The city shall have all the powers granted by law to acquire,
construct, own, operate, improve, enlarge, extend, repair, and maintain
public utilities, the source of supply of which may be either within
or without the corporate limits of Branch County, including, but not
by way of limitation, public utilities for supplying water and water
treatment, sewage disposal and treatment, electric light and power,
gas, steam, heat, or any of them, to the municipality and the inhabitants
thereof, and outside the city to the extent limited or permitted by
law.
Except the utility plants, systems, and services which are placed
under the direction and control of the Board of Public Utilities by
this charter, the city's utility services and plants, and their appurtenances
shall be under the general control of the Council and shall be managed
by the City Manager, as the administrative agent of the Council. The
City Manager shall employ such personnel as may be required for the
efficient and proper operation of said systems.
(a)
The Council shall fix just and reasonable rates and such other charges
as may be deemed advisable for supplying municipal utility services,
to the inhabitants of the city except for water and electric services,
which shall be fixed by the Board of Public Utilities. Discrimination
in rates by the Council, within any classification of users, shall
not be permitted, nor shall free service be permitted other than to
the city, but higher rates may be charged for utility services delivered
or furnished beyond the corporate limits of the city.
(b)
The rates and charges for any municipal utility shall be fixed on
a basis at least adequate to compensate the city for the cost of such
service and to make reasonable provision for the extension thereof
according to the needs of the city. Transactions pertaining to the
ownership and operation of each municipal utility shall be recorded
in a separate group of accounts, which shall be classified in accordance
with generally accepted accounting practices. Charges for all service
furnished to, or rendered by, other city departments or administrative
units shall be recorded, whether collected or not. An annual report
shall be prepared to show the financial position of each utility and
the results of its operation. A copy of such reports shall be available
for inspection at the office of the Clerk.
(a)
The Council shall provide by ordinance for the collection of rates
and charges for public utility services furnished by the city. When
any person fails or refuses to pay to the city any sums due on utility
bills, the service upon which such delinquency exists may be discontinued
and suit may be brought for the collection thereof.
(b)
Except as otherwise provided by law, the city shall have a lien upon
the premises to which utility services are supplied and, for such
purposes, shall have all the powers granted to cities by law. The
lien shall become effective immediately on the distribution or supplying
of utility services to such premises. In each case where a lien to
secure the payment of utility charges is not available to the city
by operation of law or otherwise, the Council shall require that an
adequate deposit be made by the person to whom city utility services
are furnished, for the purpose of guaranteeing the collection of charges
for such utility services.
(c)
Insofar as permitted by law, all unpaid charges for utility services
to any such premises, which, on the 31 day of March of each year,
have remained unpaid for a period of six months or more, shall be
reported to the Council by the City Manager and the Board of Public
Utilities at the first meeting thereof in the month of April. The
Council thereupon shall order the publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the city of notice that all such unpaid utility charges
not paid by the 30 day of April will be spread upon the city's tax
roll against the premises to which such utility services were supplied
or furnished, and such charges shall then be spread upon the city's
tax roll and shall be collected in the same manner as the city taxes.
The city shall not sell, exchange, lease, or in any way dispose
of any property, easement, equipment, privilege, or asset needed to
continue the operation of any municipal public utility, unless the
proposition to do so is approved by at least 3/5 of the electors of
the city voting on the question at a regular or special city election.
All contracts, grants, leases, or other forms of transfer in violation
of this section shall be void and of no effect as against the city.
The restrictions of this section shall not apply to the sale or exchange
of articles of machinery or equipment of any municipally owned public
utility, which are no longer useful or which are replaced by new machinery
or equipment, or to the leasing of property not necessary for the
operation of the utility, or to the exchange of property or easements
for other needed property or interests in property.
The city may grant a franchise to any person for the use of
the streets, alleys, bridges, and other public places of the city
for the furnishing of any public utility service to the city and its
inhabitants. Franchises and renewals, amendments, and extensions thereof
shall be granted only by ordinance. Public utility franchises shall
include provisions for fixing rates and charges, and may provide for
readjustments thereof at periodic intervals. The city may, with respect
to any public utility franchise granted after the effective date of
this charter, whether or not so provided in the granting ordinance:
(1)
Terminate the same for the violation of any of its provisions, for
the misuse or non-use thereof, for failure to comply with any provision
thereof, or any regulation imposed under authority of this section;
(2)
Require proper and adequate extension of plant and the maintenance
thereof at the highest practicable standard of efficiency;
(3)
Establish reasonable standards of service and quality of products,
and prevent unjust discrimination in service or rates;
(4)
Require continuous and uninterrupted service to the public in accordance
with the terms of the franchise throughout the entire period thereof;
(5)
Impose other regulations determined by the Council to be conducive
to the health, safety, welfare, and convenience of the public;
(6)
Require the public utility to permit joint use of its property and
appurtenances located in the streets, alleys, bridges, and public
places, by the city and other utilities, insofar as such joint use
may be reasonably practicable and upon payment of reasonable rental
therefor, and, in the absence of agreement, upon application by the
public utility, provide for arbitration of the terms and conditions
of such joint use and the compensation to be paid therefor;
(7)
Require the public utility to pay any part of the cost of improvement
or maintenance of streets, alleys, bridges, and public places, that
arises from its use thereof, and to protect and save the city harmless
from all damages arising from such use;
(8)
Require the public utility to file with the City Manager such drawings
and maps of the location and nature of its facilities, as the Council
may request.
No franchise shall be granted by the city for a term exceeding
30 years and no exclusive franchise shall ever be granted. Each franchise
shall include a provision requiring the franchise to take effect within
one year after the adoption of the ordinance granting it, except in
the case of grants to take effect at the end of an existing franchise.
An irrevocable franchise and any extension or amendment of such franchise
may not be granted by the city, unless the ordinance granting such
franchise has first received the affirmative vote of at least 3/5
of the electors of the city voting thereon at a regular or special
city election. An irrevocable franchise ordinance may be approved
by the Council, for referral to the electorate, only after a public
hearing has been held thereon and after the grantee named therein
has filed with the Clerk his unconditional acceptance of all the terms
of the franchise. No special election for such purpose may be ordered
by the Council, unless the expense of holding such election has first
been paid to the Treasurer by the grantee.
Every ordinance granting a franchise, license, or right to occupy
or use streets, alleys, bridges, or public places shall remain on
file with the Clerk for public inspection in its final form for at
least 30 days before the final adoption thereof, or the approval thereof
for referral to the electorate.
The grantee of a franchise may not sell, assign, sublet, or
allow another to use the same, unless the Council gives its consent.
Nothing in this section shall limit the right of the grantee of any
public utility franchise to mortgage its property or franchise, nor
shall restrict the rights of the purchaser, upon foreclosure sale,
to operate the same, except that such mortgagee or purchaser shall
be subject to the terms of the franchise and provisions of this chapter.
The Council may, by ordinance, require, as a condition to the
placing or installment thereof, that each public utility conducting
a business in the city file with the City Manager a duplicate copy
of layout plans of pipes, conduits, and other facilities which are
to be placed on, under, or above the surface of the city's streets,
alleys, bridges, and public places.
