(a) Water Meters Required. All properties that are served by the City's water utility shall be required to have installed upon the outside of the premises a water meter, in a location determined by the Public Service Director, for the purpose of determining the amount of water consumed by the property.
(b) Cost of Meters. A meter fee, which shall include the cost of the meter and cost of installing the meter, shall be paid at the same time as the tap-in fee. For a meter that is being installed without a tap-in fee required, the meter fee shall be paid before water service is provided to the property. The meter fee shall be as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule, Appendix A
to the City Government Code.
(c) Testing of Meters. If a customer requests the Public Service Department to test a meter outside of the Department's normal schedule for testing, the customer shall pay a testing fee, as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule, Appendix A
to the City Government Code, prior to the test being performed. If the testing reveals a problem or deficiency with the meter, the customer shall be refunded the testing fee, in the form of a credit on the customer's utility billing account, and the customer shall not be charged for replacement of the meter. No refund of the testing fee shall be given if the testing reveals no problems or deficiencies with the meter.
(d) Failure of Meter. If a meter has failed to register the amount of water consumed, the monthly water consumption shall be estimated based on the customer's prior usage during the same month of the preceding year or, if the customer had no prior usage during the same month of the preceding year, by taking an average of the customer's prior usage during the preceding three (3) months or less.
(e) Damaged Meters or Antenna. Where a meter is damaged through the fault of the customer, the customer shall pay a meter replacement fee as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule, Appendix A
to the City Government Code. If a meter antenna is damaged, the customer shall pay a replacement fee, as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule, Appendix A
to the City Government Code, beginning with the second time the antenna must be replaced.
(f) Prohibitions. All meters installed by the City shall remain the property of the City. No person shall damage, attempt to bypass or bypass, attempt to turn on, or turn on a meter that has been disconnected by the City, or otherwise tamper with any water meter. Any person found to have violated the prohibitions of this division may be charged with criminal damaging. Further, if it is found that the person took or used water when that person had been disconnected by the City, or that the person took or used water by bypassing the meter, or that the person attempted to falsify their water usage by tampering with the meter, such person may also be charged with theft.
(Ord. 63-10. Adopted 02/14/63; Ord. 68-45. Adopted 12/12/68; Ord. 78-29. Adopted 06/22/78; Ord. 93-44. Adopted 08/26/93; Ord. 2023-38. Adopted 12/28/23; Em. Ord. 2024-01. Adopted 02/08/24; Ord. 2024-02. Adopted 02/22/24)