It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the Village of Spencer to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the Village treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating and maintaining the public wastewater treatment works and paying the annual debt service for the capital expense of construction of said treatment works.
A. 
Revenues collected, as a result of the user charge levied, shall be deposited into two separate nonoverlapping funds. The first fund shall be for operation and maintenance monies. The second fund shall be a segregated, interest-bearing account for the replacement fund monies.
B. 
Fiscal year-end balances in the operation, maintenance, and replacement fund shall be used for no other purposes than those designated.
A. 
Each user shall pay for the services provided by the Village treatment works based on his use of the treatment works as determined by water meter readings (or other appropriate methods) acceptable to the Village Board.
B. 
For residential, industrial, institutional and commercial users, monthly user charges will be based on actual water usage. If a residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial user has a private use of water, the user charge for that contributor may be based on readings of a wastewater meter(s) or well water meter(s) installed and maintained at the user's expense. In the third month of a fiscal quarter, the meter will be read and that reading used for the quarterly billing.
C. 
Each user shall pay a user charge rate for operation and maintenance, including replacement, equal to the most current rate established by the Village Board. Operation and maintenance, including replacement, rates are based on both actual and anticipated expenses.
D. 
Each user, exclusive of Land O'Lakes, Inc., shall pay a user charge for capital debt service equal to the most current rate established by the Village Board. Capital debt service rates are based on both actual and anticipated expenses.
E. 
For those users whose wastewater has a greater strength than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition to a normal user charges may be collected. The surcharges for operation and maintenance including replacement are equal to the most current rates established by the Village Board.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
F. 
Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants (as defined in Article II, Sewer Use Rules and Regulations) which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the Village's treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increases in the cost of operation, maintenance or replacement of the treatment works, shall pay for such increased costs. The charge to each such user shall be as determined by the appropriate financial personnel and approved by the Village Board.
G. 
The user charge rates established in this article apply to all users of the Village's treatment works who are connected to the Village's collection system, unless specifically noted otherwise.
H. 
Users who have septic or holding tank wastes deposited at the Village's wastewater treatment plant will be charged according to the most current rate established by the Village Board.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
All users shall be billed monthly for these charges based on water usage. Billings for any particular month shall be made within 10 days after the end of the quarter. Payments for these charges based on water usage are due within 20 days after the end of the month. Any payment for these charges based on water usage not received within 20 days after the end of the month shall be delinquent.
B. 
A one-time late payment penalty of 10% of the monthly bill will be added to each delinquent monthly bill.
C. 
When any monthly bill (including interest and penalty) remains unpaid after the date due, such bill shall be recorded in the tax records of the Village by the Village Administrator-Clerk/Treasurer and shall constitute a lien on the property.
All users contributing more than 10,000 gallons per month and/or whose waste strength is greater than 279 mg BOD/l or 325 mg TSS/l or eight mg TP/l shall prepare and file with the Village Board a report that shall include pertinent data relating to the wastewater characteristics, including the methods of sampling and measurement to obtain these data, and these data shall be used to calculate the user charge for that user. The Village shall have the right to gain access to the waste stream and take its own samples. Should the Village do so and should the results be substantially different as determined by the Village from the data submitted by the user, the user charge for that user shall be revised for the next billing cycle/period.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
Any user who feels their user charge is unjust and inequitable may make written application to the Village Board requesting a review of their user charge. Said written request shall, where necessary, show the actual or estimated average flow and/or strength of their wastewater in comparison with the values upon which the charge is based, including how the measurements or estimates were made.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
Review of the request shall be made by the Village Board and, if substantiated, the user charges for that user shall be recomputed based on the revised flow and/or strength data and the new charges shall be applicable to the next billing cycle/period.
A. 
The Village Board will review the user charges at least biannually and revise the rates as necessary to ensure that adequate revenues are generated to pay the costs of operation and maintenance, including replacement, and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance, including replacement costs among users and user classes.
B. 
The Village Administrator-Clerk/Treasurer will notify each user, at least annually, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.