Ord. 0220-10 2011-02-28 - Supp 5ORDINANCE NO. 220-10
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PEARLAND,TEXAS, AMENDING ARTICLE 1, IN GENERAL, OF
CHAPTER 30,UTILITIES, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND CODE OF
ORDINANCES, AS IT MAY HAVE BEEN, FROM TIME TO TIME,
AMENDED, TO AUTHORIZE THE THRESHHOLD DELINQUENCY
AMOUNT FOR WHICH THE CITY MAY FILE UTILITY LIENS; HAVING A
SAVINGS CLAUSE,A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND A REPEALER
CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS:
Section 1. That Chapter 30, Utilities, Section 30-25 of the City of Pearland Code of
Ordinances, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Section 30-25. Utility Liens.
(A) Water:
1. After the City has terminated a customer's water service pursuant
to the requirements of Section 30-24 of this Chapter, or after the City
terminates water service at a customer's request, the City's Utility Billing
Supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the terminated water
service served and in the amount that the customer whose service was
terminated owed to the City for water service at the time of the termination
of services.
2. If a property receives water services illegally, without having an
account with the City Utility Billing Department, then the Utility Billing
Supervisor shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the
proper charge for the water actually used, or, if there is no way of
determining the amount of water used, in the amount of the minimum
monthly water charge that would have been charged to that property had
a legitimate account been opened there multiplied by the number of
months during which that property illegally received such water services.
(B) Garbage Collection:
1. After the City has terminated a customer's water service pursuant
to the requirements of Section 30-24 of this Chapter, or after the City
terminates water service or garbage service at the customer's request,or
after a customer without water service becomes more than fifty dollars
($50.00) delinquent for garbage service alone, the City's Utility Billing
ORDINANCE NO. 220-10
Supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the terminated garbage
service served and in the amount that the customer whose service was
terminated owed to the City for garbage collection service at the time of
the termination of services.
2. If a property receives garbage collection services illegally, without
having an account with the City Utility Billing Department, then the Utility
Billing Supervisor shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the
minimum monthly garbage collection charge that would have been
charged to that property had a legitimate account been opened there
multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally
received such garbage collection services.
(C) Sewerage:
1. After the City has terminated a customer's water service pursuant
to the requirements of Section 30-24 of this Chapter, or after the City
terminates water service or sewer service at the customer's request, or
after a customer without water service becomes more then fifty dollars
($50.00) delinquent in payment for sewerage charges alone to the City,
the City's Utility Billing Supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the
terminated water service served and in the amount that the customer
whose service was terminated owed to the City for sewerage service at
the time of the termination of services or the accumulation of the
aforementioned delinquency in payment for sewerage services.
2. If a property receives sewerage services illegally, without having an
account with the City Utility Billing Department, then the Utility Billing
Supervisor shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the
minimum monthly sewerage charge that would have been charged to that
property had a legitimate account been opened there multiplied by the
number of months during which that property illegally received such
sewerage services.
(D) If a customer owes less then fifty dollars ($50.00) for the aggregate sum of
water charges, garbage collection charges, and sewerage charges at the
time of termination of any of those services, no lien shall be filed against
the property served by those services. If the customer is not delinquent in
payment at the time of termination of any of the services, no lien shall be
filed until that customer becomes delinquent in payment. No lien shall be
filed on any property that the City knows to be a homestead as defined by
the Texas Constitution.
(E) Any lien authorized by this Section shall be filed with the County Clerk of
Brazoria County, Texas, or with the County Clerk of the county in which
the property to which the lien will be attached is located. The City shall
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ORDINANCE NO. 220-10
then have a privileged lien on as many lots or pieces of property as the
terminated services previously served and are described on the lien
instrument by metes and bounds, or by City lot and block description, or
by any other adequate description. The lien shall secure the charges
made by the City to these above discussed services rendered to that
property. Such a lien shall be filed pursuant to the authority granted in
Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 1175 §11 (Vernon 1963) and Tex. Const.
Art. XI, §5. The lien shall bear ten percent (10%) per annum interest. The
Utility Billing Supervisor shall add to any lien filed pursuant to this Section
the amount of the filing fee charged by the County Clerk for filing that lien.
The lien shall be effective against that property if the account holder or
user of services of that property was either the owner of that property, a
tenant of that property or a permissive holder of that property, or an
adverse possessor of that property. It is further provided that for any
charges for which the lien authorized by this Section is designed to
secure, suit may be instituted and recovery in the foreclosure of that lien
may be had in the name of the City. The City Attorney is authorized to file
such suits.
(F) Notice and Hearing: After the filing of a lien pursuant to this Section, the
City secretary shall within thirty (30) days of the filing of that lien give the
owner of the property and the account holder notice that such a lien or
liens have been filed on that property and inform the owner and account
holder of their rights of appeal. Within thirty (30) days of the post mark of
the notice sent to the property owner or account holder, the property
owner or account holder may appeal the decision to impose the lien on
that property to the City Manager or any fair and impartial person the City
Manager may designate. The City Manager or his designee shall
authorize the release of the lien if the property owner or account holder
shows that no bill for the above mentioned services to his property
encumbered by the lien or liens is owing, or if the property owner shows
that the encumbered property is and at all times from the hour of the filing
of the lien or liens until the time of the appeal has been a homestead as
defined by the Texas Constitution. The City Manager or his designee may
modify or release the lien to reflect the true amount of delinquency in
payment for services to the property if the owner or account holder
demonstrates that a lesser bill is owing than the lien alleged or if the Utility
Billing Supervisor cannot show that all the lien alleged is owing. The
person last listed on the Brazoria County tax records as being the owner
of any given piece of property shall be presumed to be the owner for
purposes of this subsection, and the address listed for the owner on the
Brazoria County tax records shall be presumed to be the address of the
owner.
(G) Whenever a person or entity pays all principal, interest, and the filing fee
of a lien validly filed pursuant to this Section, the Utility Billing Supervisor
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ORDINANCE NO. 220-10
shall execute a release of that lien and surrender it to the paying party.
The City shall not be responsible for filing that release.
(H) Declaration of Rental Property:
1. The owner of any property, which property is rented to another and
such tenant carries City water, sewer, or garbage collection services in the
tenant's name, may prevent the City from using that property as security
for the water, sewer, and garbage
2. When such a declaration has been filed with the City prior to the
time the account holder begins to receive services, the City shall collect a
deposit in the amount of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) if the property to
receive services is a single family residence, or Two Thousand Dollars
($2,000.00) if the property to receive services is a business or commercial
establishment. If a property owner wishes to declare in regard to the bill of
a person or entity already receiving services at a particular property, that
declaration shall not be effective until the posting of a deposit in the
appropriate amounts as described above.
3. Paragraph 2 of this subsection notwithstanding, an owner of
property who files the above described declaration on property, which is
rented to another and the tenant is carrying the City water, sewer, or
garbage collection services in the tenant's name at the time of the
passage of this Section, then such declaration shall become immediately
effective without the posting of a deposit in the amounts set forth in
paragraph 2. However, if water service is terminated to that tenant for
delinquency in payment, a deposit in the appropriate amount as described
above shall be collected before such City water, sewer, or garbage
collection service is resumed. Any service account for water, sewer, or
garbage collection service established after the passage of this Section
shall be subject to paragraphs 1 and 2 above of this subsection.
4. The declaration of rental property shall be valid only so long as the
person making such declaration owns such property, rents such property
to another, and the tenant of such property carries City water, sewer, or
garbage collection services in the tenant's name. The owner may revoke
the declaration of rental property at any time by so notifying the City in
writing."
Section 7. Declaration of Emergency. The Council finds and determines that
the need to regulate utilities inures to the benefit of the public and, therefore, bears
directly upon the health, safety and welfare of the citizenry; and that this Ordinance
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shall be adopted as an emergency measure, and that the rule requiring this Ordinance
to be read on two (2) separate occasions be, and the same is hereby waived.
Section 8. Savings. All rights and remedies which have accrued in favor of
the City under this Ordinance and amendments thereto shall be and are preserved for
the benefit of the City.
Section 9. 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 10. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict
herewith are hereby repealed but only to the extent of such conflict.
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. Effective Date. The Ordinance shall then become effective ten
(10) days from and after its passage on first and only reading.
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ORDINANCE NO. 220-10
PASSED and APPROVED ON FIRST READING this the 14th day of February, A.
D., 2011.
ATTEST:
Y NG L
Y SEC'' TARY
7OVED AS TO FORM:
\DARRIN M. COKER
CITY ATTORNEY
PASSED and APPROVED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING this the 28t" day
of February, A. D., 2011
.)(7)11
TOM REID
MAYOR
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DARRIN M. COKER
CITY ATTORNEY
6
TOM REID
MAYOR