[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.
3. 
Any person who does not pay any amount due for and relating to utility service within twenty-five (25) calendar days of the date of billing shall be subject to disconnection of services as is provided for in Section 700.130.
[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.
4. 
Upon violation of Section 700.090 provided that the procedural steps provided in said Section are complied with by the City.
[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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 700.150, Utility Deposits, derived from CC 1987 §110.170, was repealed 8-12-1999 by Ord. No. 450 §6.
[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]
1. 
A base fee for all water users of twelve dollars and twenty-five cents ($12.25) per month, regardless of usage; and
2. 
An additional three dollars ($3.00) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof of water used per month.
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.
3. 
There shall be a minimum flat fee charge, as set in Subsection (B)(1) above, assessed to multiunit structures or multiunit developments for each individual unit connected to a master meter.
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.
B. 
The following fees shall be for tapping into the City water and sewer main lines:
1. 
Water.
3/4"
$500.00
1"
$775.00
1 1/2"
$450.00 plus materials
2"
$550.00 plus materials
2. 
Unmetered Sprinklers.
4"
$500.00
6"
$750.00
8"
$1,000.00
3. 
Sewer.
4"
$250.00
Over 4"
$350.00
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.
D. 
Sewer. The fee set out in Subsection (B) covers all material and labor to the property line, but not more than sixty (60) feet, including sewer tapping, saddle, pipe, and cleanout access to the building sewer line at or near the property line. Minimum pipe and coupling standards shall be SDR 35.