Ordinance No. 1,015ka
ORDINANCE NO. 1015
W
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, BY THE AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER
31, UTILITIES, BY THE AMENDMENT OF SECTIONS 31-56,
31-58, 31-59(a), 31-65 AND 31-66; REPEALING SECTION
31-67, AND REDESIGNATING SECTION 31-68 AS SECTION
31-67; PROVIDING FOR WATER AND SEWER SERVICE CHARGES;
PROVIDING FOR BILLING, PAYMENT, AND DISCONTINUANCE
OF SERVICE PROCEDURES; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY FOR
LATE PAYMENT OF WATER AND SEWER CHARGES; REPEALING
ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; CONTAINING A SAV-
INGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE
HEREOF.
BAYTOWN:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
Section 1: That the Code of Ordinances of the City
of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by amending Chapter 31,
Utilities, by the amendment of Sections 31-56, 31-58, 31-59(a),
31-65 and 31-66 thereof, which shall read as follows, to -wit:
Section 31-56. Water Service Charges.
Each residential and commercial user of
water supplied by the Water Department of the City
of Baytown shall be charged a monthly water ser-
vice charge based upon the amount of water consump-
tion attributed to the user, as determined herein,
and applied to the following rate schedule:
Gallons of Water
Used per Month
First 3,000
Next 3,000
Next 10,000
All over 16,000
Amount or Rate
To be Charged
$2.00 (minimum monthly rate)
$ .45 per M gallons
$ .35 per M gallons
$ .3.0 per M gallons
Any user or customer who does not pay the amount
due by the due date indicated on his statement
shall be charged a penalty, as hereinafter pro-
vided.
A. Residential Dwelling Units.
(1) Individually metered units. Each residential
dwelling unit individually metered and billed for
the consumption of water shall be charged for and
owe each month a water service charge based upon
the amount of water consumed, as determined by the
meter reading, applied to the above rate schedule.
(2) Jointly metered units. The monthly water
service charge for multi -family dwelling unit pro-
jects, with units not individually metered for
water, shall be determined as follows:
(a) The total monthly water consumption
for the project will be divided by the num-
ber of "occupied units" in the project served
by the meter as of the first day of the current
month to determine the per-unit water consump-
tion. The number of "occupied units" in the
project shall be taken to be the total number
of units in the project unless the project
manager shall report to the City on the form
provided in "Annex A" the actual number of
occupied units as of the first day of the cur-
rent month. This report must be received by
the City no later than the 10th day of the
current month.
(b) The per-unit water consumption will de-
termine the applicable charge for each occupied
unit based upon the above rate schedule.
(c) The applicable water service charge for
each occupied unit will be multiplied by the
number of occupied units in the project served
by the meter to determine the monthly water
service charge for the entire project.
B. Mobile Home Parks.
The monthly water service charge for mobile
home parks shall be determined as follows:
(1) The total monthly water consumption for
the project will be divided by the actual num-
ber of rented spaces served by the meter at the
time the meter is read to determine the per-unit
water consumption;
(2) The per-unit water consumption will deter-
mine the applicable water service charge for
each rented space based upon the above rate
schedule;
(3) The applicable charge for each rented space
will be multiplied by the actual number of rented
spaces in the project served by the meter to de-
termine the monthly water service charge for the
project.
C. Commercial Units.
(1) Individually metered units. Each commercial
unit individually metered for the consumption of
water shall be charged a monthly water service
charge based upon the amount of water consumed,
as determined by the meter reading, applied to the
above rate schedule.
(2) Jointly metered units. The monthly water
service charge for multi -unit commercial projects,
with units not individually metered for water,
shall be determined as follows:
-2-
ka
(a) The total monthly water consumption
for the project will be divided by the num-
ber of units in the project served by the
meter as of the first day of the current
month to determine the per-unit water con-
sumption.
(b) The per-unit water consumption will de-
termine the applicable monthly water ser-
vice charge for each unit based upon the
above rate schedule.
D. Combinations of Residential Dwelling Units &
Commercial Units.
The applicable monthly water service charge
for each unit of a complex containing a combination
of dwelling unit(s) and commercial unit(s), with
units not individually metered for water, shall
be determined as follows:
The total monthly water consumption for the com-
plex will be divided by the number of units in
(1711 the complex to determine the per-unit water con-
sumption.
(a) Average Consumption Seven Thousand Gallons
(7,000) or less.
If the per-unit water consumption is 7,000
gallons or less, the applicable water ser-
vice charge for each unit of the project will
be based upon the average consumption applied
to the above rate schedule.
(b) Average Consumption in Excess of Seven
Thousand (7,000) Gallons.
If the per-unit water consumption is in excess
of7,000 gallons, each residential unit of the
complex shall be deemed to have consumed 7,000
gallons of water, and the remainder of the total
consumption shall be attributed to the commer-
cial unit, or if more than one commercial unit,
divided equally among them. The applicable
monthly water service charge for each unit will
be based upon such derived consumption applied
to the above rate schedule.
Section 31-58. Billing; Payment; Penalty; Discon-
tinuance of Service.
Meters shall be read monthly and each custo-
mer shall be billed monthly. Each water bill shall
have a precalculated and stated due date, which shall
be approximately fifteen (15) days from the date the
bills are to be mailed. If a water account is not
paid by such due date, the customer shall be charged
a penalty in the amount of ten (10%) per cent of the
amount of such water charge, which shall be shown
as the gross amount on such bill; if not paid by the
next billing date, such gross amount will be shown
in arrears on the customer's bill for the next month
following. If the total amount of the following
month's water bill, including arrears and current
-3-
e"11 /4911N
water service, is not paid by the due date specified
on such month's bill, then ten (10%) per cent of said
following month's water charge will be added as a
penalty and the total of the two month's charges
will then be in arrears. A notice will then be
sent to a customer showing the total amount due and
specifying a water service cut-off date. If a
water account is not paid in full by such cut-off
date, the City shall reserve the right to cut off
and discontinue water service until all past due
charges have been paid, together with reconnection
service charges.
Section 31-59. Procedures and remedies for non-
payment of water bills and violations
of City ordinances.
(a) If any person shall permit any waste or
use of water contrary to the provisions of law,
the City reserves the right to cut off and
discontinue water service until all past due
charges have been paid and any required deposit
has been made and further until any and all
objectionable conditions pertaining to the
waste or use of water have been corrected to
the satisfaction of the Director of Finance.
Section 31-65. Sewer Service Charge.
A. Residential Dwelling Units.
(1) Individually metered for water consumption.
Each residential dwelling unit individually metered
and billed for the consumption of water shall be
charged for and owe each month a sewer service
charge of $1.25.
(2) Jointly metered for water consumption. The
monthly sewer service charge for multi -family dwel-
ling unit projects, not individually metered for
water, will be the charge of $1.25 times the num-
ber of units in the project for which water charges
are made for the month.
B. Commercial Units.
Each commercial unit shall be charged for and
owe each month a sanitary sewer service charge
based upon the consumption of water attributed to
it, as determined by the provisions of this Code
relating to water charges, applied to the following
rate schedule:
Gallons of Water
Sewer
Service Rate
Used per Month
To be
Charged
First 3,000
$1.25
(minimum
monthly rate)
Next 97,000
$ .10
per M
gallons
Next 400,000
$ .05
per M
gallons
All over 500,000
$ .03
per M
gallons
C. Mobile Home Parks.
The monthly sewer service charge for mobile
home parks shall be the rate of $1.25 times the
-4-
W
la
number of spaces in the project for which water
charges are made for the month.
Section 31-66. Billing; Payment; Penalty; Dis-
continuance of Service.
(a) For convenience of collection, the sewer
service charge shall be added to the monthly water
bills prepared by or for the City, and collection
of said charge shall be made by the Water Depart-
ment at the time of payment of the monthly water
bill covering service to a residence, apartment
project, business or other enterprise of whatso-
ever nature. Employees or agents of the City shall
not accept payment of the water bill from any such
owner, occupant, tenant or lessee without collect-
ing the full amount of said bill including the sani-
tary sewer service charge.
(b) If the sewer service charge is not paid
by the due date shown on the customer's water bill,
the customer shall be charged a penalty in the
amount of ten (10%) per cent of the amount of such
sewer charge, which shall be shown as the gross
amount on such bill; if not paid by the next bil-
ling date, such gross amount will be shown in ar-
rears on the customer's bill for the next month
folloiwng. If the total amount of the following
month's sanitary sewer charges, including arrears
and current sanitary sewer service, is not paid
by the due date specified on such month's bill,
then ten (10%) per cent of said following month's
sewer service charge shall be added as a penalty
and the total of the two month's charges will
then be in arrears. A notice will then be sent
to a customer showing the total amount due and
specifying a cut-off date for the discontinuance
of water service and/or sewer service. If the
account is not paid in full by such cut-off date,
the City shall reserve the right to cut off and
discontinue water service and/or sewer service
until all past due charges have been paid, to-
gether with applicable reconnection charges.
(c) Persons not connected to the waterworks
system of the City and not owing water service
charges will be billed by the Water Department for
sanitary sewer services on an individual basis.
Section 2: That Section 31-67 of the Code of Or-
dinances is repealed, and shall cease to have force and effect
from and after the effective date of this ordinance.
Section 3: That Section 31-68 of the Code of Or-
dinances be, and the same is hereby, redesignated as Section
31-67, to be effective from and after the effective date of this
ordinance.
-5-
'flow%
Section 4: Repealing Clause: All ordinances or
40%, parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this or-
dinance are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such re-
peal shall be only to the extent of such inconsistency and in
all other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other
ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered
by this ordinance.
Section 5: Savings Clause: If any provision, sec-
tion, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any
person or set of circumstances, shall for any reason be held
unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this or-
dinance or their application to other persons or sets of cir-
cunistances and to this end all provisions of this ordinance
are declared to be severable.
Section 6. Effective Date. The provisions of this
ordinance providing for a penalty for the late payment of water
and sewer charges shall become effective beginning with billings
for the month of April, 1970. All other provisions of this
ordinance shall become effective from and after its passage
by the City Council of the City of Baytown.
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote
of the City Council of the City of Baytown, on this the 12th
day of February, 1970
GLEN' WALKER, M"ayor
ATTEST:
EDNA OLIVER, City Clerk
APPROVED:
_
WILLIAM R. LAUGHLIN, City ft-orney
-6-