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HomeMy WebLinkAbout026383 ORD - 07/26/2005 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 55-22, 55-28, AND 55-38, THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, REGARDING APPLICATION FEES FOR NEW OR TRANSFERRED UTILITY SERVICE, FEES FOR TESTING METERS, SERVICE CHARGES RELATED TO DISCONNECTING UTILITY SERVICE FOR DELINQUENT OR UNAUTHORIZED USAGE ACCOUNTS, AND SERVICE CHARGES FOR BYPASSING OR TAMPERING WITH METERS; PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERANCE; AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, THAT: SECTION 1, Section 55-22, Code of Ordinances, is revised to read as follows: "Sec, 55-22. Application or contract for service. "L9l The utility business office manager is authorized to establish procedures to process and accept applications for utility service inside the city limits. "(b) An application or connection fee of twenty five dollars 1$25.00) is reouired for all applications for new service or transfers of service, SECTION 2, Section 55-28, Code of Ordinances, is revised to read as follows: "See, 55-28. Metering and testing of meters. "L9l The customer shall provide at a point on his premises, to be mutually agreed upon, a suitable location for the installation of meters and such other equipment as city may deem necessary to enable it to deliver water and gas under this chapter and shall properly protect the city's property on the customer's premises and permit no one to Inspect or tamper with the city's installation, apparatus and equipment, except the city's agents and persons authorized by law to do so. All bills shall be calculated upon the registration of such meters. "MShould any meter fail to register, the water or gas delivered during the period of failure shall for billing purposes be estimated at the average of the past three (3) previous monthly bills, calculated when the meter was in order. "l.9.The city with or without request of the customer may inspect and test meters and whenever any test shall show a meter to be registering in error exceeding four (4) two per cent 12%), such meter shall be replaced or adjusted within the limits of error so specified and whenever the meters are so adjusted, the readings thereof shall be corrected, and payments be made accordingly. No corrections shall be made, as to any bill rendered by the city, unless requested before the expiration of the calendar month next succeeding the month in which such readings were made. R53805A6DOC 026383 ') 4 "( d) A fee of sixty dollars ($60.00) will be charoed to the customer who reouests a test of their meter if the meter tests within the two per cent (2%) limit of error," SECTION 3. Section 55-38(e), (f), and (h), Code of Ordinances, is revised to read as follows: "Sec, 55-38, Delinquent notices, late fees; service charaes for disconnection, charges for cuttina off and reconnecting utility services. unauthorized usaae of utility services. meter tamDerina. and replacing meters. * * * * * "Ie) Service charoes will be assessed for the costs of handlino and collectino a delinouent account. includino the costs of disconnectino service and actions taken to prevent further unauthorized use of the utility. The service charoes .'\ service charge of thirty dollars ($30.00) per order must be paid if payment of the delinquency is not made In person at the utilities business office prior to 8:00 a.m,. on the date which the customer has been previously notified that the customer's utility service is to be disconnected due to failure to pay a delinquent bill in order to obtain a reconnection. The customer's failure to receive notification of date to be disconnected does not exempt the customer from paying the service charge. This service charge is necessary to cover all costs in handling and collecting a delinquent account. The service charoes, Include. but are not limited to: (1) Basic service charoe for initial field visit on a delinouent account: $30,00 (2) Additional service charoes for tamperino with utilitv meter after service is cutoff: a. Tamperino with utilitv service fee: $50.00 b. Fee for broken utility meter lock: $6.00 c. Fee for installino f1anoe between utility meter and distribution line: $15,00 d. Fee for Dullina utilitv meter: $15.00 e. Fee for installino utility meter pluo: $50.00 f. Fee for disablinq water tap: $115,00 @lFor all meters reconnected after 5:00 p.m., and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays an additional charge of fifteen dollars ($15,00) will be made and must be paid upon reconnection. Service charae for after hours. weekend. and holiday replacement or reconnection of a utility meter after utility service is cutoff bv authorized City emoloyees: $45,00 R53805A6DOC 3 (4) Additional service charoes imposed if utility meter is bypassed after utility service is cutoff: a, Tamperino with utilitv service fee: $50.0 b. Fee for installino utility meter pluo: $50.00 c. Fee for disablino water tap: $115.00 d. Unauthorized consumption surcharoe: $50.00 e, Minimum charoe for unmetered consumption: 1, Water consumption of 25,000 oallons per billino cvcle. 2. Gas consumption at 20,000 MCF per billino cycle. 3. Wastewater consumption of 25,000 oallons per billino cycle. (5) Additional service charoes imposed for unmetered utility services: a, Tamperino with utilitv service fee: $50.00 b. Fee for disablino sanitary sewer tap: $500.00 c. Fee for removino unauthorized sewer tap: $500.00 (6) If a utility tap is disabled or removed. an application for a new tap and payment of all applicable tap fees under Article V of this Chapter is reouired before utilitv service can be restored to the premises. "(f) Utility meters Meters removed due to failure to pay a delinquent bill or service or penalty charges shall be replaced only upon payment of all reouired service charoes reouired by subsection (e) of this section a fifteen dollar ($15.00) setting foe, plus an additional tampering service charge. The payment must be made in person at the Central Cashiering utilities business office of the city at City Hall. * * * * * "(h) The breaking, damaging, adjusting, changing, removal or taking of any meter, pipe service connection, lock, seal, valve or any other city-owned property shall be unlawful and punishable as a misdemeanor. The turning on of any valve so as to provide service from any utility service. except by an authorized employee of the city. is subject to aR additional twenty five dollar ($25.00) tampering service charge all reouired fees, service charoes, and surcharoes reouired by subsection te) of this section, and is unlawful, and punishable as a misdemeanor under the Texas Penal Code." "(1) For purposes of this section. a person who owns or otherwise has the apparent present rioht of possession and control of the premises where the utilitv meter, seal. R53805A6DOC 4 valve, pipe, or other Citv-owned property, which has been broken, damaoed, adiusted, chanoed, cut. removed, turned, or otherwise altered, is situated and is presumed to be the person who violated or allowed the violation of subsection (h) of this section. But the person has the rioht and burden of proof to show that the person did not break, damaoe, adiust. chanoe, cut. remove, turn, or otherwise alter the utility meter, seal. valve. pipe, or other Citv-owned property in violation of subsection (h) of this section. 'i il Any person whose name is on file with the Utilities Business Office as the customer on the water account for the propertv where the violation of subsection (h) of this section occurs is presumed to be a person in apparent control of the premises. The customer has the rioht and burden of provinq that thev did not have control of the premises at the time of the violation. ";k) The record owner of the property may show that they did not own the propertv at the time of the violation by executino an affidavit statino: (1) That the record owner did not own the property on the date of the alleoed violation: and (2) The name and last known address of the person who acouired the property from the record owner." SECTION 4. A violation of this ordinance or requirements implemented under this ordinance constitutes an offense punishable under Section 1-6 of the City Code of Ordinances. SECTION 5, If for any reason any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word or provision of this ordinance shall be held invalid or unconstitutional by final Judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect any other section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word, or provision of this ordinance, for it is the ,definite intent of this City Council that every section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, ohrase, word or provision of this ordinance be given full force and effect for its purpose. SECTION 6. Publication shall be made in the official publication of the City of Corpus Christi as required by the City Charter of the City of Corpus Christi, R53805A6.DOC 5 That the foregoing o~dinance was read r the first time and passed to its second ceading on this the -11n., day of<....x C , 2005, by the following vote: 'ienry Garrett ~ ~ ~ 'y_ i Rex A. Kinnison ~_ :::~~~:::, ~~,t ~:::,M~~:, ~ Jerry Garcia ( f~~f Mark Scott ~ Bill Kelly ~ That th~ foregoing ord anc was 'read for the second time and passed finally on this the'~ day of {.., 2005 by the following vote: I 'iU, Jerry Garcia ~t~) Clc,f ~ 'i ': l~f . 2 :-1k PASSED AND APPROVED, this the A,.J? day of July, 2005. Rex A. Kinnison d!1J Cltf- ULJL Henry Garrett \ Brent Chesney John Marez Melody Cooper Jesse Noyola Mark Scott Bill Kelly ATTEST ArmanL~" City Secretary APPROVED: 2151 day of July, 2005: ~/kdI- He Garrett Mayor . /",./ , ? ~" '~.'~. -;7 , ,",// R Jay Rei'ning First AsSistant City Attorney For City Attorney :::djllATE -'l 0:; I I R53805A6.DOC 02f)383 ..... _....: .~ .-. . \..r\ .". f.Hi\HGl i..:.r.-<, "L.. State~1~~~JsO AM 9:35: ( uuntv f)f Nueces PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT ss: CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI Ad # ;')267811 PO # ~~eforc me, the undersigned, a Notary Public, this day personally came Diana I:Imoiosa, who being first duly sworn, according to law, says that she is SENIOR COLLECTOR of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, a daily newspaper published at Corpus Christi in said City and State, generally circulated in i\ransas. Bee, Brooks Duval, ,Jim Hogg, ,hm Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kleberg, LIve Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria and Webb Counties, and that the publication of, NOTICE OF PASSAGE OF ORDINANCE NO. which the .umexed is a true copy, was inserted in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and on [he World WIde Web on the Caller-Times Interactive on the 1ST day(s) of i~ll~~UST, 2005. :j;'cJ] 12 h~ <ti.Uuo-;P.s~ SENIOR COLLECTOR Ty{U [2 , Time(s) Subscribed and sworn to me on the date of AUGUST 02, 2005. il _~k~J.o .il)(J /2{/(; ~02 (______ Notary Public, Nueces County, Texas ROSA MARIA FLORES Print or Type Name of Notary Public ~~," ~'r .j. 'L My commission expires on 04/23/09. CALLER.T ... " I . I OF ORDINAN~O. 028383 I Amending SeclIQn 55- 22, 55-28, IIIld 55-38, I the Code of Ordlnancea, City of Corpue Christi, regarding application fe.8 tor new or translerred utility service. lees for testing meters, service charges related to disconnecting utility service for delinquent i or unauthorized usage accounts, IIIld ..Nice charges for bypllSlling or tamp~erl with meters; lor penalties, his ordinance waa passed and approved by the City Councll 01 the City of Corpus Christi on its second reading on July 26, 2005, Isf Armando Chapa City Secretary City of Corpus Christi 005 . Mon4IIY '