Ord 44-2015 9/15/2015
Ordinance No. 44-2015
Ordinance amending portions of the Code of Ordinances at Chapter
106, Utilities
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend various sections of Chapter 106,
Utilities to more accurately reflect current billing practices .
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT:
1. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Service,
Division 2, Connections, Section 106-62(j), so that such subsection shall read as
follows:
“Sec. 106-62. - Deposit required.
(j) The deposit may be billed to the customer and paid in equal installments
with the first and second month's billing to customers in good standing. For the purpose
of this subsection, a customer in good standing must not have:
(1) Allowed a city utilities account to have become delinquent more
than one time within the preceding 12-month period;
(2) Attempted payment of a city utilities bill more than one time in the
preceding 12-month period with a check that was not ho nored by
the bank;
(3) Used city utilities services without authorization prior to application
for service; or
(4) Allowed his utilities account to be closed for nonpayment. Any
failure to pay the required installment by the due date will cause the
account to be cut off as provided in section 106 -281. The billing
provision shall be implemented on the first day of the month
following completion of required data processing revisions.”
2. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Servic e,
Division 2, Connections, Section 106-66, so that such section shall read as
follows:
“Sec. 106-66. - Notice required to discontinue service.
All rates and charges for water service to any premises shall accrue and be
charged against the applicant until such time as written notice given by such applicant
or by his duly authorized agent to discontinue service is filed with the Department of
Public Works. It shall be unlawful for any person to turn on or use water from any
service connection until application for such service has been made and accepted by
the department as provided in this division and the water turned on by the department.”
3. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Service,
Division 4, Rates and Charges, Section 106 -126(c), so that such subsection shall
read as follows:
“Sec. 106-126. - Retail treated water and retail raw water.
(c) The meters of raw water retail customers will be read once each
quartermonthly. Billing cycles between meter readings will use estimated consumptions
as a basis for the billing, and the number of consumptions will be adjusted quarterly
when the meter reading is taken.”
4. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Service,
Division 4, Rates and Charges, Section 106 -128, so that such section shall read
as follows:
“Sec. 106-128. - Credit card payments; convenience fees.
(a) The utility collection divisi on may accept credit cards from Visa, and
MasterCard, Discover and American Express for payments collected by the utility
collection division.
(b) A convenience fee established by separate ordinance shall be assessed
per transaction to the customer paying by credit card over the telephone, or through the
city's website, or kiosk, to reimburse the city for reasonable expenses incurred to
process the transaction. No convenience fee will be assessed to customers paying by
credit card in person at the utility collection officecounter inside the building.”
5. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Service,
Division 8, Installation of Landscape Irrigation Systems, Section 106 -251, so that
such section shall read as follows:
Sec. 106-251. - Rates.
“(a) The charge for sanitary sewer service shall be determined by water
consumption. For all retail users except residential users, the monthly sewer charge
shall be based on the monthly water usage billed in the same month. For each retail
residential user, the monthly sewer charge for each billing from April through th e
following March shall be the same, and, shall be based on the average monthly water
usage billed in the preceding months of January, February and March , except when the
established average monthly water use is greater than actual monthly water usage in a
billed month, the residential customer will be billed at the actual usage for that month
only.
(b) If a retail water user has a separate meter for water and such meter is
classed as a water-only meter, the water metered by such separate meter shall not be
included in calculating the monthly sewer charge.
(c) All retail users of the sewer system other t han residential shall be charged
for sewer service on the basis of the total water used; provided, however, that any
commercial/industrial user who uses water as an ingredient in the manufacturing
process of a product shall not be required to pay a sewer c harge based on the water so
incorporated into the product. Any such commercial/industrial user shall be required to
show proof of the amount of water used as an ingredient in the manufacturing process.
The city reserves the right to conduct such tests as i t may deem necessary to determine
the amount of wastewater placed into the sanitary sewer by such user.
(d) Every retail user (residential and commercial/industrial) of sewer service
shall pay a monthly minimum sewer charge for each full billing cycle in which an
account is active, as established by separate ordinance. In the first and last billing cycle
in which the account is active, the minimum monthly bill shall be prorated for the
number of days the account is active; the prorated daily charge shall b e based on a 30-
day month. In addition to the minimum charge, each retail user shall pay a monthly
sewer charge established by separate ordinance to be billed for sewer charges.
(e) Sewer charges for retail residential customers with no established averag e
for the month of December, January and February of the preceding year (winter -
months-average) shall be based on the winter -months-average of all city retail
residential customers or on the actual monthly consumption rate of the customer,
whichever is less until a winter-months-average is established.
(f) Customers who have a high winter -months-average due to water leaks
within the averaging period may have their winter-months-average adjusted to their
previous year's average or if no previous year's aver age was established, to the current
year's city's average, by presenting proof of repair to the utility collection division by May
31 of the calendar year in which the high average is established.
(g) The schedule of rates contained in subsections (a) thr ough (f) of this
section for retail sewer charges shall apply to retail users located within the city limits;
the rates for sanitary sewer service provided to individual retail users outside the city
limits shall be twice the rates prescribed in this secti on.
(h) The rate for Sheppard Air Force Base sewer service shall be the same as
prescribed for commercial/industrial customers. The minimum monthly bill is the factor
"MB" in the contractually agreed formula for computation of the monthly SAFB sewer
bill, and the charge per 100 cubic feet of water consumed is the factor "CW" in the same
formula.”
6. Chapter 106, Utilities, is hereby amended at Article II, Water Service,
Division 8, Installation of Landscape Irrigation Systems, Section 106 -281(b), so
that such subsection shall read as follows:
“Sec. 106-281. - Manner of billing; late payment fee; disconnecting and
reconnecting fees.
(b) All water, sewer, sanitation, and stormwater accounts shall be payable
monthly and shall carry a due date of approximately 15 days after the billing date. The
bill shall include a notice which will state that if payment is not received by the due date,
then a five percent late payment fee will be assessed on the amount due. If such bill has
not been paid by five days after the due date, then a late payment fee of five percent will
be assessed to the balance of the account. If such bill has not been paid by the billing
date of the succeeding month's b ill, then the succeeding month's bill will include a
delinquent notice which will state that the customer's service will be discontinued
without further notice unless payment is made on or before the due date and a service
fee established by separate ordinance must be paid before service will be restored. The
delinquent notice will also include a statement that a five percent late payment fee will
be assessed on the amount due if payment is not received by the due date. If the full
amount has not been paid on or before five days after the due date of the second
month's bill or satisfactory arrangements for paying the bill have not been made, the
water, sewer and sanitation services will be discontinued, and a service fee established
by separate ordinance and a late payment fee of five percent will be charged to the
account. Discontinued service will be restored with full payment of the bill including any
late fees and the service fee. Service may be restored with a partial payment of the bill
with a payment arrangement made with the Utility billing office.”
7. Sections 1-6 of this ordinance amend the Code of Ordinances of the
City of Wichita Falls and are intended to be part of said Code. Accordingly, the
provisions of said sections may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such
intention.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 15th day of September, 2015.
______________________________
M A Y O R
ATTEST:
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City Clerk