HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 18835-09-2009ORDINANCE NO 18835-09-2009
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 35, `WATER AND
SEWERS OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH
(1986), AS AMENDED SECTION 35-39 `MONTHLY READINGS
CUSTOMER CHARGES, STRAIGHT CONNECTIONS
SECTION 35-56, `WATER AND SEWER RATES WITHIN THE
CITY" SUBSECTIONS (b), (c) AND (d) SECTION 35-63, `WHERE
AND WHEN BILLS PAYABLE REVISING AND ADDING
CERTAIN RATES AND CHARGES FOR RETAIL WATER AND
WASTEWATER, 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 Chapter 35 `Water and Sewers" Article III, `Charges" Section 35-39 `Monthly
Readings, Customer Charges, Straight Connections" of the Code of the City of Fort
Worth (1986), as amended, is hereby further amended to be as follows
(a) Meters shall be read monthly and the customer notified in wasting 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 czty 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 special charge of twenty-dollars
($20 00) will be added to the customer's account for field action for delinquent
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 m 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 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 35-
61 If 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, and a field action
charge of twenty dollars ($20 00) for nonpayment of service deposit will be
added to the customer's account m addition to any accrued costs for service
rendered to the time of termination.
(d) For all customers requestmg a transfer of service, atwenty-dollar ($20 00)
transfer charge shall be assessed on the customer's account.
(e) For all work done m setting a meter or activatmg/reactivating water andlor
sewer service a special charge oftwenty-dollars ($20 00) shall be added to the
custoiner's account for such field action.
(f) For all checks, bank drafts, credit card or debit card charges returned from the
bank, a special charge of twenty five dollars ($25 00) will be added to the
customer's account for office handling of the returned check, as provided in
section 2 117 of this Code. If the customer does not remit payment for the
returned item, field action to collect payment or to terminate service will be
will be required, and a charge of twenty-dollars ($20 00) for field action for
the returned check will be added to the customer's account.
(g) A straight connection is defined as any type of device installed m 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 fifty-dollars ($50 00) will be made 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 of fifty-dollars ($50 00) 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 requestmg 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 of fifteen
dollars ($15 00) for each year of additional research requested will be added
to the customer's account.
(i) Meter testing. All customers requesting a meter test will be provided with one
(1) meter test per year per customer account, at no charge. Any customer
requestmg more than one (1) meter test per year will be assessed a fee of
fifteen dollars ($15 00) 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) After hours service connection charge. All customers requesting the
connection of service on the same day as the request was made or outside of
normal business hours (8 00 a.m. through 5.00 p.m. Monday through Fnday)
will be assessed a charge of ten dollars ($10 00) for field action for the same
day and/or after hours service which will be added to the customer's account.
(k) Han~g~past due notification tags on mulhumts. Any commercial multiunit
customer with a delinquent amount which is scheduled for termination
service, will be charged a fee for hanging customer notification tags on each
unit hours pnor to service termination. The fee will be added to the customer's
account.
The fee structure is as follows
Units
1 2 $20 00
3-4 $25 00
5-25 $45 00
26-75 $65 00
75-125 $85 00
126-150 $100 00
151 and above $100 00 plus $10 00 for each additional 10
units
SECTION 2.
That Chapter 35 `Water and Sewers" Article III, `Charges" Section 35-56 `Water and
Sewer Rates within the City" subsection (b) of the Code of the City of Fort Worth
(1986), as amended, is hereby further amended to be as follows
(b) The following schedule of rates per month, or fraction thereof, shall be the
charges to all residential and nonresidential customers for furnishing water to
such customers located within the city The residential monthly volume
charge for water service shall be the charges to the residential class, as defined
m this chapter for furnishing water to residential water customers located
within the city The nonresidential monthly volume charge for water service
shall be the charges to the nonresidential customer class, as defined in this
chapter for furnishing water to nonresidential water customers located within
the city
RETAIL WATER RATES
Monthly Service Charge for Water
Meter Size (inches) Monthly charge
5/8 $7 00
3/4 X 5/8 $7 00
3/4 X 3/4 $7.25
1 $10.25
1 1/2 $18 00
2 $27 00
3 $58.38
4 $102.25
6 $222 00
g $380 00
10 $595 00
The monthly volume charge for water service is as follows
Residential Customer Class
Cubic Feet Rate
First 800 or less cubic feet of water used $1 90
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For the next 1,200 cubic feet of water used $2.66
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For the next 1 000 cubic feet of water used $3.28
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For all m excess of 3 000 cubic feet of $3 94
water used per month, per 100 cubic feet
Commercial Customer Class
Cubic Feet Rate
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $2 15
Industrial Customer Class
Cubic Feet
Rate
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $1 80
Super User Customer Class
Cubic Feet
Rate
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $1 63
Irn~ation Meters
Cubic Feet
Rate
First 10 000 or less cubic feet of water used $2.66
per month, per 100 cubic feet
For all m excess of 10 000 cubic feet of $3.28
water used per month, per 100 cubic feet
Gas Well Drillers
Cubic Feet
Rate
All usage of water used per month, per 100 cubic feet $3 58
per month
The service charges set out m the foregoing schedules are based upon the
amount of water used as measured by meters.
SECTION 3
That Chapter 35 `Water and Sewers" Article III, `Charges" Section 35-56 `Water and
Sewer Rates within the City" subsections (c) and (d) of the Code of the City of Fort
Worth (1986), as amended, is hereby further amended to be as follows
(c) The following schedule of rates per month, or fraction thereof, shall be the
charges to all residential and nonresidential customers for furnishing sewerage
service to such customers located within the city The residential monthly
volume charge for sewerage service shall be the charges to the residential
class, as defined in this chapter for furnishing sewerage service to residential
sewer customers located wrthm the city The nonresidential monthly volume
charge for sewerage service shall be the charges to the nonresidential
customer class, as defined m this chapter for furnishing sewerage service to
nonresidential sewer customers located wrthm the city
(1) Monthly Service Charge for Sewerage Service Only
Meter Size (inches) Monthly charge
5/g $5 10
3/4 X 5/8 $5 10
3/4 X 3/4 $5 40
1 $6 00
1 1/2 $7 50
2 $9.30
3 $17 55
4 $27 00
6 $52.50
g $88 50
10 $130 50
12 $163 50
(2) A monthly volume charge shall also be charged to residential customers m
the amount of two dollars and sixty four cents ($2 64) per one hundred (100)
cubic feet of water used, and to nonresidential/non-monitored customers m
the amount of three dollars and sixteen cents ($3 16) per one hundred (100)
cubic feet of water used, or wastewater produced, as more specifically set
forth hereinafter
The monthly volume charges for residential class customers will be based on
the individual customer's average monthly water use during the preceding
winter quarter months of December January and February but m no event
shall the volume used to compute this monthly charge for a single family
residential unit or a duplex unit exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500)
cubic feet. The volumes used to compute these charges are based on the
amount of water used by the residential class customer as measured by a
meter Where no preceding winter quarter average is available from records,
the director shall estimate a volume to be used for this monthly volume
charge.
The monthly charges to the nonresidential/non-monitored customers will be
based on total water use as measured by appropriate meters, with the
provision that if a customer can prove, to the satisfaction of the director that
a significant portion of the metered water usage does not enter the sanitary
sewers, the customer will be charged for only that volume entering the
sewers, as determined by a method approved by the director
(d) The director shall establish a monitored group class, consisting of those
customers whose wastewater strength is, m his judgment, abnormally high or
whose wastewater contains limited substances or materials, and charges to
customers m this class shall be computed m accord with the following five
part rate schedule
MONITORED GROUP
Meter Size (inches) Monthly charge
5/8 $5 10
3/4 X 5/8 $5 10
3/4 X 3/4 $5 40
1 $6 00
1 1/2 $7.50
2 $9 30
3 $17 55
4 $27 00
6 $52 50
g $88 50
10 $130.50
12 $163.50
Volume charge, per 100 cubic feet $2.34
BOD strength charge, per pound of BOD $0.2208
Suspended solids strength charge
per pound of suspended solids $0 1010
Dissolved solids strength charge, per pound of
dissolved solids (applicable to gas well drillers) $0 0420
Monitoring and pretreatment charge Total actual cost
The monitoring charge shall consist of all cost for personnel, material and
equipment used to collect and analyze samples from the customer's
wastewater to determine the strength of the wastewater produced and, when
appropriate, to inspect pretreatment facilities, to administer pretreatment
permit systems and to enforce ordinance requirements. Pretreatment
requirements primarily affect industries that are subject to 40 CFR, Part 403
General Pretreatment Regulations.
This schedule shall replace all other charges previously made for industrial
waste strength.
SECTION 4
That Chapter 35 `Water and Sewers" Article III, `Charges" Section 35-63 `Where and
When Bills Payable of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, is
hereby further amended to be as follows
Bills for water and service charges shall become due and payable to the city at
the office of the city water department, city hall, 1000 Throckmorton Street,
within twenty-one (21) days from the date of the bill. If a customer has not paid
the bill m full within twenty four (24) days of the date of the bill, afive-percent
(5%) late fee shall be assessed against all unpaid current charges on the bill
SECTION 5
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, except where the provisions
of this ordinance are m direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such
Code, m 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 ~unsdiction,
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 m this ordinance of any such unconstitutional
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 7
This ordinance shall take effect on January 1 2010
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
,~
C nsta R. eynolds
Assistant Crty Attorney
ADOPTED September 22, 2009
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
COUNCIL ACTION: Approvetl on 9/22/2009;: -Ord. No: 18835-09-.2009
DATE Tuesday September 22 2009 REFERENCE NO G-16713
LOG NAME 60RETAIL RATES 2010
SUBJECT
Adopt Ordinance Amending Chapter 35 'Water and Sewer Article III 'Charges Sections 35-39 35-56
and 35-63 by the Revision of Certain Retail Water and Wastewater Rates and Other Charges Effective
January 1 2010
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 35 'Water and
Sewer Article III 'Charges Sections 35-39 35-56 and 35-63 by the revision of certain retail water and
wastewater rates and other charges effective January 1 2010
DISCUSSION
Water Department staff conducted cost of service studies to establish proposed Fiscal Year 2010 Retail
Water and Wastewater Rates for the Fort Worth Water Department. To assist with decisions about
allocation of costs on a 'fair" and 'equitable basis to each customer class the Water Department staff
met with the Water and Wastewater Retail Rate Structure Advisory Committee consisting of nine
members Membership includes representatives from neighborhood associations commercial customers
and large volume industrial customers
To discuss this recommendation a total of two meetings were conducted with the Committee whose
responsibilities include making recommendations to Fort Worth Water Department staff concerning the
equity of the rate structure Based on the Committee's guidance and consideration staff is recommending
rates designed to recover the costs of providing water and wastewater service to retail customers. The
retail portion of the recommended revenue requirements resulted in an increase of 1 2 percent for water
and 1 18 percent for wastewater
Staff recommended and the Committee concurred with making the Irrigation Volume Rates equivalent to
the second and third tiers of the Residential Rates to encourage more conservation and to bring equity to
high volume users No other volume rate changes are proposed for water or wastewater
To generate additional funds required to cover operating costs staff recommended and the Committee
concurred with increases in monthly meter service charges for water and wastewater based on the
equivalent unit of flow through a typical residential meter
Additional benchmarking indicates other major Texas cities assess late fees ranging from 5 to 10 percent.
Implementing a 5 percent late fee on all unpaid current charges offsets the delinquency management
costs, provides an incentive for timely payment and minimizes additional delinquency fees associated with
field services.
Notification to customers regarding the late fee implementation and increase in miscellaneous charges will
begin with an insert in their November billing statement. The late fee will begin with their January 2010
Logname• 60RETAIL RATES 2010 Page 1 of 3
service period and will be reflected on their February billing statement.
RETAIL WATER RATES
Meter Size_(inches) Current Proposed
5/g $6 50 $7 00
3/4 x 5/8 $6 50 $7 00
3/4 x 3/4 $6 50 $7.25
1 $9 00 $10 25
1 1 /2 $15 50 $18 00
2 $23 00 $27 00
3 $47 50 $58 38
4 $83 50 $102 25
g $182 00 $222 00
g $310 00 $380 00
10 $490 00 $595 00
Residential Current Proposed
Volume Charge $1 90 $1 90
(Per 100 Cubic Feet First 800 Cubic Feet)
Volume Charge $2 66 $2 66
(Per 100 Cubic Feet Next 1 200 Cubic Feet)
Volume Charge $3 28 $3 28
(Per 100 Cubic Feet Next 1 000 Cubic Feet)
Volume Charge $3 94 $3 94
(Per 100 Cubic Feet Over 3 000 Cubic Feet)
Commercial Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet All) $2 15 $2 15
Industrial Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet All) $1 80 $1 80
Super User Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet All) $1 63 $1 63
Irrigation Current Proposed
Volume Charge $2 56 $2 66
(Per 100 Cubic Feet -First 10 000 Cubic Feet)
Volume Charge $3 01 $3 28
(Per 100 Cubic Feet Over 10 000 Cubic Feet)
Gas Well Drillers Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet Afl) $3 58 $3 58
RETAIL WASTEWATER RATES
Meter Size (inches) Current Proposed
5/g $4 50 $5 10
Logname' 60RETAIL RATES 2010 Page 2 of 3
314 x 5/8 $4 50 $5 10
3/4 x 3/4 $4 50 $5 40
1 $4 50 $6 00
1 1 /2 $4 50 $7 50
2 $4 50 $9 30
3 $4 50 $17 55
4 $4 50 $27 00
6 $4 50 $52 50
g $4 50 $88 50
10 $4 50 $130 50
12 $4 50 $163 50
Residential Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet) $2 64 $2 64
Non Residential/Non/Monitored Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet) $3 16 $3 16
Monitored Groua Current Proposed
Volume Charge (Per 100 Cubic Feet) $2 34 $2 34
BOD Charge (Per Pound) $0 22 $0.22
TSS Charge (Per Pound) $0 10 $0 10
TDS Charge (Per Pound) for Gas Well Drillers $0 04 $0 04
CUSTOMER CHARGES
Charges Current Proposed
Activation Charge $10 00 $20 00
Restoration Charge $10 00 $20 00
Transfer Charge $10 00 $20 00
FISCAL INFORMATION /CERTIFICATION
The Financial Management Services Director certifies that the Customer Service Division of the Water
Department is responsible for billing and collection of water and wastewater service revenues
FUND CENTERS
TO Fund/Account/Centers FROM Fund/Account/Centers
PE45 493012 0601000 0.00
PE45 493022 0701000 0.00
CERTIFICATIONS
Submitted for City Manager's Office by. Fernando Costa (6122)
Originating Department Head. S Frank Crumb (8207)
Additional Information Contact: Skipper Shook (8402)
Logname 60RETAIL RATES 2010 Page 3 of 3