129, passed 7-8-1998; Ord. 131, passed 3-10-1999; Ord. 145, passed 7-18-2001; Ord. 151, passed 2-19-2003; Ord. 154, passed 5-19-2004; Ord. 180, passed 2-25-2009; Ord. 197, passed 12-14-2011; Ord. 201, passed 6-12-2013; Ord. 212, passed 10-11-2017; Ord. 217, passed 4-10-2019)
Statutory reference:
The Revenue Bond Act, see Public Act 94 of 1933, § 21, being M.C.L.A. § 141.121