(A) All rates, charges, and fees for utility services shall be established by the City Council by ordinance.
(B) New consumers will be assigned to a utility rate schedule based upon information presented in the application for utility service extension and upon the best professional judgment of City staff.
(C) When a consumer desires service on a rate schedule other than the one on which the consumer is being billed, the consumer shall notify the City in writing and, if approved, the rate change shall become effective on the first day of the next billing cycle. The City shall not be required to make more than one change in rate schedule for any consumer within a one-year (1) period (measured from the date the last date the rate change was made) unless a new schedule is made effective or unless the consumer’s operating conditions have changed permanently so as to warrant a change in their rate schedule. The City shall not be liable to any consumer for retroactive fees or charges under a rate schedule that has been determined to be inapplicable, unless the consumer made a written request for a change in a rate, was entitled to the change requested, and the City refused to make the change in rate schedule. A consumer may appeal a denial for a rate change under § 10.04.045(B). The City’s liability to refund any overpayment to a consumer for any retroactive rate change shall be limited to the period after the consumer provided the City with written notification of a request for a rate change, and is further subject to the procedures set out in § 10.04.045.
(Ord. No. 2001-05, passed 5-8-01; Am. Ord. 2005-18, passed 10-5-05)