[R.O. 1996 § 700.010; CC 1987 §110.010]
The Public Works Director shall supervise
all municipal utilities, and shall be empowered himself/herself or
by a designated employee to conduct any meetings or hearings with
users of municipal services pursuant to this Chapter.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.020; CC 1987 §110.020]
City Utilities shall consist of the
following:
The City Water and Sewer Utility.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.030; CC 1987 §110.030]
The City shall furnish utility service
from any of its utilities to customers only upon the expressed conditions
precedent that the City will not be liable to consumer or other person
for an inconvenience, delay, injury, loss or damage whatsoever, occurring
by reason of derangements, stoppage, leak, fault or negligent construction
or operation of any of the utility equipment apparatus, distribution
means, pipes or lines, or by reason of the temporary shutting off
of any of the utility services to clear or repair the same or for
any other purpose, or by reason of the scarcity or insufficiency of
the particular utility service supply, or the character or condition
of the water, or by reason of the clogging or freezing of the mains
or service pipes, or the disruptions of distribution due to weather
or other acts of God; nor shall the City be liable for the expense
of repair of any service, pipes, mains or lines not owned by the City.
The City reserves the right at any time to restrict the use of any
utility service for any and all purposes. The Public Works Director
may, if he/she determines it necessary, impose a system of rationing
or otherwise restrict the delivery of any or all utility services
to a consumer.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.040; CC 1987 §110.040]
The Utilities Clerk shall register
all applications for the supply of any utility service, keep a full
and accurate account of all utility services provided, promptly collect
all utility charges and pay the same to the Treasurer and report to
the Board of Aldermen monthly all monies received.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.050; CC 1987 §110.050]
All applications for utility services,
or any utility service, shall be made in writing at the City Hall
to the Utilities Clerk or a designated employee, upon an appropriate
blank form furnished by the City. The application, in writing, shall
plainly show the charges to be made for the installation of the utility
service by the City, and such charges shall be paid by the applicant
at the time. The application shall also show the deposits required,
the conditions under which deposits may be returned, and such deposits
shall be paid by the applicant at that time. It shall be expressly
understood, and shall be made a part of the application, that as a
consideration for the division of the particular utility service and
of all utility services within the City, incorporated within said
contract, shall be the requirements of this Chapter, and every person
by applying for said utility service, and by accepting such service
has thereby expressed his/her assent to be bound thereby. The applicant
shall be furnished a copy of his/her application, which shall serve
as a receipt for this money paid.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.055; Ord. No. 450 §1, 8-12-1999; Ord.
No. 595 §1, 8-10-2006]
A deposit of one hundred dollars
($100.00) for utility service will be required of any person(s), business
or corporation renting or leasing any premises and of any owner, renter
or lessee of a mobile or manufactured home. It shall be the responsibility
of the owner or agent of the owner of the premises to notify the City
in writing of any change in tenants for said premises, prior to any
deposit being accepted from a new tenant or any refund being given
to a previous tenant. The deposit will be made with the Utilities
Clerk prior to service being connected. The deposit will remain with
the City until such time as a written request by the depositor is
made and received by the City notifying the City to disconnect service.
When the request for disconnect of services is received by the City,
the Utilities Clerk shall notify the City Clerk of disconnection and
request refund of deposit. Any usage of the utilities made prior to
the deposit will result in immediate disconnect until such time as
the deposit and penalty for unauthorized usage is made with the Utilities
Clerk.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.060; CC 1987 §§110.080,
112.090; Ord. No. 450 §2, 8-12-1999]
A.
All water supplied by any City utility
service shall be charged for the same in accordance with the registration
of the meters installed by the City to record such provisions of service,
and charge shall be made in accordance with the registration of such
meters and the rates established under this Chapter and all bills
will be collected therefor in full (less such rate of discount as
is available to all users of water services for prompt payment); provided
that when any such meter by actual test as provided for in this Chapter
is found to be imperfect and fast in measurement of the service by
more than two percent (2%), the cost of the excess amount of services
as represented by the imperfection of such meter shall be deducted
from the total amount of the bill for the meter reading period for
which such bill is rendered.
B.
Employees of any municipal utility may
at any time and with or without the knowledge or consent of any consumer,
install an additional meter at any location where such meter may be
connected into the service to any building, dwelling house or premises
of any kind to which the City is furnishing utility service, and when
such meter shall for any period register more utilities than are registered
by the meter on the premises of the consumer, it shall be taken as
evidence that the service being furnished to such consumer is not
being properly metered by the first meter on the consumer's premises,
and the consumer shall pay for all utilities registered over any period
by the second or additional meter so installed, instead of the amount
that has been improperly registered by his/her regular meter.
C.
Nothing in this Chapter shall be so construed as to mean that more than one (1) meter will be furnished for any one (1) building or premises, but where two (2) or more dwellings or units are located on one (1) lot, each of said dwellings or units shall have separate metering installed in accordance with installation methods set forth in Section 705.010 herein contained, and cost associated with installation shall be the responsibility of the owner.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.070; CC 1987 §110.090]
A.
Should any customer desire to challenge
the accuracy of any meter supplied by the City, he/she may do so on
request and on payment of an inspection fee. Inspection fee shall
be designed to cover the cost of testing the meter and shall roughly
approximate the cost of the City. This fee shall be set, from time
to time, by the Public Works Director. Should the meter be found to
be imperfect and fast in measurement of the service by more than two
percent (2%), the cost of said test shall be paid by the City and
the inspection fee be refunded to the consumer. Should the test show
the meter is correct in the margin of error of two percent (2%), the
cost of the excess amount of services shall not be adjudged, and the
inspection fee shall be retained by the City. Should the inspection
show that the meter is imperfect and slow in measurement of the service
by more than two percent (2%), there shall be no adjustment of prior
billings, and the inspection fee will be retained by the City.
B.
No consumer shall require a test of any
meter more often than once in six (6) months. At the request of the
consumer a written report showing the result of such test shall be
given the consumer requesting the same.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.080; CC 1987 §110.100; Ord. No. 450 §3, 8-12-1999; Ord.
No. 758 §1, 11-13-2014; Ord. No. 918, 9-9-2021]
A.
The Utilities Clerk shall render a monthly bill to each utility customer
for their utility service.
1.
Each customer shall monthly be billed for utility services,
in writing.
2.
Every property owner shall be responsible for any amount due
for and relating to utility service for all meters on such property
served by the City Utilities, including any amount left unpaid by
any tenant of the property. Further, where the property owner fails
to pay such amount or any other amount due for and relating to utility
service for their property, the City may refuse to provide City Water
service to the property with the delinquent charge even in the name
of a subsequent tenant or new owner of the property.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.090; CC 1987 §110.120]
All bills for service charges furnished
by the City may be estimated, when by reason of defect in or failure
to read the appropriate meter or for any other reason, the monthly
bill of the user or customer cannot be accurately determined. The
Utilities Clerk shall make such estimate, considering the average
consumption of the user over the previous twelve-month period, considering
the relative use of such utility service within the City as a whole
for the period of time in question, and considering such other factors
as the Utilities Clerk may seem appropriate. Such estimated bills
shall be due and payable as are all other bills rendered under this
Chapter.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.100; CC 1987 §110.130]
Any person who, by reason of financial
or other hardship, is unable to pay any utility bill prior to the
termination date, may be granted by the Utilities Clerk such additional
period as the Utilities Clerk may deem appropriate in which to pay
his/her delinquent account, provided that the Utilities Clerk may
not grant to any customer the right to pay his/her utility bill past
the date when the next month's utility bill would be presented to
said customer.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.110]
All water meters shall be read and
bills rendered monthly as services accrue; all bills shall be due
and payable from and after the date such bills are rendered at City
Hall, during the regular hours of business.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.120; Ord. No. 450 §4, 8-12-1999]
If any bill for water or sewer service
shall be and remain due on or after the 15th calendar day of the billing
date, an additional charge of five dollars ($5.00) shall be added
thereto.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.130; Ord. No. 450 §5, 8-12-1999; Ord.
No. 595 §2, 8-10-2006; Ord. No. 663 §1, 8-19-2009; Ord.
No. 758 §1, 11-13-2014; Ord. No. 918, 9-9-2021]
A.
If any amount due for and relating to utility service shall be twenty-five
(25) calendar days or more past due and unpaid, service to such delinquent
customer and property shall be discontinued and shall not be reconnected
until all amounts due are paid in full, together with an administration
charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). If a property has multiple
meters and not all metered customers on that property are delinquent
in payments for their utility service, service may be continued to
the non-delinquent metered customer on that property. It shall be
the duty of the Utility Clerk to notify the Public Works Director,
or anyone so designated by the Board of Aldermen, of such delinquency,
and such person shall proceed immediately to disconnect water service.
No reconnections shall be done by the Public Works Department, if
payment for all outstanding bills, deposits and fees are not made
before 2:30 P.M. on a business day.
B.
Disconnections shall take place on the 26th day of each month, provided
that such day is not a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. If the
26th day does fall on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the
disconnection shall take place the next immediate business day.
C.
If City Water and/or Sewer Utility service is disconnected to any
customer twice in any calendar year, such customer shall be required
to pay, in addition to all other amounts due, a deposit of one hundred
dollars ($100.00) before reconnection can be made to that customer.
Property owners also shall be responsible for such deposit before
reconnection can be made to their property.
D.
In the event that a customer or property owner fails to pay any amount
due for and relating to utility service, such persons also shall be
jointly and severally responsible for all costs of collecting such
amounts, including attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.140; CC 1987 §110.110]
A.
Any or all utility services may be discontinued
without notice to the customer, for the following reasons:
1.
For failure to pay utility service charges, provided that notice of the utility service charge and the right to protest or complain about the calculation of the charges has been given as provided in Section 700.080.
2.
Upon the discovery of any unauthorized
connections or diversions of utility service beyond any meter.
3.
Upon the discovery that utility service
through one (1) meter is being used by more than one (1) customer.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.145; Ord. No. 694 §1, 3-10-2011]
If a check payable to the City of
Gerald is returned by any financial institution and/or otherwise dishonored,
whether for insufficient funds, stop payment, no such account, no
such drawer, or for any other reason, there shall be assessed to the
issuer/drawer of said check, an administrative handling fee of twenty-five
dollars ($25.00) to cover such actual costs of postage, employee salaries,
time, copying costs, bank fees and/or other additional administrative
costs.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.160; CC 1987 §110.190]
The Public Works Director and the
various persons employed by him/her in the line of duty shall at all
reasonable hours have free access to all parts of any building, dwelling
house or premises of any kind to which service is furnished, for the
purpose of installing, examining or repairing or removing any poles,
wires, meter or other material or appliances belonging to the City,
or to read meters, turn on or cut off service, or for any other purpose
that may be deemed essential for the preservation of such property,
prevention of waste or collection of revenue.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.170; Ord. No. 401 §§1 —
5, 7-13-1995; Ord. No. 413 §§1 — 5, 7-11-1996; Ord. No. 450 §7, 8-12-1999; Ord. No. 475 §1, 8-10-2000; Ord.
No. 622 §§1 — 3, 1-17-2008; Ord. No. 647 §1, 12-11-2008; Ord. No. 664 §1, 8-19-2009; Ord.
No. 666 §2, 9-10-2009]
A.
Schedule Of Rates. The schedule of rates
for water service within the Gerald limits shall be as follows until
hereafter changed, which right the City expressly reserves to itself.
[Ord. No. 875, 8-9-2018]
B.
Sewer Rates.
[Ord. No. 795 §3, 11-12-2015; Ord. No. 802 §2, 1-14-2016; Ord. No. 914, 2-25-2021]
1.
Beginning on the next billing cycle
after passage of this Ordinance No. 914 (2-25-2021), the flat fee
for all sewer users shall be eighteen dollars and fifty cents ($18.50)
per month;
2.
With an additional five dollars and
twenty-eight cents ($5.28) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction
thereof of water used per month.
C.
Sewer usage shall be determined by the
amount of water usage metered each month.
D.
Sewer Rates — Consumers Outside City
Limits — Consumers Not Connected To City Sewer.
1.
When a consumer resides within the
City limits, but is not connected to the City sewer, there shall be
no sewer charge.
2.
When a consumer resides outside the
City limits, but utilizes City water, there shall be both a water
and sewer charge regardless if sewer is available or not to such consumer.
3.
When a customer resides outside the
City limits and utilizes City sewer and no water, there shall be a
monthly water usage estimate of three thousand five hundred (3,500)
gallons. The charge for such sewer is a flat rate of three thousand
five hundred (3,500) gallons multiplied by one and one-half (1 1/2)
times the City rate (3,500 x 1.5 City rate).
E.
The Utilities Clerk shall cause to have
billing mailed to users as of the first date of each month.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.180; CC 1987 §115.010]
The schedule of rates for the use
of municipal utilities may at any time and in any respect be changed
by action of the Board of Aldermen, and the right to make such change
without notice to the individual consumer is hereby expressly reserved.
[R.O. 1996 § 700.190; Ord. No. 450 §8, 8-12-1999; Ord.
No. 634 §1, 5-8-2008; Ord. No. 657 §1, 5-14-2009]
A.
Generally. All persons applying for or
accepting utility service does thereby express his/her assent to be
bound by the rules and regulations that may be in effect now or later
pertaining to any and all City utilities and the public health in
general.
C.
Water. The fees in Subsection (B) for installing three-quarter (3/4) and one (1) inch lines shall cover all materials and labor to the property line, but not more than sixty (60) feet, including pipe saddle, corp stop, pipe, and curb stop with curb box; inside meter with backflow device and outside reader, or copper setter with backflow device, meter, meter look, frame and cover. Pipe or tubing shall be copper or copper tube size PVC, not less than three-quarter (3/4) inch diameter or less than one hundred sixty (160) psi pressure test.
The fees in Subsection (B) for one and one-half (1 1/2) and/or two (2) inch water lines covers only the labor necessary for such installation to the curb stop only. Any additional cost of necessary material or additional labor shall be in addition to the tap on fees listed in Subsection (B) as determined by the City Public Water Division and calculated using the actual cost to the City for such material and additional labor.
