HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 23990-12-2019 ORDINANCE NO. 23990-12-2019
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 35 "WATER AND
SEWERS", ARTICLE III "CHARGES", OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH (2015). AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING
ARTICLE II "METERS", SECTION 35-39, "MONTHLY
READINGS; CUSTOMER CHARGES; STRAIGHT
CONNECTIONS"; ARTICLE III "CHARGES", SECTION 35-56,
"WATER AND SEWER RATES WITHIN CITY" TO INCLUDE A
NEW SUBSECTION L; SECTION 35-61 "DEPOSIT REQUIRED",
SUBSECTION (A) "FORM OF SECURITY" AND SUBSECTION
(C) "FAILURE TO PROVIDE SECURITY"; SECTION 35-63
"WHERE AND WHEN BILLS PAYABLE"; MAKING THIS
ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES;
REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE
FORT WORTH CITY CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH;
PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
WORTH:
SECTION 1.
That Section 35-39, "Monthly Readings", Article II "Meters", of Chapter 35 of the Code
of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended as follows:
§ 35-39 MONTHLY READINGS; CUSTOMER CHARGES; STRAIGHT
CONNECTIONS.
(a) Meters shall be read and the customer notified monthly of the amount of water or
sewer service 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. If such
water and sewer charges are not paid after notice is given pursuant to such 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
disconnect charge according to the City's adopted fee schedule in section 35-56
(1) will be added to the customer's account for field action for delinquent
nonpayment, and payment of the delinquent account while conducting such field
action shall not relieve the customer of the disconnect fee. 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 locking device and the water service
line or meter installation or lock has been removed or damaged, an additional
broken lock charge as specified in Section 35-56 (1) shall be assessed to 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 Section 35-61.
(d) For all customers requesting a transfer of service, a charge shall be assessed on
the customer's account as specified in Section 35-56 (1).
(e) The customer shall be assessed a reactivation fee for all work performed by the
City in setting a meter or activating/reactivating water and/or sewer service a fee
as specified in Section 35-56 (1).
(f) A non-sufficient funds fee will be added to the customer's account for all checks,
bank drafts, credit card or debit card charges returned or refused payment from a
customer's bank. If the customer does not remit payment for the returned charge,
the City may terminate service and assess a fee as specified in Section 35-56 (1).
(g) A straight connection is defined as any type of 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 and a
straight connection charge as specified in Section 35-56 (1) will be made applied
to the customer's account for the removal of such straight connection. When a
straight connection is found at a location where there is no record of a request for
service to the location, a special charge for the straight connection removal shall
be added at the time of future activation, for subsequent activation and to all
estimated water billings and fees, and it shall be paid by the party requesting the
activation.
(h) Resumes. All customers requesting account information and history such as
consumption and associated charges will not be charged for this service unless the
historical information requested exceeds three (3) years. If the information
requested is for the time period greater than one (1) year, a charge as specified in
Section 35-56 (1) will be added to the customer's account.
(i) Meter testing. All customers requesting a meter test will be provided with one
meter test per year, per customer account, at no charge. Any customer requesting
more than one meter test per year will be assessed a charge as specified in Section
35-56 (1), provided that the meter test indicated that the meter is functioning
properly and is usable at another location. No charge will be assessed to the
customer if the meter is not functioning properly.
(j) Meter replacement. The City will only replace meters that are found not to be
properly functioning after testing and validation. If a meter replacement is
requested after a meter test determines the meter to be functioning properly, a
meter replacement charge as specified in Section 35-56 (1) will be applied to the
customer's account.
(k) After hours service connection charge. All customers requesting the connection of
service outside of normal business hours will be assessed a charge as specified in
Section 35-56 (1), for field action for the after-hours service.
(1) Same day service charge. All customers requesting the same day connection of
service will be assessed a charge according as specified in Section 35-56 (1) for
field action for the same day service which will be added to the customer's
account.
SECTION 2.
That Section 35-56, "Water and Sewer Rates Within City", Article III "Charges", of
Chapter 35 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended
to include subsection (m) as follows:
Account Services
New Meter Set $60
Standard Activation/Transfer $20
Same Day Activation/Transfer $25+
Same Day After Hours Activation/Transfer $50+
Other Field Services
First meter test/investigation per 12-months No Charge
Additional test/investigation per 12-months* $75
Investigation By Appointment $100
Meter Replacement by Request Actual Cost
Replacement Installation by Request(<2") $60
Replacement Installation by Request(>2") Actual Cost
Tampering/Theft
Tampering, damage, inactive/unauthorized consumption $150+estimated use +
cost of damage
Meter Removal $60
Delinquency
Late Payment 10% past due
Disconnect/Lock/Shut off $20
Broken Lock $25
Standard Reactivation $20
Same Day Reactivation $25+
Same Day After Hours Reactivation $50+
+ equals the standard charge plus the additional charge.
SECTION 3.
That Section 35-61, "Deposit Required", Subsection (a) "Form of Security" and
Subsection (c) "Failure to Provide Security", Article III "Charges", of Chapter 35 of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby further amended as
follows:
(a) Form of Security. Unless exempted herein, all customers shall be required to
make a deposit in one of the following forms:
(1) Cash;
(2) Guarantee bond in a form and from a surety company acceptable to the director
of the water department;
(3) Letter of credit drawn on a state or federally chartered lending institution located
in Tarrant County, Texas; provided however, that in the event the letter of credit is not
renewed at least 15 days prior to the date of expiration, the letter of credit may be drawn
upon and the funds so received shall become a cash deposit; and
(4) Assignment to the City of Fort Worth of certificate of deposit in a state or
federally chartered lending institution located in Tarrant County, Texas.
(c) Failure to Provide Security. The Director of the Water Department or his or her
duly authorized representative may refuse or discontinue service to any person, firm or
corporation who fails to make a required security deposit or fails to increase the amount
of the security deposit after having been notified that an increase is required.
SECTION 4.
That Section 35-56, "Where and When Bills Payable", Article III "Charges", of Chapter
35 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended as
follows:
§ 35-63 WHERE AND WHEN BILLS PAYABLE
Bills for water and service charges shall become due and payable to the City, in
person, over the phone, by mail, online or as otherwise indicated on the
customer's bill within 21 days from the date of the bill. If a customer has not paid
the bill in full within 24 days of the date of the bill, a late charge shall be assessed
against all unpaid current charges on the bill according to the specified in Section
35-56 (1).
SECTION 5.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), 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 6.
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
unconstitutional 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.
SECTION 7.
This ordinance shall take effect on April 1, 2020.
" nnDOVED AS TO FGRivi AND LEG LITY: CITY SEC
Al 1 1\
%
Christa R. Lopez-R nolds J.W- efla
Sr. Assistant City Attorney
-
0, .FORT
ADOPTED: December 17, 2019
EFFECTIVE: April 1, 2020 U 1
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City of Fort Worth,Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 12/17/19 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 19-0385
LOG NAME: 60METER FEES 2020
SUBJECT
Adopt Ordinance Amending Section 35-39"Monthly Readings;Customer Charges;Straight Connections",Section 35-56"Water and Sewer
Rates Within City",Section 35-61 "Deposit Required",and Section 35-63"Where and When Bills Payable",of Chapter 35"Water and Sewers"of
the City Code to Revise Certain Water and Wastewater Account and Field Services Fees to be effective on April 1,2020(ALL COUNCIL
DISTRICTS)
RIXUMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance to revise Amending Section 35-39"Monthly Readings;Customer Charges;
Straight Connections",Section 35-56"Water and Sewer Rates Within City",Section 35-61 "Deposit Required",and Section 35-63"Where and
When Bills Payable",of Chapter 35"Water and Sewers"of the City Code Sections 35-39,35-56,35-61 and 35-63 of Chapter 35 of the City
Code to revise certain water and wastewater account and field services fees to be effective on April 1,2020.
DISCUSSION:
As part of the MyH2O Program,staff has worked to optimize operations and incorporate the new technology into future state business processes.
In order to execute the future business objectives within the water utility through MyH2O,certain ordinances and fees require updating.Many of the
fees affecting customer account set up,field services,tampering and delinquency have been in place for more than a decade.With the
implementation of advanced metering technology the utility has the opportunity to leverage the data to realize operational efficiencies.For
instance,the new meters will send a notification when they are not communicating,indicating possible damage;when they have been tampered
with,indicating possible unauthorized use;and continuous consumption over time,indicating possible leaks that need to be addressed by the
property owner.To increase the utility's efficiency,truck rolls and staff time can be directed to the priority issues in a timely manner,reducing
unauthorized water use,streamlining workflow and enhancing customer service.The proposed fee changes are designed to recover the actual
costs incurred by the City when providing services in the field such as new meter sets,meter removal,providing access to same day and after
hours services,and the others listed below.Language related to the field collection of fees will be eliminated from the ordinance.
A summary of account related fee changes is below:
Account Services Currenj Proposed Chanae
New Meter Set $20.00 $60.00 $40.00
Standard activation $20.00 $20.00 -
Transfer
Same Day Activiation 1 $10.00+ $25.00+ $15.00
Transfer
Same Day After Hours �10
.00+ $50.00+ $40.00
Activation Transfer
Other Field Services
First meter
test/investigation per 12- N/A N/A -
months
Additional meter
testlinvestigation per 12- !�J
$75.00 $60.00
months*
Investigation by N/A $100.00 $100.00
Appointment
Meter Replacement by N/A Actual Cost Varies
Request
Replacement Installation N/A $60.00 $60.00
by Request(<2")
Replacement Installation N/A Actual Cost Varies
by Request(>2")
*fees waived if meter fails
or leak is identified
Tampering/Theft 11 ��
Meter Removal $20.00 $60.00 $40.00
Tampering,damage, $50.00+ $150.00+ $100.00+
inactive/unauthorized estimated estimated use+ cost of
consumption use cost of damage damage
Delinquency
5%past , 5%past
Late Payment due 10/o past due due
Notify Tag $20.00 N/A ($20.00)
Disconnect/Lock/ $20.00 $20.00 -
Shutoff
Broken Lock $25.00 $25.00 -
Standard Reactivation $20.00 $20.00 -
Same Day Reactivation $10.00+ $25.00+ $15.00
EE5
After Hours .00+ $50.00+
on $40.00
Customers will be notified of the proposed changes and implementation timeline beginning in February 2020 to allow for multiple communications
efforts prior to the April 1,2020 effective date.The 10 percent late fee will be applied to customer bills starting with the April 2020 service period
and will be reflected on their May billing statement.
A Form 1295 is not required because:This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION:
The Finance Director certifies that the Water Department is responsible for collection of all fees due the City by adoption of the revised
ordinance.
Submitted for City Manager's Office bv: Dana Burghdoff 8018
Originating Business Unit Head: Chris Harder 5020
Additional Information Contact: Chris Harder 5020