Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 01-07-12 retreat — reading text

requirements. 1) An additional connection fee shall be charged when the cost of extending the water line exceeds the established fee per lot. 2) Where more than one unit is constructed on a lot or parcel, the connection fee shall be per unit for service to the property line. 3) Upon application for service, the developer or customer shall place into escrow an amount equal to the total connection fee for the number of services required or provide other financial arrangements acceptable to the city, which amount shall be paid to the city upon completion of construction. When notification has been received by the city that such amounts have been placed in escrow or other financial arrangements have been accepted by the city, the city will prepare a detailed estimate of normal cost from the city's existing system to the property line of the new customer to be served, exclusive of the cost of any oversizing of lines required by the city to serve other future customers. To the extent that such estimated normal cost to provide and extend service exceeds the amount placed in escrow or the financial arrangements accepted by the city representing connection fees, the developer or customer shall, prior to the start of construction, place an additional amount in escrow or furnish a method of financing acceptable to the city and equal to the estimated excess construction cost, if any, less any credit as established in the fee schedule, for a residential water customer. Upon completion of construction, there will be transferred from the escrow accounts or payment from other sources which have been accepted by the city, to the city, the total amount of the required connection fees plus the total amount of excess construction costs placed on deposit or committed by the developer or customer. The water line extension policy shall be that the customer or developer shall pay all costs of extension less the fee for residential water customers, but shall not pay less than the established connection fees. 4) Fraternal or charitable organizations receiving their principal income from donations shall have a reduced connection fee for a three -quarter inch line. 10. 51. 06 Meters Required: Each individually owned or operated business or commercial establishment which is housed in a building that is separated by a partition wall from an adjacent business and is directly accessible to the public from the outside, will be required to have a separate water meter. Business or commercial establishments that fit the description in this section on the effective date of this section will be billed as if they were on a separate meter iJ _ n n_ / Kc9TY}C fW7 by taking the total consumption and dividing the consumption by the number of businesses to arrive at the average water consumption. The average water consumption rate or charge will be multiplied by the number of businesses to arrive at the total monthly charge. All new connections, including new construction, shall be placed on a meter basis after final inspection. 10. 51. 07 Utility Deposits: Minimum utility deposits shall be established by the city council by resolution in the general fee schedule. If any utility service of a resident should be discontinued due to nonpayment two times within a 12 -month period, an additional deposit equal to one month' s average billing rounded up to the nearest $5. 00 will be required prior to resumption of service. Deposits collected will be refunded on all accounts that have remained current in their payments for a period of 24 consecutive months. The deposit refund will be applied to the utility bill(s). Deposits for businesses shall not exceed three times the estimated bill as determined from the published water, sewer and garbage rates schedules, or $ 75.00, whichever is greater. 10.51. 08 Payment Prior to Connection: In all cases, the applicable connection fees shall be paid to the city before connection is made, and the city shall make the connection at its cost. 10. 51. 09 Construction Water: Construction water is defined as water used by a contractor in the construction of a building or structure. A meter will be installed for the purpose of metering the amount of construction water used during a construction period. A deposit of $35.00 will be collected prior to the installation of the meter. 10.51. 10 Liability for Meter Damage: The person in possession or custody of real property in the city shall be liable for damage to any water meter located thereon where the meter has been negligently or willfully damaged. Upon failure of such person to pay for the damage or replacement of the water meter, he shall be subject to prosecution. 10. 51. 11 Irrigation Purposes: Installation of taps for irrigation purposes will require an installation fee based on the size of the water tap, when it is necessary to cut any paved surface, if a larger tap is requested, and when a second meter is installed. No bill will be prepared during the month when water usage is less than 1, 000 gallons. Bills will be prepared on a usage basis and will be sent out after at least 1, 000 gallons pass through the meter. 10.51. 12 Discontinuance; Minimum Bill: After receipt of a meter deposit and after the water has been turned on for customer use, if the customer requests that the water be discontinued prior to occupancy, a minimum charge will be paid. A fee will be charged for requests to turn on and turn off the water prior to extended occupancy for purposes of cleaning, alteration or repair. A bill for consumption or a minimum bill for the meter size shall be prepared. Service shall be provided for a maximum of ten days. 10. 51. 13 Use After Discontinuance Prohibited: No person shall use city water after such water has been turned off by the city. In the case of a violation of this section, the person in possession of the premises shall be deemed to be the violator. 10. 52 RATES & CHARGES 10.52. 01 Increases for Tax Purposes: The rates and charges set forth in this division shall be subject to proportional increases to compensate for any existing tax or any applicable new taxes, which may hereinafter be imposed by any state or federal taxing body. 10. 52. 02 Bases of Minimum Charges: Minimum monthly residential and commercial charges for water service shall be established by the city council by resolution, in the general fee schedule. To further clarify, any residential or multiple residential meter up to two inches in size has a minimum water charge the same as a three -quarter -inch meter. Any residential or multiple residential unit using a meter above two inches in size will be charged by meter size as listed under the commercial heading. 10.52. 03 Authority to Establish Fee Schedule: The city council by resolution in the general fee schedule shall establish charges and fees for water and service supplied by the city. Such charges shall be charged to all users of the service unless otherwise excepted. 10. 52.04 Bases of Monthly Charges for Water Supply: The charges shall be based on the minimum fee, plus any consumption over 2,000 gallons. A minimum monthly fee, which includes the first 2, 000 gallons of usage per month, shall be charged according to the size of meter and type of use. The consumption fee shall be based on the use of water over 2, 000 gallons per month. For multiple residential units that are connected to a single meter, a minimum bill shall be established for the first unit, plus an additional amount for each additional unit. The minimum water usage will be the number of units times 2, 000 gallons of water. Hotel and motel units shall be billed based on the commercial schedule of the minimum fee, plus consumption. 10. 53 BILLING PROCEDURES 10.53. 01 Initial Billing: After the meter deposit has been made with the city and service has been provided, a prorated minimum consumption bill based on the actual days of service will be sent for the initial bill. The final bill will be prorated based on the number of days of service from the last reading date to the day the services are terminated. 10.53.02 Disconnection for Nonpayment: Water will be shut off after 30 days from the date of the bill for nonpayment of charges, in accordance with § 180. 13, F. S. 10. 53.03 Delinquency; Discontinuance of Service: Each occupant of property in the city using city water shall pay to the city a fee on an account that has not been paid by the due date or upon failure to put up a deposit. Water service will be discontinued to any place having a 30- day delinquent bill or upon failure of a customer to make the appropriate deposit. The service charge is due after 9:00 a. m., 30 days from the date of the bill. Further, an additional service charge shall apply, payable in advance, for a broken meter lock, a pulled meter, straight lock up, water turned on after hours, and to recheck cutoff (water restored without payment). 10. 53. 04 Final billing: A final bill will be computed upon the period of time a customer occupies a building after the last regular monthly meter reading. If 15 days or less has passed since this reading, a FORT WALTON BEACH CODE Chapter 10 — 75 minimum charge, or consumption for water only, whichever is greater, shall be made. If more than 15 days have passed since this reading, a minimum charge for all utilities ( sewer, water and garbage service) or consumption, whichever is greater, shall be made. A final bill will be computed on the basis of a minimum bill or consumption, whichever is higher, regardless of the time period between the last meter reading and termination of service. Any outstanding amount at the time of final billing will be deducted from the meter deposit on file. Should the amount due be less than the amount of the deposit, a refund will be made to the customer. Any amount due over the amount of the deposit will be billed. 10.53. 05 Payment of Other Charges; Delinquency, Surcharges: The charges for the refuse and recyclable materials services provided shall be paid monthly to the city, and the city is hereby authorized to include such charges on the regular monthly statements for water and sewage service. Upon failure to pay such bill within 12 days after the billing date, a surcharge of five percent of the total amount of such bill shall be added to the bill. Upon failure to pay the bill in full, together with any applicable surcharge, within 30 days from the billing date, all public services shall be discontinued until all required payments are made in full, plus applicable service fees, deposits and /or surcharges as may be otherwise provided.  City of Fort Walton Beach Finance Dept. — Customer Service Division 107 Miracle Strip Pky SW Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Phone: 850- 833 -9500 TDD: 850-833 -9925 arxe Hours. Monday —Friday.' 8.•00 AM to 5 00 : PM November 17, Dear Customer. This is a reminder that your utility bill is past due. Customer accounts that are 30 days past the bill date are subject to service disconnection as per City Ordinance. Your outstanding balance is $ 107. 54 and includes a 5% penalty. Your service will be discontinued unless paid in full before 9: 00 AM 12101 /11. An