City of Ste. Genevieve, MO
Ste. Genevieve County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 715: User Charge Systems

Section 715.010 Purpose.

[Ord. No. 3645 §1, 12-29-2009]
It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health; safety, welfare and convenience of the City to collect charges from all users who use the City's water system. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining and retiring the debt for such public water system.

Section 715.020 Definitions.

[Ord. No. 3645 §2, 12-29-2009]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Article shall be as follows:
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
All expenditures during the useful life of the system for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the system to achieve the capacity and performance for which system was designed and constructed.
REPLACEMENT
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the system to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.
RESIDENTIAL USER
Any user of the City's water system whose lot, parcel of real estate or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.
SHALL
Is mandatory; MAY: Is permissive.
USEFUL LIFE
The estimated period during which the treatment works will be operated.
USER CHARGE
That portion of the total water service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the water system.
WATER METER
A water volume measuring and recording device, furnished and/or installed by the City of Ste. Genevieve or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the City of Ste. Genevieve.
WATER SYSTEM
Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling, transmission and distribution of water. These include transmission and distribution lines, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable water supply such as standby treatment units and any works, including site acquisition of land that will be part of the treatment process.
WINTER AVERAGE USE
Average of winter quarter (Dec., Jan., Feb.).

Section 715.030 User Charge Accounts.

[Ord. No. 3645 §3, 12-29-2009]
A. 
The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay the costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement and cost associated with debt retirement of bonded capital associated with financing the water system which the City may by ordinance designate to be paid by the user charge system. That portion of the total user charge which is designated for operation and maintenance including replacement of the water system shall be established by this ordinance.
B. 
That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for the operation and maintenance including replacement purposes as established in Article IV, shall be deposited in the Water Fund #030. Funds are set aside in the Water Fund Budget (FY 2010) annually for the operation, maintenance and replacement needs over the useful life of the treatment works. Deposits are made weekly into this fund.
C. 
Fiscal year-end balances in the Operation and Maintenance Account and the Replacement Account shall be carried over to the same accounts in each subsequent fiscal year and shall be used for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Monies which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The user charge rate(s) shall be adjusted such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the monies were borrowed.

Section 715.040 User Charge Rates.

[Ord. No. 3645 §4, 12-29-2009; Ord. No. 3756 §§1 — 2, 9-22-2011; Ord. No. 3824 §1, 9-13-2012; Ord. No. 3833 §1, 10-25-2012]
A. 
Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City based on their use of the water system as determined by water system as determined by water meter(s) acceptable to the City.
B. 
All monthly user charges will be based on monthly water usage. Reference is made to Appendix A of this ordinance, (which is on file in the City offices).
1. 
The minimum charge for water customers inside City limits shall be five dollars forty-nine cents ($5.49) per month. In addition, each customer shall pay a user unit charge for operation and maintenance including replacement of $.04665 per cubic feet of water. For all water customers outside City limits that do not have a contractual agreement with the City of Ste. Genevieve, the water rate shall be two (2) times the rates for those living within City limits. A customer that has one (1) water meter that serves multiple dwelling units shall be charged the minimum five dollars forty-nine cents ($5.49) times the number of units, plus the operation and maintenance including replacement fee of $.04665 per cubic feet of water. The user charge rates established in this Article shall apply to all users of the City of Ste. Genevieve system regardless of the user's location. Thereafter, the rates shall be set according to the following schedule, with the same procedure being used for meters serving multiple dwelling units at the applicable rates, subject to annual ratification by the Board of Aldermen which shall occur commensurate with the approval of the annual budget:
Minimum Customer Charge
Operation and Maintenance including replacement
2014
$5.71
$.04852/cu.ft.
2015
$5.94
$.05046/cu.ft.
2016
$6.12
$.05197/cu.ft.
2017
$6.30
$.05353/cu.ft.
2018
$6.49
$.05514/cu.ft.
2019
$6.68
$.05679/cu.ft.
2. 
The following special rates for monthly water usage shall apply to all companies, and/or industries that have a contractual arrangement with the City of Ste. Genevieve to provide lime for the municipal water system. A fee of four dollars sixty-eight cents ($4.68) per one thousand (1,000) gallons ($.03499) shall be charged on a monthly basis. Thereafter, the rates shall be set according to the following schedule, with the same procedure being used for meters serving multiple dwelling units at the applicable rates, subject to annual ratification by the Board of Aldermen which shall occur commensurate with the approval of the annual budget:
Minimum Customer Charge
2014
$4.87
$.03639/cu.ft.
2015
$5.06
$.03785/cu.ft.
2016
$5.21
$.03898/cu.ft.
2017
$5.37
$.04015/cu.ft.
2018
$5.53
$.04135/cu.ft.
2019
$5.70
$.04260/cu.ft.

Section 715.050 Billing and Delinquency.

[Ord. No. 3645 §4, 12-29-2009]
A. 
All Users Shall Be Billed Monthly. All water bills shall be due and payable on the fifteenth (15th) of the month and shall become delinquent on the sixteenth (16th) of the month. If any bill rendered by the City is not paid by the end of sail month, the City may discontinue services to said customer. When service is disconnected due to non-payment, the total amount of the outstanding bill, plus applicable reconnection charges shall be paid before the service is reconnected.
B. 
A late payment penalty of fifteen percent (15%) of the user charge bill will be added to each delinquent bill for each fifteen (15) days of delinquency. When any bill is thirty (30) days in default, water service to such premises shall be discontinued until such bill is paid following due notice and opportunity for hearing. Reconnection fees shall be paid by the customer.

Section 715.060 City To Review User Charge.

[Ord. No. 3645 §4, 12-29-2009]
A. 
The City of Ste. Genevieve shall review the user charge system annually and revise user charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues 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 City of Ste. Genevieve will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.

Section 715.070 through Section 715.090. (Reserved)

Section 715.100 Purpose.

[Ord. No. 3647 §1, 12-29-2009]
It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the City to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the City's treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived shall be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining and retiring the debt for such public wastewater treatment works.

Section 715.110 Definitions. [1]

[CC 1985 §22-37; Ord. No. 2400 Art. II, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 3647 §2, 12-29-2009]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Article shall be as follows:
BOD (DENOTING BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty degrees Centigrade (20°C), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
Wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than three hundred (300) mg/l and a suspended solids concentration of not more than three hundred fifty (350) mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the sewage works to achieve the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
REPLACEMENT
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.
RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Any contributor to the City's treatment works whose lot, parcel of real estate or building is used for domestic dwellings purposes only.
SS (DENOTING SUSPENDED SOLIDS)
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
TREATMENT WORKS
Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage or liquid industrial wastes. These include interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works including site acquisition of land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment (including land for composting sludge, temporary storage of such compost and land used for storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application); or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
USEFUL LIFE
The estimated period during which a treatment works will be operated.
USER CHARGE
That portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the wastewater treatment works.
WATER METER
A water volume measuring and recording device furnished or installed by the City or furnished or installed by the City of Ste. Genevieve or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the City of Ste. Genevieve.
[1]
Cross Reference — Definitions and rules of construction generally, §100.110.

Section 715.120 Use of User Charge System Funds.

[Ord. No. 3647 §3, 12-29-2009]
A. 
The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay the costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement and cost associated with debt retirement of bonded capital associated with financing the treatment works which the City may by ordinance designate to be paid by the user charge system. That portion of the total user charge which is designated for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works shall be established by this Article.
B. 
That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for the operation and maintenance including replacement purposes as established in Section 715.140 shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund and will be kept in two (2) primary accounts as follows:
1. 
The operation and maintenance account shall be an account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs (excluding replacement) of the treatment works. Deposits in the operation and maintenance account shall be made annually from the operation and maintenance revenue in the amount of $396,406.98 (Total Expenses $502,145.98 — Replacement Costs of $12,500.00 — Debt Service Costs of $93,239.00 = $396,406.98)
2. 
The replacement account shall be an account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs (excluding replacement) of the treatment works. Deposits in the operation and maintenance account shall be made annually from the operation and maintenance revenue in the amount of twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500.00) annually.

Section 715.130 Review of User Charge System.

[Ord. No. 3647 §3, 12-29-2009]
A. 
The City of Ste. Genevieve shall review the user charge system annually and revise user charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues 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 City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.

Section 715.140 Sewer Charges and Billing.

[Ord. No. 3647 §5, 12-29-2009; Ord. No. 3727 §2, 4-14-2011; Ord. No. 3755 §1, 9-22-2011; Ord. No. 3825 §1, 9-13-2012]
A. 
Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City based on their use of the treatment works as determined by water meter(s) acceptable to the City.
B. 
For residential contributors, monthly user charges will be based on average monthly water usage during the months of January, February and March. (Water usage for these months includes little use for such activities as lawn watering, car washing and other seasonal consumptive uses. The winter quarter average should not be used in areas that experience large seasonal fluctuations in population and/or usage.) If a residential contributor has not established a January, February, and March average, their monthly bill shall be the median charge of all other residential contributors.
C. 
For industrial and commercial contributors, user charges shall be based on water used during the current month. If a commercial or industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water or in some other manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on wastewater meter(s) or separate water meter(s) installed and maintained at the contributor's expense and in a manner acceptable to the City.
D. 
The minimum charge for sewer service per customer shall be at least six dollars seventy cents ($6.70). In addition, each customer shall pay a user charge for operation and maintenance including replacement of at least four dollars four cents ($4.04) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of water, or $.0302 per cubic feet. A customer that has one (1) water meter that serves multiple dwelling units shall be charged by taking the number of units times the minimum rate of six dollars seventy cents ($6.70), plus the operation and maintenance including replacement fee of four dollars four cents ($4.04) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of water, or $.0302 per cubic feet. Thereafter, the rates shall be set according to the following schedule, with the same procedure being used for meters serving multiple dwelling units at the applicable rates, subject to annual ratification by the Board of Aldermen which shall occur commensurate with the approval of the annual budget:
Minimum Customer Charge
Operation and Maintenance including replacement
2014
$7.04
$4.24 ($.0317/cu.ft.)
2015
$7.39
$4.45 ($.0333/cu.ft.)
2016
$7.53
$4.54 ($.0340/cu.ft.)
2017
$7.69
$4.63 ($.0346)/cu.ft.)
2018
$7.84
$4.73 ($.0353/cu.ft.)
E. 
For those contributors which contribute wastewater, the strength of which is greater than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition to the normal user charge will be collected. The surcharge for operation and maintenance including replacement is:
$ .549598 per pound of BOD
$ .549598 per pound of SS
F. 
Any user which discharge any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City'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 user shall be as determined by the responsible plant operating personnel and approved by the Board of Aldermen.
G. 
The user charge rates established in this Section shall apply to all users of the City's treatment works regardless of the user's location.

Section 715.150 Billing and Payment.

[Ord. No. 3647 §6, 12-29-2009]
A. 
All users shall be billed monthly. All sewer bills shall be due and payable on the fifteenth (15th) of the month and shall become delinquent on the sixteenth (16) of the month. If any bill rendered by the City is not paid by the end of said month, the City may discontinue services to such customer. When service is disconnected due to non-payment, the total amount of the outstanding bill, plus applicable reconnection charges, shall be paid before the service is rendered.
B. 
A late payment penalty of fifteen percent (15%) of the user charge bill will be added to each delinquent bill for each fifteen (15) days of delinquency. When any bill is thirty (30) days in default, rendition of water and/or sewer service to such premises shall be discontinued until such bill is paid following due notice and opportunity of hearing.