HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-036-04/17/1979-APPROVING WATER UTILITY RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SERVICE RESOLUTION 79-36
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
APPROVING WATER UTILITY RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SERVICE
WHEREAS, Section 112-29 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins
authorizes the Director of Water and Sewer Utilities to promulgate appro-
priate rules, regulations, policies and procedures for the operation of the
water utility, and
WHEREAS, the City Council has received said administrative policies
and procedures and desires to approve the same
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS that the Water Utility Rules and Regulations for Service, a copy of
which is attached hereto as Exhibit °A,° be, and they hereby are, accepted
and approved
Passed and adopted at regular meeting of the City Council held this
17th day of April, A D 1979
Mayor
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M OF FORT COLONS P O BOX 580 FORT COLLINS COLORADO 80522 PH (303)484.4220
WATM AND SEWER UTILITIES
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Section I Number __A 8 SUBJECT Water Utility Rules
and Regulations for
Effective Date Service
Replaces Policy Section No.
A. Purpose
The following rules and regulations shall govern the application for and pro-
visions of receiving water service from the City water utility system
B Scope and Authority
These rules and regulations are applicable to any person applying for water
service from the City These rules and regulations are promulgated by the
Director of Water and Sewer Utilities pursuant to the authority contained in
Section 112-29 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins and shall be effective
upon approval by the City Council
C Application for Utility Service
Any person requesting utility services from the City shall make such request
in writing on forms provided by the City The signed application shall con-
stitute a contract between the customer and the City under which the customer
agrees to pay the City for utility services rendered in accordance with the
applicable rate schedule including any special rules and regulations appertain-
ing thereto The resulting contract may not be assigned without the approval
of the City
D Service Charge
A charge will be made for the processing of a request for service as pre-
scribed by the applicable rate schedule
E Utility Service Deposits
1 When required A deposit will be required from any person re-
questing utility service to premises not owned by that person unless
said person has previously established a satisfactory payment history
(no turn-off notice on account of delinquency for twelve con-
secutive months) for utility services provided by the City. In
cases where utility service is provided to the owner of the pro-
perty served, no deposit will be required since unpaid utility
charges will be a lien upon the property to which service is
delivered from the date said charges become due until such charges
are paid The lien may be enforced by the City by action at law.
2 Amount and form of deposit The amount of the deposit shall
be two (2) times the estimated monthly bill for utilities to the
premises served as determined by the City The deposit shall be
made in cash at the time the application for service is submitted
to the City.
3. Deposit application and/or return All deposits will be held
by the City to guarantee payment of bills for utility service.
Deposits will not be considered as advance payments for service
bills but will be applied to a customer's account when utility
service with the City is terminated or after utility service has
been received for twelve (12) consecutive months without a turn-off
notice. After termination of service, the deposit will be applied
to the final bill and any remaining portion of the deposit will be
refunded to the customer
F. Discontinuance of Utility Service by Customer
Any customer desiring to discontinue utility service should complete and
submit a "Termination Order" form to the City three days prior to the de-
sired discontinuance date. The City will attempt to process all discontinu-
ance orders on the date requested or as near that date as possible In
any event the customer will be liable for all consumption until the final
meter reading has been obtained
G. Discontinuance of Utility Services by the City
The City may discontinue service under the following conditions
1. If user's utility services (water or sewer lines, valves, connec-
tions, etc ) are determined unsafe, service may be discontinued after
due notice and will not be reconnected until the unsafe condition has
been corrected The City may discontinue service without notice to
the user if the unsafe condition could be considered dangerous to the
life, health or safety of any person
2. A dustomer shall not connect to any City utility in such a
manner as to obtain free water nor tamper or otherwise interfere
with the proper operation or registration of meters or permit
others to perform such connection, interference or tampering
In case of violation of this provision, service shall be dis-
connected without notice and will not be reconnected until the
customer shall have paid an estimated service bill for the period
during which such violation existed and shall have had proper
utility connections installed in accordance with the prevailing
(2)
requirements of the ordinances of the City and rules and regula-
tions relating to the utility installations, inspections, licensing,
permits and regulations
3. Utility services may be discontinued if continued service would
be detrimental to the City's facilities or others served by the City
4. Utility services may be discontinued for nonpayment of past-
due accounts directly or indirectly related to the provision of
utility services
5. Utility services may be discontinued in case of violation of
the provisions of the regulations of the City Utilities
6 Except where notice prior to discontinuing services is specifi-
cally not required by these regulations, services shall not be discon-
tinued prior to the notice required by these regulations.
H. Termination of Service - Notice and Hearing
1 In cases where a notice to the customer is required before termina-
tion of service, the following provisions shall apply.
2. If any bill for utility services is not paid within 25 days from
the billing date (or if the City determines that service shall be
terminated pursuant to these rules and regulations) , the City may
mail to the customer a delinquency notice (or a notice of intent to
terminate). Such notice shall be addressed to the customer at the
address to which bills for service have been sent and shall contain
the following information
a The number of the account
b The amount of the unpaid bill, the date of the unpaid
bill, (or the other condition causing service to be terminated)
c The officer of the City to be contacted to inquire about
the notice and the telephone number at which such officer can
be reached Such officer shall be authorized to change any
utility billing which is in error
d. The date (pot less than seven days from the date the
notice is mailed) on which service will be terminated if the
account is not paid (or the condition causing termination
of service corrected)
e. If an agreement on the amount due (or other reason for
termination) cannot be reached with the hearing officer, the
customer has the right to make a protest to the Utility
Appeals Committee by filing such protest with the Finance Director
prior to the date set forth in the notice when service will
be terminated and the right to a hearing before such committee
on any protest timely filed before service will be terminated
(3)
f. Advisement of an additional $5 00 charge if turnoff
notice is delivered
3. If the bill is not paid by the time set for termination of service
(or the condition justifying termination corrected by that date) and
no protest is filed with the Director of Finance (of is a protest has been
filed, the Utility Appeals Committee, after hearing, has not ordered
otherwise), the City may deliver a turn-off notice to any person over
18 years of age on the premises served Such notice shall contain
the following
a. The name of the customer and the number of the account.
b The address of the premises served.
c. The date and time (not less than 24 hours after delivery
of the notice) when service will be terminated unless the
condition causing termination of service is corrected
d. The amount required to be paid (or the condition to be
corrected) in order to avoid termination of service.
e The amount of additional charge that will be imposed to
reinstate service if service is terminated.
If no person is on the premises when attempt is made to deliver the
turn-off notice, the notice may be left on the premises in a con-
spicuous place and no further delivery of notice will be required.
4 If the delinquent account is not paid (or the other condition
i-ausing termination not corrected) within the time required by the
turnoff notice, the City may terminate service to the premises
Service shall not be reinstated until the cause for disconnection
has been corrected and a service restoration fee in the amount of
$15.00 for water and/or sewer service has been paid
I Budget Billing
If any single family residential customer so requests, the City may estimate
the average monthly bill of such customer based upon the historic use of
utility service by that customer Such average amount shall be the monthly
bill rendered to the customer for eleven billing periods In the twelfth
billing period the City will collect the amount the customer owes or apply
a credit to the customer's account for overpayments The monthly Budget
Billing Amount will be adjusted for changes in the base utility rate.
J Access to Utility Service Equipment on Consumer Premises
Authorized employees of the City shall have the right of access to consumer's
premises at all reasonable times for any purpose incidental to the supply-
ing of utility services Access to the utility meters must be provided
for proper billing If any meter cannot be read for three consecutive months,
the consumer will be notified by certified mail that this condition must be
corrected or the City will discontinue service until actual readings can be
obtained
(4)