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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1981-1283 . . .~~ ORDINANCE NO. 1283 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 26, ARTICLE II, "WATER, SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL," OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE; CONTAINING NOTICE OF WHERE THE CURRENT RATE STRUC- TURE CAN BE FOUND; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; FINDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE: Section 1. Sec. 26-11 of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the Ci ty of La Porte is hereby amended, to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: .., ......... ':, - "Sec. 26-11. Water Service Charges - Amount. n There shall be charged, assessed and collected for the consumption of water furnished by the City of La Porte through meters in every instance in which a different charge is not expressly and clearly provided for elsewhere in this article: "(a) Each single-family dwelling unit individually metered for the consumption of water shall be charged for water service furnished by the city a sum which the City Council shall, upon recommendation of the Director of Public Works, from time to time establish, hereinafter referred to as the monthly charge. ..... Said monthly charge shall separately state and include rates based upon total consumption, established per each 1,000 gallons consumed. A base rate shall be established to allow for a minimum usage of 2,000 gallons. All usage over said minimum shall be charged per 1,000 gallons. Section 2. Sec. 26-12 of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the Ci ty of La Porte is hereby amended to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: ........ "Sec. 26-12. Same--When payable; discount for early payment. "Wa ter meters shall be read monthly, and each consumer shall be billed monthly. All water bills shall be payable in . . .. Ordinance No. .1283 ,Page 2. full at their net amount based upon the rates and schedules provided in this article, on or before twenty (20) days after the date of the mailing of the bill to the consumer. If any bill is not paid in full wi thin such period, there shall be added thereto ten per cent (10%) of the net amount, in addition to said net amount. For the convenience of the consumers and of those receiving the actual payments of such bills, the ~ ~~ amount of the bill, if paid within twenty (20) days (i.e., the discount period) of the date of the mail ing of the bill, may be indicated or described as the "net" amount of the bill, and the amount payable with the addition of the percentage of the net amount to the net amount may be named as the "gross" amount of the bill." Section 3. A new section of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte, Sec. 26-12A, of Article II, Chapter 26, of said Code shall be added, to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: .... - "Sec. 26-12A. Fee Established on Meter Checks --Collection of Fee. "There shall be charged, assessed and collected for a meter test made for a rate payer (as described in Sec. 26-11), pursuant to said rate payer's request, a fee for the conduct of said meter test. Said fee shall be charged if, and only if, the resul ts of the meter test reveal that the meter tested, pursuant to the rate payer's request, is not malfunctioning. "Any meter that is not measuring said rate payer's con- sumption of water accurately shall not be subject to the afore- .- -- mentioned fee for testing said meter. . . .~ Ordinance No. 1283 ,Page 3. "The fee mandated by this section shall be set by the City Council from time to time upon recommendation from the Director of Public Works." Section 4. Sec. 26-13, of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte is hereby amended to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: - "Sec. 26-13. Same--Termination of service for.failure .to pay. .. (a) If any person shall refuse or neglect to pay the charges for water service (which bill shall include the total ..,. charges for water service, sewer service, and garbage service) furnished by the city, on or before thirty (30) days after the date of the mailing of the bill to the consumer, such water service shall be immediately disconnected and further water service shall not be permitted, except by authorized represent- atives of the city. .. (b) When the water supply to any property or premises has been disconnected or otherwise terminated by the city water department for failure of the consumer to pay any water charges due and owing to the city, the water service shall not be resumed until and after all delinquent charges have been fully paid and satisfied, or satisfactory arrangements have been made with the water department to pay such delinquent bill, and such delinquent consumer has made any required deposit with the department. "(c) In cases where the water meter has been turned off for nonpayment of charges for water, sanitary sewer, and garbage services, and the consumer has complied with the requirements of the city and is entitled to have the water turned on again, if the request for turning on the water service is made by the . e . Ordinance No. 1283 , Page 4. . consumer between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. of any weekday from Monday through Friday (except holidays authorized by the City Council for city employees), the charge for turning on the meter will be as set by the City Council, upon recom- mendation by the Director of Public Works, from time to time. If the request for turning on the meter is made by the consumer and the request is complied with by the city at any time other than that stated above, the charge for turning on the meter will be set by the Ci ty Council, upon recommendation of the Director of Public Works, from time to time. "(d) In cases where any person gives the city a check in payment of water services which is not honored by the drawee bank for any reason, an addi tional charge of shall be levied against such person, as established by the City Council, from time to time, upon recommendation of the Director of Public Works. "Any or all of the foregoing charges and fees may be included in regular or special billing of the city water depart- ment, and shall be in addition to all other charges, fees or penalties which may be provided by this article." - -- Section 5. Sec. 26-14, of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte is hereby amended to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: e "Sec. 26-14. Water deposits and refunds. "Whenever a consumer desires to establish service with the city water department, he shall tender to such department, at least one day prior to the time he desires his property to be connected with said water services, the proper deposit. Deposits will be refunded upon discontinuance of service to consumer, after all charges for water service, sewer service, and garbage service, and any other fees, have been fully satisfied. . . . Ordinance No. 1283 ,Page 5. "The City Council shall, from time to time, establish a schedule of deposits. Such schedule shall be established upon recommendation of the Director of Public Works, and shall include, but not be limited to, deposits required to establish service for: (a) Owner-occupied single-family residence consumers; (b) Other single-family residence consumers; ..... (c) Commercial water consumers (in an amount to be deter- mined by the Director of Public Works, which shall be based upon the type of service requested, the use of the property to be served, and the experience of the ci ty water department with similar consumers, said amount to be comparable to two (2) months water ser- vice of commercial business similar to that of the applicant); - (d) Multiple-family dwellings, including duplexes, apart- ment houses, trailer courts, and any other multiple- family projects.n Section 6. Sec. 26-15, of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte is hereby amended to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: "Sec. 26-15. Se~er service charges. "There is hereby established a monthly charge, based upon water usage, for sanitary sewer service furnished by the City of La Porte, said charge to be included on the water bill. The monthly charge shall be established by the City Council from time to time, upon recommendation by the Director of Public Works. Said periodic establishment of said charge shall include, but not be limited to, the following categories of usage: "(a) Each single-family dwelling unit individually metered for the consumption of water; neb) Commercial connections; "(c) Duplex units, apartment units, and individual trailer units in trailer courts, with units not individually metered for water." . . . Ordinance No. 1283 ,Page 6. Section.7. Sec. 26-18, of Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte is hereby amended to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: "Sec. 26~18. Service outside city limits. "For water service, sewer service, and garbage service to . property located outside the corporate limits of the city, where there is no existing contract with the city precluding the application of the charges established by this article during the term thereof, the charges to be made by the city for such service(s) shall be as established by the City Council from time to time, upon recommendation by the Director of Public Works. " Section 8. A new section of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte, Sec. 26-19, of Article II, Chapter 26, of said Code shall be added, to hereafter read as follows, to-wit: "Sec. 26-19. Companion rate ordinances to here- inafter establish water and sewer rates. "Any charges, rates, or other fees established or continued in this Article are to be set out in detail in an ordinance passed by the City Council, upon recommendation of the Director of Public Works. Said ordinance shall be incorporated by ref- erence into this Article, and be a part hereof for all purposes. "Any subsequent change in the aforementioned charges, rates or fees shall be accomplished by amending the afore- mentioned ordinance. "This ordinance shall be entitled 'Water and Sewer Rates and Fees', and shall hereinafter be numbered Sec. 26-19A of -- Article II, Chapter 26, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte." . . . Ordinance No. 1283 ,Page 7. Section 9. If any section, sentence, phrase, clause, or any part of any section, sentence, phrase, or clause, of this ordinance shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this Ordinance, and it is hereby declared to be the intention of this City Council to have passed each section, sentence, phrase or clause, or part thereof, irrespective of the fact that any other section, e sentence, phrase or clause, or part thereof, may be declared invalid. Section 10. The City Council officially finds, deter- mines, recites and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of this meeting of the City Council was posted at a place convenient to the public at the City Hall of the City for the time required by law preceding this meeting, as required by the Open Meetings Law, Article 6252-17, Texas Revised Civil Statutes Annotated; and . that this meeting has been open to the public as required by law at all times during which this ordinance and the subject matter thereof has been discussed, considered and formally acted upon. The City Council further ratifies, approves and confirms such written notice and the contents and posting thereof. Section 11. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the 16th day of September , 19-1ll.. CITY OF LA PORTE e ,~~ J. J. Meza, Mayor} ~.r . , , Ordinance No. 1283 , P ag e 8. ATTEST: ~)jjdi~ C1 t Sec tary . APPROVED: ~;t:t/ ~ City Attorney . .