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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 91791 ~ M&C G-608, _ _ . s ,~ ,, ,_ ~ -~, ..~ ..,. :~ ~ fry ~ y~r ORDINANCE NO. ~~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 37-23, SECTION 37-25(b) AND SECTION 37-26(a), OF CHAPTER 37 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1964), AS AMENDED, BY REVISING CERTAIN WATER RATES AND CHARGES; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That\Section 37-23 of Chapter 37 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964), as amended, be and is hereby amended and, after having been so amended, shall hereafter read and be as follows: "(a) Meters shall be read monthly and the customer notified in writing of the amount of water or sewer ser- vice charges incurred by that customer for such month. Such notice may be furnished by depositing a bill for water and/or sewer service charges with the United States Postal Service directed to the last known address of the customer. Such water and sewer service charges shall be paid pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the City Council and amended from time to time. In the event such water and sewer charges are not paid after notice is given pursuant to said rules and regulations, field action may be taken by dispatching a service representative to lock, plug or remove the water meter and/or disconnect the sewer line. A special charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) will be added to the customer's account for field action for de- linquent nonpayment, and payment of the delinquent account to the field representative while conducting such field action shall not relieve the customer of the field action charge. In cases where the water and/or sewer service has been terminated, such service or services shall not be restored until the total amount due, including all charges prescribed in this. section, has been paid in full. (b) When water service has been terminated by a lock- ing device and the water service line or meter installa- tion or lock has been removed or damaged, an additional fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) broken lock charge shall be assessed the customer's account. (c) All customers requesting the activation of water and/or sewer service will be requested to place a deposit in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-30 hereof. In the event this deposit is not received within seven (7) working days from the date of application, such water and/or sewer service, if already initiated, may be terminated pursuant to City Council rules and regulations, a and a field action charge of ten dollars and thirty-five cents ($10.35) for nonpayment of service deposit will be added to the customer's account in addition to any accrued costs for service rendered to the'time of termination. (d) For all customers requesting a transfer of ser- vice, a ten dollar ($10.00) transfer charge shall be made. (e} For all work done in setting a meter or acti- vating/reactivating water and/or sewer service a special charge of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be added to the cus- tomer's account for such field action. (f) For all checks returned from the bank, a special charge of ten dollars ($10.00) will be added to the cus- tomer's account for office handling of the returned check, as provided in Section 41-7 of this Code. If the customer does not remit payment for the returned check, field action to collect payment or to terminate service will be required, and a charge of ten dollars and thirty-five cents ($10.35) for field action for returned check will be added to the customer's account. (g) A 'straight connection' is defined as any type device installed in lieu of a water meter, connecting the city's water service pipe to a private service pipe for the purpose of obtaining unmetered water. Whenever a straight connection is found in lieu of a water meter, the straight connection shall be removed by the city. A special charge of ten dollars and thirty-five cents ($10.35) will be made for the removal of such straight connection. When a straight connection is found at a loca- tion where there is no record of a request for service to the location, a fifty dollar ($50.00) special charge for the straight connection removal shall be added to the applicable special charge for subsequent activation and to all estimated water billings, and it shall be paid by the party requesting the activation. A separate ten dollar and thirty-five cent ($10.35) special charge shall be made for each and every straight connection removal, and the party requesting the activation shall pay for all straight con- nection removals charged to the service location, in addi- tion to the applicable activation charge and all estimated water billings, before service will be activated." SECTION 2. That Section 37-25(b) of Chapter 37 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964), as amended, be and is hereby amended and, after having been so amended, shall hereafter read and be as follows: "(b) The following schedule of rates per month, or fraction thereof, shall be the charges to all persons, as herein defined, for furnishing water to water customers located within the City: RATE FOR WATER SERVICE Monthly Service Charge for Water A monthly service charge amount shall be charged based meter serving the customer: in the following on the size of the -2- ~' _ J M p Meter Size Amount (inches) '~ ($) 5/8 x 3/4 2.05 1 3.15 1-1/2 5.25 2 7.30 3 16.10 4. 26.55 6 52.45 g 77.45 10 102.55 12 117.80 The monthly volume charge for water service is as follows: Rates for Cubic Feet First 2,000 or less cubic feet of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet For the next 48,000 cubic feet of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet For the next 75,000 cubic feet of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet For the next 125,000 cubic feet of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet For all in excess of 250,000 cubic feet of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet Raw Water Service: First 1,000,000 gallons per month Rates for June thru October thru September May Billing Billing $1.01 $1.01 $0.71 $1.01 $0.67 $0.67 $0.60 $0.60 $0.53 $0.53 $0.19 per 1,000 gallons All additional use per month $0.15 per 1,000 gallons The service charges set out in the fore- going schedule are based upon the amount of water used as measured by meters." SECTION 3. That "Schedule A" of Section 37-26(a), Connection Charge, of Chapter 37 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964), as amended, be and the same is hereby amended, and, after having been so amended, "Schedule A" shall hereafter read and be as follows: -3- i ,t f y o } : = n i ~.~+ " SCHE-DUCE A Water Service Only Monthly Minimum Charge Meter Size Cubic Feet Oct.-May June-Sept. (inches) Allowed Billing Billing 5/8 x 3/4 100 $ 3.05 $ 3.05 1 250 5.70 5.65 1 1/2 500 10.30 10.30 2 800 15.35 15.40 3 1,500 31.29 31.25 4 2,500 50.30 51.80 6 5,000 93.95 102.95 g 10,000 154.45 178.45 10 15,000 215.05 254.05 12 21,000 272.90 329.90 Fire Line Service Connection Size Inches 4 6 8 10 Monthly Charge 6.10 9.15 12.20 20.35" SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi- nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 5. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitu- tional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. -4- a' j ~ y tS .I K. p. ~ . ,~,,,,, r ry. SECTION 6. ~. That all rights or remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of Chapter 37 or of any amendments thereto of the Fort Worth City Code (1964), as amended, which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and as to such accrued violations, the Court shall have all of the powers that existed prior to the effective date of this ordinance. SECTION 7. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption in the minutes of the City Council and by filing the ordinance in the ordi- nance records of the City. SECTION 8. That this ordinance shall become effective and be in full force and effect from and after its passage, provided, however, that the increased rates specified herein shall apply to customer utility statements sent by the City of Fort Worth on or after October 1, 1984, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS 'I'O FORM AND LEGALITY: City Attorney Date: l~,- 2p ~ $ `~' ADOPTED: EFFECTIVE: a~~ -5- ~di s ~: 7~'1 ~ ~ j p ,ry/ CITY MANAGER 1 ~A ~~ A~~ 1/"'~ ~~°~ 9/1~/ ®'~°th' ~IL~~L~ ACCOUNTING 2 SRANSPORTATION~PUBL1~7h-J~1n~~®~ ~~~IV ~®~~~1/~fV `i./®~~~YW~~~.^"IVU/®~ ~A~a 1 MANAGE~.d DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT Proposed Water and Wastewater ~ PAGE T SERVICES~l NUMBER /~,~ Rate Increase 1 of 4 8/28184 G-60F38 V(~r ~_ On December 22, 1983 Black 6 Veatch, Engineers-Architects (M&C C-8138) was retained by the Water Department to perform retail water and wastewater service rate studies. Working with City staff and the City Council Rate Advisory Com- mittee, the consultants have examined the adequacy of the existing water and wastewater rates in regard to projected revenue requirements. Based on the revenue requirement findings and flow of funds studies, a uniform across-the- board water rate increase of 13 percent and wastewater rate increase of 5 per- cent are proposed. The effects of general inflation on operating expenses, anticipated substantial increases in the cost of raw water purchased from the Tarrant County Water Con- trol and Improvement District No. 1, projected increases in revenue bond debt service to meet increasing major capital improvement requirements, and the need to maintain more sophisticated odor control and treatment facilities at the Village Creek Treatment Plant are all principal contributing factors responsi- ble for the magnitude of the revenue increase proposed. The effect which the recommended October 1, 1984, rate adjustments will have on selected typical water and wastewater customer bills is illustrated in Table C (attached). As noted in the table, the proposed water charges to residential customers using 500 cubic feet of water per month (3750 gallons) would increase $.85 or less than 3~ per day; the wastewater charge would increase $.25, or less than a penny per day. Nearly 30 percent of all monthly residential custo- mer bills are for this monthly water use or less. In addition to the uniform across-the-board rate increase for water service, it is also recommended that the following special water service charges be adjusted as indicated: Service Present Recommended Activation $ 7.60 $10.00 Lock/Field Connection 10.35 20.00 Broken Lock 10.00 25.00 Straight connection/plug 10.00 50.00 These special services are no utilized regularly by all water customers and it is believed that the user-charge concept equitably targets these cost centers. Completion of the full water and wastewater utility cost of service allocation studies and final report is expected about November 1, 1984. These studies will indicate the extent to which revenue from each customer class is recovering its share of the cost of the service being provided, in addition to projected rate increases for the fiscal years 1985/86 and 1986/87. Various features of the City's present rate format are being examined to evaluate cost responsiveness, ease of application and understanding, and how well the needs of the City and a' .;'~ p DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT Proposed Water and Wastewater PAGE NUMBER Rate Increase 2 4 8128/84 G-6088 - ~f its utility customers are being served. Among the features under review are the City's present summer water rate differential, its suitability in current application, and consideration of possible alternatives which may be more cost-responsive while at the same time easing the impact of rate increases on uniform, small-volume water users. The final study will also evaluate the eco- nomic feasibility of continuing to maintain the 1,500 cubic feet ceiling cur- rently used to calculate monthly wastewater volume charges for residential cus- tomers.. In addition, City staff is reviewing capital recovery charges to pro- vide up-front :contributions by developers for a portion of the capital improve- ment program. Various changes in the present rate structure may be proposed as a result of these studies. Although such changes could result in some upward or downward changes in the total charges to be paid by individual customers in the 1985 fiscal year, no overall increase in water and wastewater revenues beyond that provided by these proposed across-the-board rate adjustments is anticipated in 1985. The following rate schedules for water and wastewater are proposed: SCHEDULE OF PROPOSED INSIDE CITY RATES FOR RETAIL WATER SERVICE I. Treated Water Service: Monthly Service Charge Meter Size Amount Meter Size Amount Inches $ Inches $ 5/8 x 3/4 2.05 4 26.55 1 3.15 6 52.45 1-1/2 5.25 8 77.45 2 7..30 10 102.55 3 16.10 12 117.80 Monthly Volume Charge Regular (October - May) Summer (June - September) Water Use Rate Water Use Rate Ccf $/Ccf Ccf $/Ccf First 20 1.01 First 500 1.01 Next 480 0.71 Next 750 0.67 Next 750 O.b7 Next 1,250 0.60 Next 1,250 0.60 Over 2,500 0.53 Over 2,500 0.53 ._ :'w.. a. ... y. ".~ .. DATE REFERENCE NUMBER 8/28/84 G-6088 Meter Size Regular Inches $ 5/8 x 3/4 3.05 1 5.70 1-1/2 10.30 2 15.35 3 31.25 II. Fire Line Service: Connection Size Inches 4 6 8 10 III. Raw Water Service: SUBJECT Proposed Water and Wastewater PAGE Rate Increase , 3 4 of - Minimum Monthly Charge Summer Meter Size Regular Summer $ Inches $ $ 3.05 4 50.30 51.80 5.65 6 93.95 102.95 10.30 8 154.45 178.45 15.40 10 215.05 254.05 31.25 12 272.90 329.90 Monthly Charge 6.10 9.15 12.20 20.35 First 1,000,000 gallons per month $0.19 per 1,000 gallons All additional use per month $0.15 per 1,000 gallons Ccf -Hundred cubic feet SCHEDULE OF PROPOSED INSIDE CITY RATES FOR RETAIL WASTEWATER SERVICE I. Normal Strength Customers: Monthly Service Charge All Customers $ 3.50 per customer All Volume Monthly Volume Charge 0.518 per Ccf Monthly Minimum Charge 5/8 x 3i4 inch meter $ 4.00 1 inch meter $ 4.80 1-1/2 inch meter $ 6.10 2 inch meter $ 7.65 3 inch meter $ 11.25 4 inch meter $ 16.45 6 inch meter $ 29.40 8 inch meter $ 55.30 10 inch meter $ 81.20 12 inch meter $ 112.30 ~: ~,"' :.~ ~. ~- ~~ DATE REFERENCE suB.IEC.T Proposed Water and Wastewater PAGE 8J28J84 NUMBER G-6088 Rate Increase 4of 4 Monthly volume charges for Residential Class customers are based on the custo- mer's average monthly water use during the preceding winter quarter months of December, January, and February; but in no event does the volume used to com- pute monthly charges exceed 1,500 cubic feet. II. Monitored Customers: Customer Charge $ 3.50 per Bill Volume Charge $ 0.335 per Ccf BOD Strength Charge $ 0.0795 per Pound of BOD Suspended Solids Strength Charge $ 0.0521 per Pound of SS Monitoring charge At Cost Ccf -Hundred cubic feet. Recommendations: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinances, adopt- ing new water and wastewater rate schedule§ as outlined above as the rates to be charged all customers of the Fort Worth Water Department with an effective date of billing on and after October 1, 1984. Dl:pmcd Adopted ordinance ~Va ~ ~ Adopted Ordinance No, ~,~'PR~VEp ~~ CITY COUNCIL Auc ~~ sea Adopfied Ordinance No, ,,, ~~~~,~~~.~. pity S~cretoxy o£ the SUBMITTED FOR THE ~ DISPOSITION B~~~COL~ .I ~" PROCESSED BY CITY MANAGER'S ~ ~G~^~~`'C~l OFFICE BY 1/~ (~ APPROVED ~HE ESCRIBE ORIGWATING DEPARTMENT HEAD Richard Sawe CITY SECRETARI' L FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT Lee Bradle E DATE