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.
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"( 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.
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"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
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(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.
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"(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.
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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,
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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
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State~1~~~JsO AM 9:35:
( uuntv f)f Nueces
PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT
ss:
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Ad # ;')267811
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~~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
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My commission expires on 04/23/09.
CALLER.T
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.
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 '