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City of Windsor Water Department
THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF WINDSOR TITLE VII. PUBLIC UTILITIES CHAPTER 700: MUNICIPAL UTILITIES SECTION 700.060: APPLICATION FOR SERVICE CONNECTIONS All applications for utility services, or any utility service, shall be made in writing at the City Hall to the Utility Clerk or a designated employee, upon an appropriate blank form furnished by the City. The application, in writing, shall plainly show the charges to be made for the installation of the utility service by the City, and such charges shall be paid by the applicant at the time. The application shall also show the deposits required, the conditions under which deposits may be returned, and such deposits shall be paid by the applicant at that time. It shall be expressly understood, and shall be made a part of the application, that as a consideration for the division of the particular utility service and of all utility services within the City, incorporated within said contract, shall be the requirements of this Section, and every person by applying for said utility service, and by accepting such service has thereby expressed his assent to be bound thereby. The applicant shall be furnished a copy of his application, which shall serve as receipt for this money paid. SECTION 700.070: APPLICATION FOR SERVICE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS All applicants for residential service must be contiguous to the City limits. All applicants for water or utility service shall be made in writing at the City Hall and shall show the proposed use for services, estimated annual use for residential or commercial. Said lines for service, meter and installation will be purchased by the applicant. The City will review the proposed connection request for the sufficient main capacity, installation and materials according to the City Codes. Applicant will be responsible for service connection from City main to residence. Rate for service shall be two (2) times the rate of City residents. SECTION 700.080: CONNECTION FEES All fees for connection to the water or sewer systems of the City shall be prescribed by ordinance. SECTION 700.090: DEPOSITS A. All persons making applications for water service from the City shall receive such service upon compliance with the following requirements:
B. Temporary Services. In the event the owner of the property is requesting only temporary service for less than a two (2) week period of time, then said owner shall pay a five dollar ($5.00) service charge in advance in lieu of the fifty dollar ($50.00) deposit previously mentioned. Said owner shall be billed for water and sewer service used at the property for which service is requested. SECTION 700.100: DEPOSITS - DIPOSITION OF FUNDS A. The funds collected under the provisions of Section 700.090 above shall be placed in a reserve account and shall be disbursed in the following manner:
B. Any amount accruing in the fund hereby established in excess of the City's liability, may be transferred by the Board of Aldermen to the general fund of the City. SECTION 700.110: DEPOSITS - RECEIPTS The City Collector shall give a receipt to the depositor for a deposit referred to in Section 700.090. Such receipt shall show the name of the depositor, the amount deposited and the property upon which such deposit was made. Such receipt shall further bear the notation that it shall be returned by the Utility Clerk when demand is made for the return of the deposit. The City Collector shall keep a duplicate of all receipts so made. SECTION 700.120: DEPOSITS - INTEREST No interest shall be paid to the depositors on the deposit. SECTION 700.130: DEPOSITS - FAILURE OF DEPOSITOR TO CLAIM REFUND The failure of the depositor to make claim for the refund within a period of ten (10) years after such refund shall be due shall constitute a waiver of the depositor's claim and a relinquishment to the City of such fund. The provisions of this Section shall be noted on the receipt of the depositor. SECTION 700.140: METERS REQUIRED A. All charges for water supplied by any City utility service shall be made in accordance with the registration of such meters and the rates established under this Section and all bills will be collected therefor in full, provided that when any such meter by actual test as provided for in Section 700.150 is found to be imperfect and fast in measurement of the service by more than two percent (2%) the cost of the excess amount of services as represented by the imperfection of such meter shall be deducted from the total amount of the bill for the meter reading period for which such bill is rendered. B. Employees of any Municipal utility may at any time and with or without the knowledge or consent of any consumer, measure with an additional meter at any location where such meter may be connected into the service to any building, dwelling house or premises of any kind to which the City is furnishing utility service and when such meter shall for any period register more utilities than are registered by the meter on the premises of the consumer, it shall be taken as evidence that the service being furnished to such consumer is not being properly metered by the first (1st) meter on the consumer's premises and the consumer shall pay for all utilities registered over any period by the second (2nd) or additional meter so installed, instead of the amount that has been improperly registered by his regular meter. C. Whenever service has been discontinued on account of the consumer having failed to pay his account, it will not be restored to the consumer at the same or any other location in the City until the account has been paid in full and a fifteen dollar ($15.00) service charge provided for in Section 700.090 has also been paid in full. D. Each person using the City water shall be required to purchase from the City and install a water meter, paying the City a sum. E. The water consumer shall have a separate meter. Each meter shall be connected by an independent water tap from the water mains so that not more than one (1) meter shall be serviced through one (1) tap from the main. F. Property owners shall install water meters at the property line located nearest to water, only outside of the accessible water main. G. All outside water meters shall be located in a convenient place for City inspection and reading. They shall be provided with a permanent meter box of standard type such as a Dickey Meter Box, with cover well secured thereon and removable for the City inspection and reading. Such meter box shall be at least eighteen (18) inches in diameter. The meter dial shall be installed or raised so as to be within sixteen (16) inches of the ground surface. SECTION 700.150: METER TESTS A. Should any customer desire to challenge the accuracy of any meter supplied by the City, he may do so on request and on payment of an inspection fee. The inspection fee shall be designed to cover the cost of testing the meter and shall roughly approximate the cost to the City. This fee shall be set, from time to time, by the City Administrator. Should the meter be found to be imperfect and fast in measurement of the service by more than two percent (2%), the cost of said test shall be paid by the City and the inspection fee be refunded to the consumer. Should the test show the meter is correct in the margin of error of two percent (2%), the cost of the excess amount of services shall not be adjudged, and the inspection fee shall be retained by the City. Should the inspection show that the meter is imperfect and slow in measurement of the service by more than two percent (2%), there shall be no ground of prior billings and the inspection fee will be retained by the City. B. No consumer shall require a test of any meter more often than once in six (6) months. At the request of the consumer a written report showing the result of such test shall be given the consumer requesting the same. SECTION 700.160: BILLING PROCEDURE The Utility Clerk shall render to each utility customer a bill for his utility service monthly. The City Administrator may, at his discretion, organize the billing cycle so that certain customers are billed at one (1) part of the month and other customers at a different time, and thereby equalize the work required of the City Utility Clerk. 1. Each customer shall monthly be billed for all utility services, in writing. Such a written billing shall be presented to the customer at least ten (10) days before the payment date. Such written billing shall include the following information:
2. Any person who does not pay their utility service charge or charges by the due date or within ten (10) days thereafter shall be subject to termination of all utilities and services. SECTION 700.170: TERMINATION OF UTILITY SERVICE Any or all utility services may be discontinued without notice to the customer, for the following reasons: 1. For failure to pay utility service charges, provided that notice of the utility service charge and the right to protest or complain about the calculation of the charges has been given as provided in Section 700.150. 2. Upon the discovery of any unauthorized connections or diversions of utility service beyond any meter. 3. Upon discovery that utility service through one (1) meter is being used by more than one (1) customer. SECTION 700.180: ESTIMATED BILLS All bills for service charges furnished by the City may be estimated, when by reason of defect in or failure to read the appropriate meter or for any other reason, the monthly bill of the user or customer cannot accurately be determined. The Billing Clerk shall make such estimate, considering the average consumption of the user over the previous twelve (12) month period, considering the relative use of such utility service within the City as a whole for the period of time in question, and considering such other factors as the Billing Clerk may deem appropriate. Such estimated bills shall be due and payable as are all other bills rendered under this Section. SECTION 700.190: HARDSHIP CASES Any person who, by reason of financial or other hardship, is unable to pay any utility bill prior to the termination date, may be granted by the City Administrator such additional period as the City Administrator may deem appropriate in which to pay his delinquent account, provided that the City Administrator may not grant to any customer the right to pay his utility bill past the date when the next month's utility bill would be presented to said customer. SECTION 700.200: VIOLATION Upon determination by a use of any of the rules and regulations adopted and imposed by this Section, the user shall be informed in writing of the particular violations and that service shall be terminated if the circumstances constituting the violation are not rectified to the satisfaction of the City Administrator within fifteen (15) days; and that the user, within the fifteen (15) day period, may meet with the City Administrator, or an employee so designated by the City Administrator during regular business hours of the City if the user believes the charges are erroneous or incorrect. The City Administrator or his designated employee shall be empowered to require compliance by the user with all the rules and regulations adopted and imposed by this Section, and may require the user to reasonably demonstrate such compliance to stay the order of disconnection at the end of the fifteen (15) day period. If the user does not comply with the rules and regulations of this Section within the fifteen (15) day period, the service shall be disconnected and the user informed in writing that service will be reconnected upon demonstration to the City Administrator or his designated employee that the user has complied with the rules and regulations of this Section, and upon payment by the user of the ten dollars ($10.00) reconnection fee; provided that where dishonest or unauthorized water piping shall be found, the City may terminate the appropriate utility service immediately and the City shall notify such person that the service will be reconnected upon ratification of the circumstances causing the disconnection to the satisfaction of the City Administrator, or his designated employee, and the payment of fifty dollars ($50.00) reconnection fees, provided further, that when any person after proper notice and a prior opportunity for hearing consistent with the provisions of the Section, has been denied service and is still owing the City, moves into a building or dwelling connected with water service, the service shall be reconnected upon the payment of the amount due and a ten dollar ($10.00) reconnection charge. SECTION 700.210: DISCONNECTION Upon disconnection of a user's water or sewer service, any and all amounts owed by the user to the City for the provision of such service shall become due and payable within thirty (30) days. The City, in the notice which sets forth the terms of reconnection of such service, shall indicate to the user that the user must pay the entire amount due the City for services in the billing period in which the disconnection took place, plus any past due amounts within thirty (30) days, or the City Administrator shall direct that the amounts deposited by the user upon connection (listed in Section 700.220) to the utilities shall be apportioned to insure the payments of any amount due to the City from the user, plus a ten percent (10%) penalty on the total of such amount due to the City. If the user fails to pay the amount due the Administrator within thirty (30) days of the disconnection, the City Administrator shall apportion said deposits consistent with the provisions of this Section, and shall direct the return of any excess to the user, without interest. If the deposits are insufficient to pay the amount due to the City from the user, the City shall upon a final settlement of the user's account, demand a reasonable amount for expenses incurred in the collection of the user's account. SECTION 700.220: UTILITY DEPOSITS Whenever a user of the City utility service shall for any reason cease to use the service within two (2) years of the connection date of said service and subject to a determination by the City Administrator that the user has complied with the rules, regulations and ordinances of the City governing the supply and use of such utility service, and the payment of all bills and charges there in full by the user, the City shall refund to such user upon presentation of the receipt therefor, any amount of such utility deposit, without interest, which has not been applied against a delinquent for a two (2) year period, but the City Administrator may reimpose on a user for all utility services a deposit requirement consistent with the provisions of this Section upon the subsequent delinquency of any utility bill by such user for a period exceeding thirty (30) days. Such deposit must be made by the user within fifteen (15) days of written notice by the City Administrator of such reimposition of utility deposits. Non-payment of such deposits reimposed by the City Administrator shall result in a ten dollar ($10.00) penalty to be added to the bill of the user in the next billing period for each utility service upon which the deposit has been requested and not timely made. SECTION 700.230: DISCONNECTION CHARGE The City Collector is authorized and empowered to levy and collect a charge of fifteen dollars ($15.00) from each user of water furnished by the City, whose water has been cut off for failure on the part of the user to pay promptly the monthly charge levied for the use of such water. SECTION 700.240: ACCESS TO PRIVATE PREMISES The City Administrator and the various persons employed by him in the line of duty shall at all reasonable hours have free access to all parts of building, dwelling house or premises of any kind to which service is furnished, for the purpose of installing, examining or repairing or removing any meter or other material or appliances belonging to the City, or to read meters, turn on or cut-off service, or for any other purpose that may be deemed essential for the preservation of such property, prevention of waste or collection of revenue.
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