HomeMy WebLinkAbout20080204 - VII-2/VIII-C-2VII-2
_ - ~ `VIII C-2
To: Mayor Hicks & Ciry Councilmembers
From: Melanie Mesko Lee, Assistant City Administrator
Re: Utility Billing Ordinance Amendment
Date: 3anuary 31, 2008
Council Action Requested:
Conduct a public hearing and a second reading for an ordinance amendment relating to
utility billing and late fees.
Back~-ound Information:
This amendment would allow for aone-time waiver of a late penalty far utility bills, upon
certain conditions being met. Please see attached information with the City Attorney's
memo and the proposed language change.
MEMO
TO. Honorable Mayor and City Council members
FROM: Charlene A. Stark, Finance Director
RE: Public Hearing for Utility Billing Ordinance
DATE: January 31, 2008
In November of 2007 the Utilities committee of the City Council met to discuss an amendment to
ordinance 51.03 which involves the rules and regulations relating to utilities. We discussed
options to allow the finance department the ability to waiver penalty and interest from utility bills.
These types of waivers appear before council periodically through the year and typically we have
denied the waiver of the penalty. Other utilities and credit card offer a one time good customer
waiver of interest to their customers. The committee agreed to a one time waiver of penalty and
or interest per customer with the stipulation of having said customer sign up for the direct
withdrawal program for six months. This waiver would be at the discretion of the finance
department with aut having to appear before council. The customer would have to request in
writing for the one time waiver and sign up for the direct withdrawal program. The direct
withdrawal program is like direct deposits employers have for their employee's payroll but in
reverse. The city withdraws the amount due on the due date of the utility from the checking or
savings account of the customer. This saves the customer the hassle of making out a check;
malting or delivering the payment to city hall by the due date.
Counci[ Action Requested:
Conduct Public hearing for the amendment and pass the amendment to the utility billing ordinance S I.03.
vl-i~
Donald !. F7neb } s
Daniel J. Fluegel
Sean R. McCarthy
FLVEGEL LAW .FIRM P.A.
Attorneys At Law
1303 South Frontage Road, Suite 5
Hastings, MN 55033-2477
Teleplwne 65}-438-9777
Fax 651-d38-9775
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Daniel J. Fluegel, City Attorney
Date: January I b, 2008
Subject: Ordinance Amendment -One Time Utility Penalty Waiver
Request
The City Council is asked to t:ompl ete a first reading and order a public hearing to consider adopting
changes to City Code Chapter S 1.03 pertaining to Municipal Utility Billing, Payment and Penalties.
Proposed Changes
The proposed City Code Amendment allows for cone-time waiver ofthe I0% penalty on delinquent
utility bills. As a condition of the Finance Department waiving the penalty, the utility customer
would need to enroll in an electronic payment program approved by the Finance Department for a
minimum six month period. If the customer would withdraw the electronic payment authorization
or cause any utility payments to be delinquent during that six month period, the original 10% penalty
would be imposed in addition to any other applicable penalties. Charlene Stark, Finance Director,
worked with me on these changes and has reviewed and approved the language of the proposed
ordinance amendment.
Attachments.
Sign Ordinance Amendment.
DANlham
s Also admitted to practice in Rrisconsin
ORDINANCENO. .THIRD SERIES
ANORDIIVANCE OF THE CITYOFHASTINGS, MINNESOTA
AMENDDVG CHAPTER SS OFTBE HA.4TINGS CITYCODEPERTAINING TO IJ77LIT7H~
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COINCIL OF THE CITY OFHA,~TEVGS AS FOZLOR'S:
Chapter 51 of the Hastings City Code is hereby amended and Section 51.03 shall be deleted in its
entirety and replaced as follows:
§ 51.03 RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO MUNICIPAL UTILTI'IES
(A) Billing, payment, and penalty.
(l) All municipal utilities shall be billed in monthly or quarterly installments, as the
case may be, but a utilities statement shall be sent to each consumer on or before the first day of
the month following reading of any meter read during the month. All utility charges shall be
delinquent if they are unpaid at the close of business an the twentieth day of the month following
the billing, provided, that if the twentieth day of the month shall fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or
legal holiday, the time shall be extended to the close of business on the next succeeding day on
which business is normally transacted.
{2) Except as specifically authorized in this Section, a penalty of 10°~° thereof shall be
added to, and become part of, all delinque~ utility bills. Upon a utility bill becoming delinquent,
the city shall at month-end, by first-class mail to the recorded biding address, mail a delinquent
notice and disconnect warning, stating the amount of the unpaid bill, including penalty amount.
This notice must state that if payment is not received within l0 days of billing, an additional
penalty of $10 will be added to the bill and service will be disconnected. (If the above days fall
on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the above procedure shall be implemented the next
regular scheduled business day.)
(3) If any such bill is not paid in full on or before the thirtieth day of the month
following the date upon which it became delinquent, municipal utilities may, at the option of the
city, be suspended to the consumer whose bill is sfl delinquent. Disconnection of service due to
an unpaid utility bbl of a residential customer shall be as soon as practicable following the
eleventh business day after notification. Disconnection shall be made during normal business
hours.
(4} Prier to disconnection, the utility shall make 1 visit to the residence to be
disconnected in an attempt to make personal contact. This visit wdl be during regular business
hours of the Utility Department.
(5} All on-site collection attempts where no one is at the residence require a Notice of
Water Shutoffposted conspicuously and indicating the following:
(a) Water service termination date; and
(b) Total amount due.
(6} If contact is not made or the delinquent utility bill remains delinquent following
contact, the utility shall disconnect the service.
(7) The Utility Department must reconnect service if the residential customer or
designated representative:
{a) Pays the outstanding balance owed;
(b} Enters into a written payment agreement with the city, arrangements for
partial payments to be made with the Finance Department. However, failure of the customer to
adhere to the payment agreement as established by the utility shall result in immediate
disconnection of service by the utility. Payment must be made in full SO days after original
billing; and
(c) Service termination shall occur the next regular business day after dated
water shut-off or agreement to pay letter expires and payment has not been received.
(Am_ Ord. 491, passed 4-21-2003}
(B} Application connectior~ and sale of service_ Application far municipal utility services
shall be made upon forms supplied by the city, and strictly m accordance therewith. No
connection shall be made until consent has been received from the city to make the same. All
municipal utilities shall be sold and delivered to consumers under the then applicable rate applied
to the amount of the utilities taken as metered or ascertained in connection with the rates.
(C) Discontinuance of service. All municipal utilities may be shut off or discontinued
whenever it is found that:
(1) The owner or occupant of the premises served, or any person worlang on any
connection with the municipal utility systems, has violated any requirement of the Gity Code
relative thereto, or any connection therewith;
(2) Any charge far a municipal utility service, or any other financial obligation
imposed on the present owner or occupant of the premises served, in unpaid after due notice
thereof;
(3) There is fraud or misrepresentation by the owner or occupant in connection with
any application for service or delivery or charges therefore;
(4) Connections and disconnections will be made by Utility Department employees
only; and/or
(5) The city is refused entry to property, dwelling or other building to install, read,
inspect, repair, maintain or replace a utility meter or to inspect or repair a utility system.
(D) Ownership of municipal utilities Ownership of all municipal utilities, plants, lines,
mains, extensions, and appurtenances thereto, shall be and remain in the city and no persan shall
own any part or portion thereof. Provided, however, that private facilities and appurtenances
vonst<aucted on private property are not intended to be included in municipal ownership.
(~ Right of ent~y_ With the consent of the property owner or in the evern of an emergency,
the city has the right to enter in and upon private properly including buildings and dwelling
houses, in or upon which is installed a municipal utility, or connection therewith, for the
purposes of installing, reading, inspecting, repairing, maintaining, or replacing utility meters or
any part thereof to inspect or repair utility systems; and for the purposes of connecting and
disconnecting service.
(~ Meter test/meter reading discrepancies In the event that a customer suspects a
discrepancy in meter readings, the following procedures will be followed.
(1) Customer shall notify the Finance Department located in City Hall, of specific
discrepancies.
(2) The utility staff shall review customer consumption history. If findings indicate
that a discrepancy is possible, the meter shall be re-read.
(3) If the city is requested to test a consumer's utility meter and if that meter is found
to be inaccurate, then the meter shall be replaced with an accurate meter. if the meter is found to
be accurate, the meter shall be reinstalled and the consumer shall be billed $25 by the city to
cover the cost of the test.
(4) h1 the case of remote water meters where there is a discrepancy between the
outside reader and the inside reader, the inside master meter reading shall be used.
(5) For final billings the utility staff will take a reading on both inside and outside
meters when possible.
(G) Unlawful acts.
(1) It is unlawful for any person to willfully or carelessly break, injure, mar, deface,
disturb, or in any way interfere with any buildings, attachments, machinery, apparatus,
equipment, fixture, or appurtenance of any municipal utdity or municipal utility system or
commit any act tending to obstnzct or impair the use of any municipal ufility.
(2) It is unlawful for any person to make any connection with any municipal utility
system without first having applied for and received permission from the city to make the same.
(3) It is unlawful for any person to turn on or connect a utility when the same has
been. turned off or disconnected by the city for nonpayment of a bill, or for any other reason,
without first having obtained a permit to do so from the city.
(4} It is unlawful for any person to jumper or by any means or device fully or
partially circumvent a municipal utility meter, or to knowingly use or consume unmetered
utilities or use the service of any utility system, the use of which the proper billing authorities
have no knowledge.
(s) It is anlawful for any person to distort any meter readings or meter accuracy. Any
meters damaged as a result of any attempt to distort meter readings or meter accuracy will be
repaired by the Utility Department at the consumer's expense.
(H) Municipal utility charges a lierz
(1} Statements for municipal utility charges shall be rendered to the consumer at the
usual times and in the usual manner. If any such municipal utility bill remains unpaid for period
of more than 30 days, then a statement of the delinquent and unpaid service charge shad be
served by mail or personally upon the consumer. If the consumer fails or refuses to pay bills for
utility charges relating to the premises within a period of 30 days after statement of the charges
has been duly rendered the city may disconnect and discontinue to provide utility service for the
premises as provided by division (I).
(2) Each charge levied by and pursuant to this chapter is hereby made a lien upon the
premises served by a connection to a municipal utility system of the city and located within the
city; and all the charges which are more than 60 days past due, and having been properly billed
to the consumer of the premises served, shall be certified. by the City Cleric to the County Auditor
and the City Clerk in so certifying the charges to the County Auditor shall specify the amount
thereof and the description of the premises served, the name of the owner thereof; and the
amount so certified shall be extended by the Auditor on the tax rolls against the premises in the
same manner as ocher taxes, and collected by the County Treasurer and paid to the city along
with other taxes.
(Am_ ord. 540, passed 10-17-200s)
(Prior Code, § 12.04}
(I) Disconnection.
(1) It is the policy of the city to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of
nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills.
The city`s form for application for utility service and all bills shall contain, in addition to the title,
address, room number, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible
and easily readable provisions to the effect:
(a) That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill;
and
(b) That if any bill is not paid by or before that date, a second bill will be
mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within 10 days of the mailing of the
second bill, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
(c) That any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a
right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented th person and by counsel or any
other person of his or her choosing and may present oraIly or in writing his or her complaint and
coirtentions to the city official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to
order that the customer's service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final
determination of the customer's complaint.
(2) Except as specifically authorized in this Section, requests for delays or waiver of
payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing wiII be considered.
In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein,
service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due
and unpaid for at Least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the city to discontinue utility service to a customer
for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have
been paid, along with a turn-on charge in an amount set by City Council.
Penalty, see § 10.99
(,l} Penalty Waiver.
(1) The Finance Departmenf may grant aone-time waiver of the 10% penalty on
delinquent utility bills upon the customer satisfying the following conditions:
(a) The customer must submit a written request for waiver of penalty to the
Finance Department postmarked or hand delivered to the Finance Department no later than the
thirtieth day of the month following the date upon which the utiliiy bill became delinquent.
{b) The customer must enroll in a pmgram authorized by the Finance Department
to allow for automatic deduction of all future utility hill payments from a checking or savings
account designated by customer. Any costs imposed by the financial institution for establishing
the automatic deduction shall be paid by the customer.
(c} The customer must sign an agreemeirt and authorization form by which the
customer agrees that the automatic deduction authorization may not be revoked by the customer
without the consent of the Finance Departmen# for a period of six months and if for any reason
the automatic deduction authorization is revoked, or if additional utility bills become delinquent
f~i• any reason during the same six month period, the full amourrt of the penalty previously
waived, plus any additional penalties which may be imposed by the subsequent delinquency,
shall become immediately due and payable by the customer.
{2) The penalty waiver shall be applied only one time during the duration of the utility
account regardless of the number of responsible individuals or owners of the property serviced
by the account.
Council member moved a second to this Resolution, and upon
being put to a vate it was unanimously adopted by all Council members present.
Adopted by the Hastings City Council on this 4th day of February, 2008, by the
following vote:
Ayes
Nays:
Absent:
CITY OFAASTWGS
Paul J. Hicks, Mayor
ATTEST:
Melanie Mesko Lee, City Clerk
I hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the Resolution presented to
and adopted by the City of Hastings, County of Dakota, M'u~nesota, on the 4~` day of February,
~00~8, as disclosed by the records of the City of Hastings on file and of record in the office.
Melanie Mesko Lee,
City Clerk
THIS INSTRUMENT DRAFTED BY.•
FLITEGEL LAiYFIR1~F.A.
1303 South Frontage Road, Suite #5
Hastings, MN 55033
651-438-9777
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