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Ord. 0870-06 2010-10-25 Supp 7ORDINANCE NO. 870-6 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 30, UTILITIES, ARTICLE II, RATES AND CHARGES, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR VIOLATION; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION, PUBLICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That Chapter 30, Article II, Rates and Charges, of the City of Pearland Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 2. Sec. 30-9 Utility Service -Application Required. Any person desiring any utility service furnished by the city shall make application for the same to the City. Such application shall contain the applicant's name, address, social security number, driver's license number and the intended use(s) for which the utility service is being requested. Applicants shall provide a valid Texas drivers license with photograph or a valid identification card with photo issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, or two valid verifiable forms of identification. In accordance with federal regulations, applicants shall provide evidence of the right to occupy a specific service address. Acceptable forms of evidence of the right to occupy may include, but not be limited to, copies of closing papers for purchasers of houses or copies of lease/rental agreements for renters. Applicants for non-residential service shall be required to show proof of authority to contract for the entity requesting service. Section 3. Sec 30-10 Denial of Service. The City may decline to initiate utility service to any applicant if: (a) The applicant is indebted to the city for any reason, except ad valorem axes and special assessments. (b) The applicant's property or condition of existing equipment is potentially hazardous or in a condition that prevents the City from providing satisfactory service. ORDINANCE NO. 870-6 (c) The applicant fails to furnish all of the application requirements or the information provided on the application is false. Section 4. Sec 30-37 Effect of transfer; moving. (d) If the security deposit is higher at the new address than the customer's previous service address, either due to change in ordinance and/or type of property, an additional cash deposit will be required before service will be transferred. (e) If the security deposit is lower than at the customers' previous service address, then the City may, at its option, apply any cash deposit on hand to the balance due for the previous account and refund the difference, if any, to the customer, and require a new security deposit for the new account. Section 5. Section 30-38 Determination of charges. (c) Billing Adjustments. Utility customers may apply to the Utility Billing Department for billing adjustments on the customer's account. All requests for billing adjustments shall be considered in accordance with the City's Utility Billing Policy, as it may be amended from time to time, which shall remain on file with the Utility Billing office." Section 6. That the Utility Billing Policy, attached hereto as Exhibit "A", is hereby approved. Section 7. Repealer. All previously adopted water and sewer rate schedules in conflict herewith shall be and are hereby repealed but only to the extent of such conflict. Section 8. Penalty. Any person who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, be punished by a fine in any sum not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00). Section 9. Savings. All rights and remedies which have accrued in favor of the City under this Chapter and amendments thereto shall be and are preserved for the benefit of the City. ORDINANCE NO. 870-6 Section 10. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid, unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Section 11. Codification. It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Pearland, Texas, that the provisions of this Ordinance shall be codified in the City's official Code of Ordinances as provided hereinabove. Section 12. Publication. The City Secretary shall cause this Ordinance, or its caption and penalty, to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Pearland, upon passage of such Ordinance. Section 13. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days following its second and final reading. PASSED and APPROVED ON FIRST READING this the 11th day of October, A. D., 2010. TOM REID MAYOR ATTEST: ORDINANCE NO. 870-6 PASSED and APPROVED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING this the 251h day of October, A. D., 2010 TOM REID MAYOR ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY Exhibit "A" Ordinance No, 870-6 Exhibit A Billing Adjustment Policy A. If City overcharges a customer's account: 1) The City shall refund the overcharged amount to the customer or credit the customer's account in the overcharged amount. 2) If any meter is found to reflect the incorrect rate charge, the account shall be adjusted to reflect the date when the account was established with the incorrect rate. Any refund or credit pursuant to this section shall be limited to a maximum period of three years prior to the date the City learned of the incorrect rate charge. 3) If the date of the overcharged rate charge cannot be determined, any refund or credit pursuant to this section shall be limited to the 12 month period prior to the date the City learned of the overcharged rate. 4) If an overcharged customer owes a past -due balance to the City, the City may deduct the past -due amount from any refund or credit due to the customer. B. If the City determines any account is undercharged: 1) The City shall back -bill the customer for the entire amount undercharged if the result is from meter tampering, bypassing, use of an unmetered connection, damage to City equipment, or diversion by the customer. 2) If the date of an undercharged rate cannot be determined, the back -billing shall be limited to the 12 month period prior to the date the City identified the undercharged rate. 3) If the back -billing is a result of utility service diversion, unlawful use of service, or damage to City equipment, the city may, but is not required to, offer the customer a deferred payment plan. All reimbursements or collections in accordance with this section shall be made at the rates in effect at the time of each overcharged or undercharged account. C. Water/Sewer Adjustments for leaks An adjustment, reducing the water bill of a customer, may be considered when a customer, within ten (10) days following the receipt of a water bill, files a written request with Utility Billing, requesting an adjustment for excessive water consumption due to an alleged leak. The City will require the customer to provide proof of the leak in the form of a plumber's invoice or other repair invoices. Upon satisfactory proof of a water leak, Utility Billing may adjust the customer's bill as follows: 1) The highest consumption month(s) in the period the leak occurred shall be used for consideration of an adjustment. No more than two (2) consecutive billing periods may be used for an adjustment calculation. 2) The difference between the consumption for the month(s) in which the leak occurred and the average consumption for the previous twelve (12) months prior to the leak shall be billed at the lowest water rate tier. 3) Because sewer charges are adjusted to the winter quarter average for residential accounts, no adjustments on sewer charges will be made on residential accounts. 4) No more than one leak adjustment may be given to a customer within a calendar year and the leak must have resulted in at least three (3) times the customer's average usage. 5) Billing adjustments for leaks associated with irrigation systems will not be considered. If a billing adjustment is granted pursuant to this section, a letter reflecting the amount of the adjustment shall be mailed to the customer. The adjustment shall be credited on the customer's next bill and the customer shall not be considered delinquent for failure to pay the full amount of bill if the amount due is less than 30 days past the original due date. D. Winter Quarter Average Sewer Adjustments An adjustment to the winter quarter average that establishes the sewer billing rate of a residential customer, may be considered if a written request is filed with Utility Billing on or before May 15th requesting a billing adjustment for excessive water consumption due to one of the following conditions: 1) Water leak(s) that occur during the average winter quarter (December, January, February usage); or 2) Filling of a swimming pool that occurs during the average winter quarter (December, January, February usage) Proof of a leak and/or filling of a swimming pool must be provided along with the request. A water leak or the filling of a swimming pool during the winter quarter average will be considered when the City establishes the sewer Winter Quarter Average for the next twelve (12) month period. If a sewer billing adjustment is granted, a letter reflecting the new Winter Quarter Average shall be mailed to the customer. The adjustment shall be credited on the customer's following bill if the customer had previously received a bill with the original Winter Quarter Average. E. Winter Quarter Average Sewer Adjustment Appeal A customer may have a higher Winter Quarter Average for sewer when compared to actual water use through the remainder of a year. A customer may appeal the sewer Winter Quarter Average by submitting a written petition showing a three year history of monthly usage with at least two of the years substantiating the claim they use of more water in the winter months than the remainder of year and why. The written appeal must be submitted to Utility Billing no later than April 30th. 1) Upon satisfactory proof of the appeal, utility billing may adjust the customer's sewer winter quarter average based upon the average water usage of the previous twelve (12) months, including the months that the winter quarter average is set upon. 2) If a sewer adjustment is granted, a letter will be sent to the customer stating the original and new winter quarter average. A credit will be granted on the customer's next bill if the customer had received a bill(s) with the original winter quarter average prior to appeal. The City reserves the right to periodically review the customers account water usage and adjust the sewer winter quarter accordingly. F. Deferred Payment Plans Utility customers, with a previous balance owed the City, may apply for a deferred payment agreement, except for a back billing resulting from diversion of service, unlawful use of service, or customer damage to city equipment. The City is not required to enter into a deferred payment plan with a customer. In considering whether to enter into a deferred payment agreement, the City's decision shall be based on the following factors, which shall include, but not be limited to: 1) Amount of the balance of delinquent account 2) Customer's ability to pay 3) Customer's payment history 4) Length of time the debt has been outstanding Deferred payment plans shall include the following limitations: 1) Deferred payment plans shall not be allowed for required deposits, applications, reconnect fees, or fees arising out of damage to City property (Le., meter, water lines, curb stops, meter boxes) 2) The term of a deferred payment plan shall not exceed 90 days, however the Utility Billing Manager/Supervisor shall have the discretion to approve other arrangements in exceptional circumstances. 3) Deferred payment plans shall require full payment of all charges assessed following the City's approval of the deferred payment plan Default on a deferred payment plan shall result in termination of utility services. Following the termination of service, the entire balance owed on under the deferred payment agreement must be paid by the customer before utility services may be resumed.