The City may at any time restrict or regulate
the quantity of water used by the consumers in case of scarcity or
if, in the judgment of the governing body, such restriction or regulation
may be necessary for the safety of the community or in case of fire,
and, in case of necessity, the City may be at liberty to shut off
the water supply in order to make repairs, and said municipality shall
not be liable under any circumstances for the deficiency or failure
in the supply of water, whether occasioned by shutting off of water
or any other cause whatsoever, nor shall the City be held liable for
any damage caused by increased pressure being put on the mains during
the time of fires, drills by the companies or any other time, and
all contracts shall be held and construed to be made subject to the
provisions of this section.
The City shall have the right to install meters
at its own expense in any and all properties now being served on a
nonmetered basis. All bills thereafter shall be rendered at metered
rates. All new services installed shall be metered, except for the
supply of water for temporary, building, construction, fire hydrant
and sprinkler services or for other special purposes.
The City shall have the right to modify, rescind,
amend or alter any of the terms of this Part 4 or make such additional
regulations and restrictions as shall be found advisable for the protection
of the municipal water system and plant.
The City reserves the right to turn off water
for:
A.
Nonpayment of rent therefor or any charges that may
stand against any premises supplied.
B.
Fraudulent representation on the part of the consumer.
C.
Use of water for other purposes than those stated
in the application or permit.
D.
Hampering or in any way interfering with the mechanism
of any meter or parts of a meter installed on any premises. This is
a misdemeanor under the law.
E.
Persistent violation of the rules and regulations
of the Water-Sewer Utility.
The Water-Sewer Utility will spare no pains
in order to furnish an abundant supply of good, pure and wholesome
water at sufficient pressure for general usage and special pressure
in case of fire, and, to ensure an efficient and successful management
of the municipal water plant, the foregoing rules and regulations
will be strictly enforced.
[Last amended 8-27-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-57]
The following rates shall be charged and paid for water services,
effective July 1, 2019.
A.
Schedule of flat water rates:
(1)
Hydrants.
(a)
$190 per year for the use of each hydrant for fire purposes
only on private property; can be billed annually, biannually, or monthly
at the utility's discretion.
(b)
$27.50 per year for the use of each hydrant for fire purposes
by the City on public highways; can be billed annually, biannually,
or monthly at the utility's discretion.
(c)
$300 per fire flow test. Procedures and applications are obtained
from the Water Utility. No test shall be conducted without prior Water
Utility approval and a scheduled test appointment.
(d)
Automatic fire sprinkler service. For service connections to
an automatic fire sprinkler system for fire protection only:
|
Meter Size
(inches)
|
Rate per Year
|
|---|---|
|
2 and 3
|
$375
|
|
4
|
$450
|
|
6 and larger
|
$525
|
B.
Metered rates. The following rates shall be hereafter charged monthly
for water supplied by metered measurement to consumers. The following
rates apply on the consumption as registered by one or more meters.
The consumption by multiple meters on an account will be combined
in rendering the monthly statement of charges.
|
Gallonage per Month
|
Rate per Thousand Gallons
|
|---|---|
|
First 25,000 gallons
|
$2.81
|
|
Next 225,000 gallons
|
$2.07
|
|
Next 2,250,000 gallons
|
$1.60
|
|
Next 2,500,000 gallons
|
$1.41
|
(1)
Metered service rates. The following shall be the rates at which
water will be furnished, the allowance of water for the said minimum
charge to be deducted from the quantities shown below under minimum
charges.
(2)
Minimum charges. After a meter is installed, no bill will be
rendered or payment accepted for less than the following minimum rates
for each meter monthly:
|
Meter Size
(inches)
|
Gallonage Included
|
Monthly Rates
|
|---|---|---|
|
Through 5/8
|
3,000
|
$12.32
|
|
Through 1
|
10,000
|
$32.94
|
|
Through 1 1/2
|
16,000
|
$56.03
|
|
Through 2
|
21,000
|
$69.22
|
|
Through 3
|
25,000
|
$79.09
|
|
Through 4
|
30,000
|
$107.07
|
|
Through 6
|
80,000
|
$247.07
|
|
Through 8
|
107,000
|
$329.42
|
|
Through 10
|
133,000
|
$411.77
|
C.
Additional consumer units.
(1)
There shall be a monthly consumer unit charge for each additional
unit (multifamily dwelling) served through the same meter as follows:
|
Equivalent Units
|
Monthly Charge
| |
|---|---|---|
|
3 or more bedrooms
|
1
|
$4.97
|
|
2 bedrooms
|
3/4
|
$3.75
|
|
1 bedroom
|
1/2
|
$2.52
|
|
Hotel/motel (per room)
|
1/4
|
$1.23
|
(2)
Examples of multifamily dwellings: apartments, duplexes, mobile
home parks, condominiums, senior complexes, townhouses, etc.
(3)
Service charge. The Water-Sewer Utility reserves the right to
impose a service charge on all meters if deemed necessary.
(4)
For replacement and supply of a water meter damaged or stolen
from a residential location, the applicant for water service shall
be required to purchase the appropriate size meter at their expense
prior to receiving water service. The cost for such meter shall be
consistent with the current cost as listed on the Vineland Municipal
Utilities Rate Card.
[Added 9-13-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-70]
D.
Tapping fees.
(1)
Tapping, meter and meter pit fees (piping to curbline complete)
shall be charged as follows:
[Amended 4-28-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-22; 6-28-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-49]
|
Size of Tap
(inches)
|
Fee
|
|---|---|
|
5/8 with meter pit
|
$2,250
|
|
1 with meter pit
|
$2,250
|
|
1 1/2 with meter and pit
|
$4,765
|
|
2 with meter and pit
|
$5,580
|
|
4
|
$2,788
|
|
6
|
$3,068
|
|
8
|
$3,715
|
|
10
|
$4,690
|
|
12
|
$6,105
|
(2)
Taps, meters and meter pits larger than two inches in size shall
be made only on special arrangement with the Water-Sewer Utility,
and the applicant shall pay the full and actual cost of materials
and installation. Excavation and required compactions shall be executed
by a contractor per the specification sheet provided by the Water
Utility.
(3)
All charges incident to tap applications shall be due and payable
in advance.
E.
Street opening fees. A street opening fee in such amount as may be
determined by ordinance or resolution of City Council shall be charged
in addition to the above tap charges.
F.
Missed appointment charge. A charge of $45 shall be debited to the
account of a Water-Sewer Utility customer who fails to keep a prescheduled
appointment for services to be performed or readings to be taken.
[Amended 4-28-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-22]
G.
Recovery clause. The Water-Sewer Utility reserves the right to impose
a recovery clause to adjust for the escalation in energy and treatment
costs associated with the supply and distribution of City water.
H.
Connection fee.
[Amended 9-27-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-75]
(1)
A water connection fee is initially required from a new connector
to the Water Utility distribution system. A connection fee represents
a fair payment toward the total capital cost for developing the water
distribution infrastructure system as determined by ordinance or resolution
of City Council. The Water Utility reserves the right to review the
original submission of gallons-per-day usage versus actual gallons-per-day
water usage of the established business for period of three years
from the time of water service activation and adjust the original
paid connection fee accordingly. Water connection fees of the established
business will be recalculated when additional water service laterals
at the business location are requested no matter what the time from
post-service activation. Multiphase projects are subject to review
at the start of each phase for calculation of water connection fees.
Multiphase projects are subject to review upon completion of each
phase. All aforementioned time of water service activation terms,
conditions and review of water usage apply to each phase of multiphase
projects. All water utility fees are due in full prior to issuance
of a building permit for single and multiphase projects.
I.
Assessment fee.
(1)
Assessment for water main extension shall be based on the number
of properties in the project. The total cost for the project shall
be divided by the number of properties that are serviceable by the
water main extension.
(2)
Each property that is serviceable by the water main extension
shall be provided with a standard 5/8 inch water tap, meter and meter
pit. The owner of the parcel shall determine the location of the tap
on the frontage of the property. The cost for the tap/meter/pit shall
be included in the assessment. Any additional taps, or taps of increased
size, requested by the property owner, must conform to all zoning
and other regulations set forth by the City of Vineland and the Vineland
Water-Sewer Utility. If permitted, additional and/or larger taps will
be charged to the property owner and will not be included in the assessment.
A connection fee, as established by this chapter, shall be paid in
advance before access is granted.
(3)
Easements/rights-of-way: No assessments shall be levied upon
government or public utility easements/rights-of-way.
(4)
Properties that are owned by government, utilities, schools,
and other tax-exempt properties are assessable.
(5)
Railroad property shall be exempt from assessment, with the
exception of railroad properties that require a water tap.
(6)
Unique situations may be exempted from assessment upon approval
by the Water-Sewer Utility Superintendent and the Business Administrator.
(7)
Any parcel that is subdivided to create a new parcel contained
within the original project area and completed within the original
period of the assessment shall be subject to payment of the same lot
assessment as if it had existed at the time of the construction of
the project. This assessment shall be paid in full during the period
of the original assessment and may be charged in annual assessments.
Installation of new taps shall not be permitted until the street-opening
moratorium has expired.
(8)
The
Water-Sewer Utility reserves the right to have the customer (commercial
customers only) replace their existing water meter with a new Water-Sewer
Utility meter at the current market price if the Utility deems the
existing meter to be malfunctioning due to age and/or meter equipment
failure. Cost of the meter shall be the responsibility of the customer.
[Added 4-28-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-22]
[Added 8-26-1986 by Ord. No. 86-46]
In order to make bills more easily understood
by the customers, all water bills shall reflect the gallonage pumped
to each customer during the quarter. Since the water meters record
cubic feet of usage, a conversion factor of 7.5 gallons per cubic
foot of water shall be used.
[Added 8-26-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-43; amended 11-23-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-64; 11-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-82]
A.
Assessment for water main extension shall be based
on the number of properties in the project. The total cost for the
project shall be divided by the number of properties that are serviceable
by the water main extension.
B.
Each property that is serviceable by the water main
extension shall be provided with a standard one-inch water tap. The
owner of the parcel shall determine the location of the tap on the
frontage of the property. The cost for the tap shall be included in
the assessment. Any additional taps or taps of increased size, requested
by the property owner, must conform to all zoning and other regulations
set forth by the City of Vineland and the Vineland Water-Sewer Utility.
If permitted, additional and/or larger taps will be charged to the
property owner and will not be included in the assessment. A connection
fee, as established by this part, shall be paid in advance before
access is granted.
C.
Easements/rights-of-way. No assessments shall be levied
upon government or public utility easements/rights-of-way.
D.
Properties that are owned by governments, utilities,
schools, and other tax-exempt properties are assessable.
E.
Railroad property shall be exempt from assessment,
with the exception of railroad properties that require a water tap.
F.
Unique situations may be exempted from assessment
upon approval by the Water-Sewer Utility Superintendent and the Business
Administrator.
G.
Any parcel that is subdivided to create a new parcel
contained within the original project area and completed within the
original period of the assessment (usually 10 years) shall be subject
to payment of the same lot assessment as if it had existed at the
time of the construction of the project. This assessment shall be
paid in full during the period of the original assessment and may
be charged in annual assessments. Installation of new taps shall not
be permitted until the street opening moratorium has expired, usually
five years.
