[Adopted 11-9-1915 by Ord. No. 75; amended
in its entirety 8-22-2006 by L.L. No. 11-2006]
The following rules and regulations are hereby
established for the supply of water by the Department of Public Works.
[Amended 6-24-2014 by Ord. No. 5-2014]
A.Â
It shall
be unlawful for any person to tap into the water main on a City right-of-way
without first making an application for and obtaining permission to
do so from the Director of Building and Planning of the City and paying
the appropriate application fee as herein provided.
B.Â
Such application
must be conditioned to indemnify and save harmless the City of and
from all loss, cost and damage on account of the granting of such
permit and the making of such installation.
C.Â
The applicant
for such permit shall, at the time of making the application, pay
$100 as a fee to the Director of Building and Planning.
D.Â
All applications
shall be reviewed by the City Engineer prior to issuance of a permit.
Furthermore all work shall be inspected and approved by the Commissioner
of Public Works prior to issuance of a certificate of completion.
E.Â
The Director
of Building and Planning shall maintain such files and promulgate
such forms and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the requirements
of this article.
[Amended 3-22-2011 by Ord. No. 4-2011]
The owner or occupant of the building or other
place supplied with water and charged for use thereof shall keep all
connecting supply pipes, stopcocks and other fixtures and apparatus
connected therewith in good repair and shall protect the same from
freezing and shall prevent all unnecessary waste of water. The owner
or occupant of the place supplied with water and charged for use thereof
shall be responsible for the costs and expense incurred to make any
and all repairs to all connecting supply pipes from the tap into the
City main forward to said property supplied with water. Within 180
days of disconnecting a water meter or razing a building, the owner
or occupant of the place supplied with water and charged for use thereof
shall be required to disconnect the supply pipes at the City main
and be responsible for the costs and expense incurred thereof. The
City or its Water Department shall not be liable for any damage or
loss of any kind to property or persons which may arise from or be
caused by any change in or increase of water pressure from any cause
whatsoever. Should an improperly disconnected, broken or leaking supply
pipe create or potentially create a public nuisance by negatively
affecting other properties or the public at large, the Commissioner
of Public Works may order the owner or occupant or person responsible
for the care of the property so supplied with water to repair said
improperly disconnected, broken or leaking supply pipe. Should the
person so ordered, after being given written notice and an opportunity
to be heard, fail to make the repairs after being given a reasonable
period of time to make said repairs, the Commissioner of Public Works
may cause the repairs to be made and restore the land to the same
condition as it was found once the repairs are completed. The actual
expense of the repairs and restoration, including all labor and materials,
shall be a lien against the property concerned and shall be collected
by the City, like other taxes and assessments.
The owner or occupant of a building or other
place, desiring to introduce connecting supply pipes into such building
or other place, may employ any plumber or other competent person to
perform such work when a permit therefor shall have been granted by
the Commissioner of Public Works. Permits shall be granted only to
certified plumbers or contractors by the Commissioner of Public Works,
who shall require from each permittee before such permit is granted
with respect to all operations, acts and things done under the permit
or by the permittee or by anyone acting by, through or for the permittee,
including omissions and acts of the City, a good and sufficient liability
insurance policy naming the City of Cohoes, its officers, departments,
agents and employees as additional insured and indemnifying same from
and with respect to all liability, loss, damages, costs, expenses
and judgments which they or any of them may sustain or incur arising
out of or because of any accident, act or omission and resulting in
bodily injuries, including death, and injury to or destruction of
property. Any such policy shall be for not less than $100,000 for
all damages arising out of bodily injuries, including death, sustained
by any one person in any one accident, and not less than $200,000
for all damages arising out of bodily injuries, including death, by
two or more persons in any one accident, and not less than $50,000
for injury to or destruction of property in any one accident.
The Commissioner of Public Works and his subordinates
shall be authorized at all times to enter any building or other place
where water is used from supply pipes to examine as to the quantity
of water used and the manner of using the same. Said entry onto any
private property must be upon reasonable notice and consent of the
owner or occupant, unless there are emergency circumstances or unless
an administrative search warrant is obtained.
The owner or occupant of the building or other
place, desiring to introduce water pipes in such premises, shall dig
up and excavate the streets, highways and public places of the City
in a careful and workmanlike manner, and all trenches and excavations
made shall be properly safeguarded with suitable barricades and signals,
and the earth and other material so excavated shall be deposited in
such a manner as to cause the least public inconvenience, and such
owner or occupant shall backfill such trench or excavation with such
materials as shall be approved by the Commissioner of Public Works
and shall restore such street, highway or public place to its original
condition and to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works.
The owner or occupant of the building or other
place supplied with water shall prohibit all other persons not residing
upon the premises charged for the use of water from using water from
such premises, unless a permit shall have been granted by the Commissioner
of Public Works to such persons to use such water.
A.Â
The Water Department shall conduct a City-wide reading
of meters at quarterly intervals to determine the usage for property
so supplied with water in the City for each billing period.
B.Â
The Treasurer shall cause bills for water consumption
and sewer charges to be sent to the owners of such lots and buildings
in the City on a quarterly basis, two of said billing dates to correspond
with property tax billing dates. Such bill shall contain a statement
that a publication containing procedures for contesting a water bill
is available at the City Clerk's office.
C.Â
The Common Council shall set the water usage billing
rate as part of the annual budget, and same shall appear as a dollar
amount charge per 1,000 gallons of water consumed. Such amount of
water consumed shall be that which flows through and is measured by
the City-installed water meter.
D.Â
There shall be a minimum usage of 11,580 gallons per
quarter charged to all buildings, lots, or other properties connected
to the City water system. This minimum usage amount reflects the added
value to the property of being connected to the public water system
and is based upon the costs of debt service, filtration, transmission,
maintenance, and distribution of the City-wide water system. The minimum
usage amount shall be reviewed periodically by the appropriate standing
committee of the Common Council, which shall make any necessary recommendations
to the Common Council.
[Amended 12-23-2008 by Ord. No. 12-2008]
E.Â
Complaints with respect to water bills must be filed
with the City Clerk within 30 days of the date of the bill on a complaint
form available from the City Clerk.
F.Â
The Water Bill Review Board is hereby constituted
to hear and determine complaints with respect to water bills, subject
to confirmation by the Common Council. The Board shall be comprised
of the City Treasurer, who shall chair the Committee, the City Engineer,
and the head of the Water Department. If any of those constituting
the Water Bill Review Board is unavailable, then a designee may be
named. Upon receipt of a complaint with respect to a water bill, the
City Clerk shall notify the Board, which shall fix the place and time
for a meeting to hear the complaint. At such meeting the Board may
administer oaths, take testimony and hear proofs in regard to any
complaint. After such hearing and consideration of the evidence presented,
the Board may, by majority vote at said hearing or at a subsequent
hearing, review and recommend correction of such bills or any or either
of them. After such review and correction by the Board, the City Clerk
shall cause a copy of such recommendations to be sent to the Common
Council for its review and confirmation by resolution if same shall
see fit. Upon confirmation by resolution of the Common Council, the
Commissioner of Public Works shall cause a revised bill, reflecting
any corrections, to be mailed to the owner(s) of the respective property.
G.Â
The Water Bill Review Board is hereby directed and
empowered to adopt rules and regulations governing the procedure and
conduct of hearings herein authorized and to promulgate a written
complaint form.
[Amended 7-28-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]
Water and sewer rents shall be billed together quarterly and
shall be payable in one installment each quarter, and no deductions
shall be made or allowed therefrom. Billing dates shall be March 1,
June 1, September 1, and December 1, and said bills shall reflect
the usage period being billed for. Such water and sewer rents may
be paid within 30 days after the billing date without interest or
penalty. On all such water and sewer rents remaining unpaid after
the thirty-day billing period, interest shall be added thereon at
the rate of 2% per month cumulative or 24% per annum. Water and sewer
rents that remain unpaid shall be re-levied to the next City tax roll
and shall thereafter become a valid tax against the property and collected
in such manner as all other property taxes. On all such water and
sewer rents re-levied to the next City tax roll, a fee equal to 5.5%
of the amount remaining unpaid, including accrued interest, shall
be added to the amount due and such fee shall be re-levied to the
tax roll along with the water and sewer rents being re-levied and
such fee shall become a valid tax against the property and collected
in such manner as all other property taxes.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have
power to shut off the supply of water to the building, or other place
supplied with water, for a violation of these rules by such owner
or occupant or any other person acting with his consent or for failure
to pay any and all water rents, water meter charges and charges for
the use of water. However, once said unpaid water rents are re-levied
to the City tax roll, shutoff for failure to pay those water rents
is not authorized.
Every person violating these rules and regulations
shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $250 for each offense
and/or 15 days in jail upon conviction. In the case of a continuing
violation, each shall be considered a separate violation and may be
charged as such. And in addition thereto, said person violating this
article shall be liable for all damages, costs and expenses arising
out of the negligence and carelessness of such person and by reason
of the violation of these rules and regulations.
