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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem VI(A) First Reading of Ordinance No 94-23, realting to procedures for refund of Water/Sewer Deposits I AGENDA 8-16-94 Item VIA 2 MEMORANDUM DATE: August 11, 1994 TO: The Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners FROM: Montye E. Beamer, Director 'd) Administrative Services SUBJECT: Policy for Utility Deposits and Late Payment Penalties Ordinance No. 94-23 The Administrative Services Department, the City Manager and the City Attorney have developed a policy for refunding Utility Deposits and establishing late fees. The attached explains how the policy would be implemented. Ordinance No. 94-23 allows for the implementation of this policy; following its adoption at second reading a Resolution will be included which formally implements the policy. With regard to deposits currently held, those consumers who have had deposits with the City for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive months without having water service shut-off or having a notice of lien recorded for non-payment would be refunded without interest prior to October 1, 1994. In no circumstances (prior to and after October 1, 1994) will retroactive interest be paid. The program to provide such data is currently being tested. Action Requested The Mayor and Board of City Commissioners (1) authorize the Administrative Service Department to begin the refund program prior to October 1, 1994 for those consumers currently meeting the profile, (2) approve Ordinance No. 94-23, and (3) authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute. MEB/jbw Attachment �0 PROPOSED POLICY REGARDING UTILITY DEPOSITS AND LATE PAYMENT PENALTIES (1) All billings for water and sewer charges will be due and payable fifteen (15) calendar days after the date of the billing. The Due Date shall be shown on each utility bill. The sewer and water charges will be past due if not paid by the Due Date. All past due accounts will be charged a $5. 00 late fee each month if there is any outstanding balance due on the account five (5) calendar days after the Due Date. The City must have actually received the payment in order to avoid the late fee. Mailing prior to the Late Fee Date will not be sufficient. If the Due Date or Late Fee Date falls on a weekend or City holiday, then it will be extended to the next day on which the City is open for business. (2) The City will continue the policy which allows for water service to be disconnected if a utility account is two (2) months or more in arrears. (3) Effective beginning October 1, 1994, the City will, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this policy, pay interest on all sewer and water deposits. The interest rate will from time to time be established by the City as set forth in Paragraph 9 hereof and is subject to change. The deposits, plus interest thereon, will be refunded to the consumer after twenty-four (24) consecutive months without water service being shut-off or a notice of lien being filed for non-payment. If a utility account is voluntarily closed and deposits are held by the City at the time the account is voluntarily closed, then the consumer shall be entitled to interest on the deposits only if they have been held by the City without water service being shut-off or a notice of lien being filed for non-payment for at least twelve (12) consecutive months prior to the date of voluntary disconnection. No interest shall be earned on a deposit during the time the water service is disconnected or a notice of lien is filed for non-payment. (4) If water service is shut-off or a notice of lien is filed for non-payment, then the consumer will forfeit, as a penalty, all interest otherwise payable on the deposits. After water service is reconnected (or in the case of a notice of lien, payment is made in full) , then the deposits will again accrue interest and be refundable after twenty-four (24) consecutive months without water service being shut-off or a notice of lien being filed for non-payment. (5) If water service is shut-off, then the City may apply the deposits toward the outstanding balances of the applicable utility bills and invoice the consumer for any remaining balances after applying the deposits or refund the remaining deposits if the outstanding balances are less then the deposits. If a notice of lien is filed for non-payment, then the City may apply the deposits toward the outstanding balances of the applicable utility bills and invoice the consumer for any remaining balances after applying the deposits, but the City shall not refund any remaining deposits so long as the consumer is still receiving water service from the City. (6) If a utility account is voluntarily closed and there are no outstanding balances due on the account, then any deposits held by the City shall be refunded to the consumer. If a utility account is voluntarily closed and there are outstanding balances due on the account, then at the time the account is closed the City shall apply the deposits towards the outstanding balances of the applicable utility bills and invoice the consumer for any remaining balances after applying the deposits or refund the remaining deposits if the outstanding balances are less than the deposits. (7) If a utility account is voluntarily closed, then accrued interest on the deposits shall be paid or credited to the consumer in the same manner as set forth in Paragraph 6 above only if the deposits have been held by the City without water service being shut-off or a notice of lien filed for non-payment for at least twelve (12) consecutive months prior to the date of voluntary disconnection. Otherwise, all accrued interest on the deposits shall be forfeited to the City at the time of voluntary disconnection. (8) If a utility deposit has been refunded (or if for any reason the consumer does not have a utility deposit on account with the City) and water service is subsequently shut-off, then, as a condition for re-connection, the consumer must pay new utility deposits to the City, such deposits being equal to the then current deposits required by the City. (9) No retroactive interest will be paid with respect to current deposits held by the City. However, prior to October 1, 1994, the City will refund all deposits (without interest) to consumers who have had deposits with the City for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive months without having their water service shut-off or having a notice of lien recorded for non-payment. Authorization to implement this program will be sought from the City Commission prior to adoption of the proposed ordinance implementing the policies set forth above. (10) The interest rate earned on the deposits shall be annually established by the Director of Administrative Services and shall become effective on October 1 of each year. The interest rate paid by the City on deposits shall be based on the average interest rate paid by banks in Central Florida on passbook savings accounts as of September 1 of each year. C:\WP5l\DOCS\OCOE\PERDDH08.08A 18/10/941 DEBBIEH I PER:dh ORDINANCE NO. 94- 23 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA AMENDING ARTICLE I OF CHAPTER 173 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE RELATING TO WATER AND SEWERS; AMENDING SECTION 173-3 RELATING TO ACCOUNT DEPOSITS; AMENDING SECTION 173-4.B. OF THE OCOEE CITY CODE RELATING TO BILLING PROCEDURES AND TERMINATION OF WATER AND SEWER SERVICE; PROVIDING FOR A $5. 00 PER MONTH LATE FEE ON PAST DUE ACCOUNTS; PROVIDING FOR THE CALCULATION OF DUE DATES AND LATE FEE DATES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Commission of the City of Ocoee has the authority to adopt this Ordinance pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida and Chapter 166, Florida Statutes. SECTION 2. Section 173-3 of Article I of Chapter 173 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 173-3 . Account Deposit A. Each new consumer shall apply to the city for the initiation of water or sewer service and shall provide such information as may be requested by the city on forms prepared for that purpose. Such information may include the meter size, type of account (residential, commercial or industrial) , whether a residence is owned or rented and proof of identification. B. Each new consumer shall be required to place on deposit with the city an initial account deposit. A consumer who does not have a de•osit on account with the cit ma be required to pay a deposit to the city_ in accordance with such policies as may from time-to-time be adopted b resolution of the City Commission. The deposit shall bear no intcrcst and is intended as security for the payment of any bill which may be due to the city. The deposit is transferable by the same consumer to a new service address, provided that no outstanding balance is past due, and is refundable, lcaa all applicable charges, upon termination of an account. The amount of the deposit shall be as follows: (1) Residential (single-family residence or individually owned unit in a multiunit building) : Meter Type Water Deposit Sewer Deposit %-inch x %-inch Owner of residence $ 60. 00 $ 60. 00 Renter of residence 80. 00 80 . 00 1-inch 140. 00 140. 00 (2) Commercial and industrial [includes all nonresidential buildings and all residential buildings under one (1) ownership which contain three (3) or more living units] : Meter Type Water Deposit Sewer Deposit -inch x %-inch $120. 00 $120. 00 1-inch $300. 00 $300. 00 12-inch $450 . 00 $450. 00 2-inch $520. 00 $520. 00 3-inch and larger To be determined by Utility Director C. The Cit Commission ma b resolution •rovide for: 1 the _accrual of interest on water and sewer deposits and the timing and circumstances under which such interest will be •aid to consumers 2 the forfeiture of accrued interest on water and sewer de•osits 3 the timin• and circumstances under which water and sewer deposits will be refunded to consumers and interest thereon paid to consumers„ (4) the timing and circumstances under which water and sewer deposits will be applied to the payment of an outstandin• •ast due balances and 5 such other matters related to water and sewer deposits as the City Commission may determine. SECTION 3. Subsection B of Section 173-4 of Article I of Chapter 173 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows: B. The billing period for water and sewer charges shall be monthly. All billings for water and sewer charges shall be due and payable fifteen (15) calendar days after the date of the billing. The due date shall be shown__on each utility bill. Consumers shall have five (5) calendar 2 days from the due date to make payment. Payment in full must be made by the due date. If payment i3 not received terminated; otherwise, the account will be past due. If an account is two 2 months or more in arrears the cit ma terminate all water and sewer service and a• •1 the deposits to payment of the past due balance. Prior to restoration of service, the entire past due balance and a service restoration charge of twenty dollars ($20) must be paid. If service restoration is requested after 5: 00 p.m. or on a weekend, the service restoration charge shall be thirty dollars ($30) . If an account i3 two (2) months or more in arrears thc, city may terminate the account and apply thc deposit to the past due balance. Restoration of thc account Restoration of service will require a new deposit deposits. SECTION 4. A new Subsection G of Section 173-4 of Article I of Chapter 173 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee, Florida, is hereby adopted as follows: G. All past due accounts shall be charged a Five Dollar ($5. 00) late fee each month if there is any outstanding balance due on the account five (5) working days after the due date. The City must have actually received the payment in order to avoid the late fee. Mailing prior to the late fee date will not be sufficient. SECTION 5. A new Subsection H of Section 173-4 of Chapter 173 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee is hereby adopted as follows: H. If a due date or late fee date established pursuant to this section falls on a weekend or City holiday, then it will be extended to the next day on which the City is open for business. SECTION 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereto. 3 SECTION 7. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission of the City that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City; and that sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "chapter" , "section", "article" , or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions; and regardless of whether such inclusion in the code is accomplished, sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the correction of typographical errors which do not affect the intent may be authorized by the City Manager, without need of public hearing, by filing a corrected or recodified copy of same with the City Clerk. SECTION 8. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of , 1994 . APPROVED: ATTEST: CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA Jean Grafton, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor (SEAL) ADVERTISED September 4 , 1994 READ FIRST TIME August 16 , 1994 READ SECOND TIME AND ADOPTED , 1994, UNDER AGENDA ITEM NO. 4 FOR USE AND RELIANCE ONLY BY THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY this day of , 1994 . FOLEY & LARDNER By: City Attorney C:\WP51\DOCS\OCOE\ORDLNANC.173;8/10/94;DEBBIEH I PER:dh 5