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Ordinance No. 2,328ORDINANCE NO. 2328 -to -71 8042 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY THE AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 31, "UTILITIES," AMENDING ARTICLE IV, WATER SERVICE, BY INCREASING WATER RATES AND CERTAIN OTHER CHARGES RELATED TO WATER SERVICE AND BY PROVIDING FOR METER TESTS; PRESCRIBING A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF TWO HUNDRED AND N01100 ($200.00) DOLLARS; REPEALING ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by the amendment of Chapter 31, "Utilities," Article IV, Water Service, by the repeal of Article IV as presently constituted and by substituting in its place a new Article IV, which shall read as follows, to- wit. ARTICLE IV. WATER SERVICE Sec. 31 -54. Water deposits and refunds. (a) Application for service. Whenever a consumer desires to establish service with the water department, he shall tender to such department, at least one day prior to the time he desires his premises to be connected with said water services, the proper deposit. (b) Amount of deposits. (1) Residential consumers occupying single family dwelling houses shall be required to place on deposit the amount of $20.00. (2) Commercial water deposits shall be determined by the utility office manager. This deposit is to be generally comparable to two months water service of commercial businesses similar to the applicant. (3) Deposits for apartment houses, mobile parks or other multi- family dwelling projects shall be determined by the utility office manager, but shall not be less than $10.00 per unit with a minimum deposit of $20.00. (c) Increase of deposits. Deposits for commercial consumers, apartment houses, mobile parks or other multi - family projects may be increased from time to time if it is determined by the utility office manager that additional deposits are la 8043 f necessary in order to insure payment of charges for water service. The additional deposit shall be tendered to the water department within thirty (30) days after notice of the increase in deposit. Provisions of Section 31 -58 shall apply if said additional deposit is not tendered within thirty (30) days. (d) Refunds. Deposits will be refunded upon termination of service provided that the consumer has fully satisfied all charges due the city. Sec. 31 -55. Water tapping fees. (a) The following fees shall be assessed and collected by the water billing department for water taps: (1) 3/4 inch water tap . . . . . . . .$150.00 (2) 1 inch water tap. . . . . . . . . .$200.00 (b) All other taps and other special water connections shall be made at actual cost, as determined by the utility office manager, with consultation of director of public works or his designee. Sec. 31 -56. Water rates. (a) Basic rate schedule. Except as hereinafter provided, each residential and commercial user of water situated within the corporate limits of the City of Baytown and supplied with water service by the City of Baytown, shall be charged a monthly water service charge based upon the amount of water consumption attributed to the user, as determined herein, and applied to the following rate schedule: Gallons of water used per month First 2,000 Next 3,000 Next 10,000 All over 15,000 Any user or customer by the due date indicated a penalty, as hereinafter Amount or rate to be charged $3.00 (Minimum Monthly rate) $0.75 per 1,000 gallons $0.70 per 1,000 gallons $0.65 per 1,000 gallons who does not pay the amount due on his statement shall be charged provided. (b) 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 unit. The monthly water service charge for multi - family dwelling unit projects, 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 number of "occupied units" in the project served by the meter as of the first day of the current month -2- to determine the per -unit water consumption. 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 by the 10th day of the month, the actual number of occupied units as of the first day of the current month, in terms as follows: "Utility Office Manager City of Baytown P. 0. Box 424 Baytown, Texas 77520 Dear Sir: 8044 I hereby certify that I am the owner (or manager) of a multi - family dwelling project located at Street, Baytown, Texas. This project is known as the (indicate the project's name, if applicable). I hereby certify that the aforementioned project has (number) units. I further certify that as of the first day of the current calendar month, there were (number) occupied units in the project, and that there were (number) unoccupied units. I understand that the information hereby given is to be used by the City of Baytown in computing the current month's water service charge for this project. I also understand that this information must be received by the City of Baytown no later than the 10th day of each month in order to be considered. I further understand that the information hereby given may be verified at any time upon the request of the Utility Office Manager of the City of Baytown. (Signature) Manager or Owner" (b) The per -unit water consumption will determine 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. (c) Mobile home parks. The monthly water service charge for mobile home parks shall be determined as follows: (1) The total water consumption for the project will be divided by the actual number 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 determine 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 -3- spaces in the project served by the meter to determine the monthly water service charge for the project. (d) Commercial units. 8045 (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: (a) The total monthly water consumption for the project will be divided by the number of units in the project served by the meter as of the first day of the current month to determine the per -unit water consumption. (b) The per -unit water consumption will determine the applicable monthly water service charge for each unit based upon the above rate schedule. (e) Combinations of residential dwelling units and 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 complex will be divided by the number of units in the complex to determine the per -unit water consumption. (f) Service for property outside the city. Each residential and commercial user of water situated outside the corporate limits of the City of Baytown and supplied with water service by the City of Baytown, shall be charged a monthly service charge based upon the amount of water consumption attributed to the user, as determined herein, except that the charges shall be at the rate of one and one -half (1 1/2) times the rate for a user of water situated within the corporate limits of the City of Baytown. Sec. 31 -57. Flat -rate service prohibited, separate metering required. (a) No connections for flat -rate service shall hereafter be allowed by the waterworks system of the City of Baytown. (b) Every single family dwelling house hereinafter constructed in the city shall be separately metered for water service. The provisions of this section shall apply to the remodeling or altering of any existing house, garage, or other building where an additional family dwelling or dwellings are to be added, or where the cost of such remodeling or alteration exceeds fifty per cent (50010) of the original cost of such house or building. (c) Each commercial establishment shall be individually metered for water service. -4- , 8046 Sec. 31 -58. Billing; payment; penalty; discontinuance of service. (a) Meters shall be read monthly and each customer 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 per cent (10 %) 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 water service, is not paid by the due date specified on such month's bill, then ten per cent (10%) of said following month's water charge will be added as a penalty and the total of the two (2) month's charges will then be in arrears; the City reserves the right to include with such water bill a message advising the customer that the due date on such bill shall also serve as a water service cut -off date. If a water account is not paid in full by such specified 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. (b) The provisions of this section pertaining to a penalty of ten per cent (10%) for the late payment of water bills shall not apply to political subdivisions organized under the laws of this State or to official public agencies or either the Federal or State government. Sec. 31 -59. Procedures and remedies for nonpayment 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 con- ditions pertaining to the waste or use of water have been corrected to the satisfaction of the director of finance. (b) If the water meter has been turned off for non - payment of charges for water services, and it is turned on again by anyone other than authorized personnel of the water department, or when, in the opinion of the utility office manager, the turning off of the water at the curb stop and /or removal of the meter and /or the locking of the curb stop is not sufficient protection for the city against the use of water, waste or misuse of water, the utility office manager may cause the water to be cut off and /or the service line to be cut and plugged, and upon a re- application for water service, the cost of reconnecting the service will be charged to the customer plus an additional service fee of $10.00. (c) In cases where the water meter has been turned off for non - payment of charges for water or sanitary sewer services, and the customer has complied with the requirement of the city and is entitled to have the water turned on again, the following re- connection charges will be made, as applicable: -5- If the service is to be reconnected at the customer's request between the hours of 8:00 o'clock a.m. and 5 :00 o'clock p.m. of any week day from Monday through Friday, (except holidays authorized by city council for city employees) the charge will be $6.50. If the customer requests that service be reconnected at any other time than that stated above, the charge will be $10.00. (d) Should any person give the city a check in payment of water services which is not honored by the drawee bank for any reason, an additional charge of $3.00 shall be charged to the person giving such check. (e) Should any person damage or destroy any city property used for measuring or distributing water, the director of finance shall collect from such person a sum of money equal to such destroyed or damaged property, but in no event less than $10.00. (f) Should any person request that their water meter be tested, the city meter service division shall test their meter. If the meter test shows that the meter registers more water than actually consumed, the last bill shall be corrected according to the test result and the meter shall be replaced. If the meter test shows that the meter correctly registers or registers less water than actually consumed, then the customer shall be charged a $5.00 meter testing fee. (g) Any or all of the charges and fees provided by this section may be included in regular or special billing of the city water department and shall be in addition to all other charges, fees or penalties provided by this article. Sec. 31 -60. Penalty for violation of article. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this article or failing to observe any provisions hereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). Sec. 31- 61-- 31 -64. Reserved. Section 2: Repealing Clause: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the are hereby repealed; provided, howe, shall be only to the extent of such other respects this ordinance shall ordinances regulating and governing covered by this ordinance. BM terms of this ordinance ver, that such repeal inconsistency and in all be cumulative of other the subject matter 8047 W 804 1 ' Section 3: Savings Clause: If any provision, section, 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 uncon- stitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances and to the end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 4: Penalty Clause: Any person who shall violate any provision of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misd by a fine of not than Two Hundred tinuance of such offense and each violation. emeanor an less than ($200.00) violation and every i upon conviction shall be punished Ten ($10.00) Dollars, nor more Dollars. Each day of the con - shall be considered a separate day shall constitute a separate Section 5: Effective Date: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) days from its passage by the City Council, except for the provisions of this ordinance relating to water service charges (Sec. 31 -56 as amended herein) which shall become effective with billings for the month of November, 1977. The City Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the caption of this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at least twice within ten (10) days after the passage of this ordinance. INTRODUCED, READ, and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown on this the 13th day of October 1977. TOM GENTRY, Mayor -7- (M�' 8049 - -- ATTEST: EILEEN P. HALL, City Clerk APPROVED: Owl NEEL M HAR SON, City Attorney sm 1 a .............