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3043 MLMC 13.12 Water, Sewer and Stormwater Rates ORDINANCE NO. 3043 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13.12 OF THE MOSES LAKE MUNICIPAL CODE TITLED “WATER, SEWER, AND STORMWATER RATES” Recitals: 1. The City promotes water conservation through education and utilizes an incentivized tiered rate structure for Residential and Irrigation customers to help reduce the amount of water used for irrigating purposes; and 2. Excessive use of potable water used for irrigation continues to strain the City’s water system during peak watering season; and 3. The City’s Water Division is responsible for repair and maintenance of City water infrastructure, including after-hour services for water related emergencies. Providing after-hour services to restore water that was shut-off for non-payment is no longer considered an emergency. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 13.12.053 MLMC titled “Water Service Termination Procedures” is amended as follows: 13.12.053 Water Service Termination Procedures: A.  The provisions of this section shall govern all terminations of water service for non- payment of City charge and/or installments and surcharges. B.  If by the payment date shown on a water, sewer, garbage, ambulance, and stormwater bill, the City has not received complete payment of the amount shown on the bill the City shall mail to, or personally serve upon, the customer a notice of termination. The notice of termination shall be sent with the current month’s bill. The notice shall indicate the amount past due. C.  The notice of termination shall contain the following: 1.  The amount past due and the amount of the current month’s billing. 2.  The date of the notice of termination. Document Ref: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Page 1 of 5 3.  The date of termination, which shall be no less than ten (10) days from the date of the notice of termination. 4.  Notice that unless the City receives complete payment of the amount past due prior to the date of termination, water service shall be terminated. 5.  Notice that in lieu of paying the entire amount shown, a customer, prior to the date of termination, may notify the City that he disputes the correctness of all or part of the amount shown, if all or part of the amount shown was not the subject of a previous dispute. 6.  Notice that a disconnect for non-payment fee will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule if payment of the past due balance is received by the Finance Department, Utilities Division, after the date and time shown on the notice of termination, provided no formal dispute has been filed with the Finance Department as set forth in this section. 7.  An informational telephone number. 8.  Notice that an after-hour service charge will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule as a service charge for all water turn-ons or turn-offs after 4:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m. and at any other time which is not a normal working day of the City, such as weekends or legal holidays.Notice that all water turn-ons after 4:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m. and at any other time which is not a normal working day of the City, such as weekends or legal holidays, will not be provided if water was terminated for non-payment. D.  If the City receives payment of the past due amount prior to the date and time shown on the notice of termination, such payment shall be considered a timely and complete payment for purposes of this section. Section 2. Section 13.12.085 MLMC titled “Service Charge” is amended as follows: 13.12.085 Service Charge: A.  The service charge for all water turn-ons or turn-offs after 4 p.m. and before 8 a.m. and at any other time which is not a normal working day for the City shall be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule. Water that has been disconnected for non-payment will not be considered a water-related emergency and will not qualify for after-hour turn-on. B.  A late payment charge will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule Document Ref: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Page 2 of 5 on each water, sewer, garbage, ambulance, or stormwater account or any combination of water, sewer, garbage, ambulance, or stormwater service which is billed on one (1) account if not paid and received by the Finance Department, Utilities Division, by the due date shown on the billing statement provided no disputes have been filed with the Finance Department as set forth in Section 13.12.053. C. A disconnect for non-payment fee will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule if payment of the past due balance is received by the Finance Department, Utilities Division, after the date and time shown on the notice of termination. If water service is terminated for non-payment of the account, the service charge shall include turning the water back on from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on normal City working days provided the occupant does not change. This charge is in addition to the fee imposed by Subsection D. D.  A service fee shall be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule and added to each new water, sewer, garbage, ambulance, or stormwater account or any combination of water, sewer, garbage, ambulance, or stormwater service which is billed on one (1) account. A service fee shall be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule and added for each change of service to another occupant. This fee shall include one (1) water turn-on if applicable from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on normal City working days. E. A service charge for temporary water service will be charged when a property owner or their designated agent submits a written request on forms provided by the City to have water turned on for inspection or repairs when the billing account is inactive. Temporary service will only be provided if there is no outstanding utility account balance related to the parcel. Temporary water service will be provided for one business day between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. Requests for temporary service must be made one business day in advance of the effective date. F. A return trip fee will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule at any time a customer fails to leave the faucets off, or changes mind about connection or reconnection and requires an additional trip(s), or when a customer requests a re-read of the water meter outside of the City’s routine reading schedule. G. Prior to disconnection of service, the Utilities Department will deliver by telephone a notice of termination reminder using the customer’s contact phone number on file with the Utilities Department. If the phone number on file is not current, out of service, or the call is unsuccessful, a door notification will be delivered. A door notification fee will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule. H. Where a customer requests the water meter be tested for accuracy by the City’s Document Ref: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Page 3 of 5 water department, a fee will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule. The fee will be fully refunded to the customer if the test determines the water meter accuracy does not meet the standards defined by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). I. Tampering with City’s water or sewer systems as described in Section 13.307.100 will result in the customer’s account being assessed penalties for meter tampering in accordance with the adopted fee schedule. The recipient of utility services that have been obtained without full payment either through tampering, alteration, bypass, or falsification of records shall also be responsible and billed for the costs incurred by the city as a result of investigation, damages, repair, and bookkeeping. J. An excess use charge will be assessed in accordance with the adopted fee schedule when more than 10,000 cubic feet of water is used in a single billing period by any residential or irrigation user. It will be at the discretion of the Finance Director or their designee to determine if a reversal of an excess use charge is warranted when a leak occurs. Only leaks that meet the minimum qualifications of the adopted Water and Sewer Leak Adjustment Policy will be considered for reversal of the excess use fee. JK. All fees and supplemental billing shall be placed on the next forthcoming utility bill and shall be collected under the normal collection procedures as set forth in Chapter 13.12 MLMC. Section 3. Severability. If any section of this ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or invalid as written or as applied to any particular person or circumstances, no other section of the ordinance shall be deemed to be invalid, but rather, should be deemed to have been enacted independently and without regard to the section affected. Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five (5) days after its passage and publication of its summary as provided by law. Adopted by the City Council of the City of Moses Lake, WA and signed by its Mayor on February 27, 2024. ________________________________________ Dustin Swartz, Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Document Ref: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Page 4 of 5 ________________________________ Debbie Burke, City Clerk __________________________________ Katherine L. Kenison, City Attorney Martinez Swartz Myers Fancher Madewell Lombardi Skaug Vote: Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Date Published: March 4, 2024 Date Effective: March 9, 2024 Document Ref: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Page 5 of 5 Signature Certificate Reference number: PSKGQ-RUCBJ-B2E2R-WV6M5 Document completed by all parties on: 04 Mar 2024 22:18:53 UTC Page 1 of 1 Signer Timestamp Signature Katherine Kenison Email: kkenison@basinlaw.com Recipient Verification: Sent:29 Feb 2024 20:49:57 UTC Viewed:29 Feb 2024 22:44:54 UTC Signed:29 Feb 2024 22:45:06 UTC ✔Email verified 29 Feb 2024 22:44:54 UTC IP address: 162.118.7.69 Location: Moses Lake, United States Mayor Dustin Swartz Email: dswartz@cityofml.com Recipient Verification: Sent:29 Feb 2024 20:49:57 UTC Viewed:29 Feb 2024 20:51:07 UTC Signed:01 Mar 2024 00:09:20 UTC ✔Email verified 29 Feb 2024 20:51:07 UTC IP address: 136.143.144.210 Location: Moses Lake, United States Debbie Burke Email: dburke@cityofml.com Recipient Verification: Sent:29 Feb 2024 20:49:57 UTC Viewed:04 Mar 2024 22:18:38 UTC Signed:04 Mar 2024 22:18:53 UTC ✔Email verified 04 Mar 2024 22:18:38 UTC IP address: 63.135.54.162 Location: Moses Lake, United States Signed with PandaDoc PandaDoc is a document workflow and certified eSignature solution trusted by 50,000+ companies worldwide.