It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the city to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the city’s treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating and maintaining the public wastewater treatment works.

 (Ord. 450, Art. I)

The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement which the city may by ordinance designate to be paid by the user charge system.

 (Ord. 450, Art. III, Sec. 1)

The city is authorized under the laws of the state of Kansas to issue and sell revenue bonds for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost of the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the system, provided the principal and interest on such revenue bonds shall be payable solely from the net revenues derived by the city from the operation of the system.

(Ord. 450, Art. II, Sec. 2; Code 2003, Ord. 711, Code 2004)

Fiscal year-end balances in the operation and maintenance account and the replacement account shall be carried over to the same accounts in the subsequent fiscal year, and shall be used for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Moneys which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the operation, maintenance and replacement fund shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The user charge rates shall be adjusted such that the transferred moneys will be returned to their respective account within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the moneys were borrowed.

 (Ord. 450, Art. II, Sec. 3)

Each user shall pay for the services provided by the city based on his or her use of the treatment works as determined by water meters acceptable to the city.

For residential contributors, monthly user charges will be based on average monthly water usage during the months of January, February and March. If a residential contributor has not established a January, February and March average, his or her monthly user charge shall be the average charge of all other residential contributors.

For industrial and commercial contributors, user charges shall be based on water used during the current month. If a commercial or industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water, or in some other manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on a wastewater meter or separate water meters installed and maintained at the contributor’s expense, and in a manner acceptable to the city.

(Ord. 450, Art. IV, Secs. 1:3; Code 2003)

Each contributor, residential, commercial or industrial, shall pay a user charge rate for operation and maintenance, including replacement, a sum as set out in Chapter 17. In addition, each contributor shall pay a base rate sewer fee as set out in Chapter 17.

 (Ord. 556-D; Ord. 751; Ord. 832; Code 2003, Code 2004; Code 2007; Ord. 942)

Any contributors, whose property being serviced by the sewer system is outside the corporate city limits, shall pay, in addition to the above charges, an amount as set out in the approved schedule of fees.

 (Ord. 450, Art. IV, Sec. 4; Code 2003)

Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent of the sludge from the city’s treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increases in the cost of operation, maintenance, or replacement of the treatment works, shall pay for such increased costs. The charge to each user shall be as determined by the responsible plant operating personnel and approved by the city council.

 (Ord. 450, Art. IV, Sec. 5)

The user charge rates established in this article apply to all users of the city’s treatment works regardless of their location.

 (Ord. 450, Art. IV, Sec. 5)

The city will review the user charge system every year and revise user charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including replacement and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among users and user classes.

 (Ord. 450, Art. VI, Sec. 1)

The city will notify each user, in conjunction with a regular bill, of any change of rate to be charged for operation, maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.

 (Ord. 450, Art. VI, Sec. 2)

The city is hereby authorized to establish and enforce sewer user charges on all existing or future users of the system, whether located inside the city limits or outside the city limits, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-631, et. seq., and other applicable laws and amendments thereto.

 (Ord. 450, Art. VI, Sec. 3; Code 2003)

The city water department shall render bills for sewer service charge to the person or legal entity designated to receive the water bill for water and water service furnished to the premises. If there is no city water connection on such premises then such bill for sewage service charge shall be rendered to the person or legal entity owning premises. If there is no city water connection on such premises then such bill for sewerage service charge shall be rendered to the person or legal entity owning premises. All bills for sewerage system charges shall be payable on or before the date shown on the statement.

 (Ord. 345, Sec. 5)

Sewer bills for sewer service rendered by the city become due and payable on the 1st of each month as specified on the billing date thereon at the office of the city clerk, provided that any bill which shall remain unpaid after the 20th of the month as indicated thereon shall become delinquent and a late charge of five-percent (5%) of the bill shall accrue; provided further that when any sewer customer shall for unjustified reason fail to pay when due any account for sewer service rendered, it shall be the duty of the city clerk to mail a delinquency notice to the customer. The delinquent customer shall have at least five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, from the date the notice was mailed to pay the delinquent account in full.

The notice shall indicate:

(a)   The amount due plus late charge;

(b)   The customer’s right to a hearing, if requested;

(c)   That such hearing must be requested in writing, filed with the city clerk, at least three (3) working days (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excluded) before the bill is due. Upon receipt of a request for such hearing the city clerk shall immediately advise the applicant customer of the date and the time of the hearing.

The applicant customer, and the city, may present such evidence as is pertinent to the issue, may be represented by counsel, may examine and cross-examine witnesses, but formal rules of evidence shall not be followed.

Hearing may be conducted by any of the following officers: The director of governmental services, public works director, mayor, the city clerk, or such hearing officer as may be appointed by the director of governmental services. The decision of the hearing officer can be appealed to the governing body for review and the decision of the body shall be final when the matter shall have been heard by it.

(Code 1984; Code 2003, Code 2004)

In the event any person, firm, corporation, political unit (except the United States and the state of Kansas) or organization owning, living or operating on premises connected to the city sewerage system, shall neglect, fail or refuse to pay the service charge levied herein, such charge shall constitute a delinquency which shall be collected by a collection agency or by assessing a lien upon the real estate serviced by the connection to the sewer system, and shall be certified by the city clerk to the county clerk of Sedgwick County, to be placed on the tax rolls for collection, subject to the same penalties and collection in like manner as other taxes as by law are collectible.

 (Ord. 345, Sec. 6; Code 1984)

If the customer of record is not the occupant where water service is provided, then the water department of the city shall provide similar notice to the occupant. The request for a hearing must be no later than three (3) working days before the date the bill is due, such hearing will be conducted by the governing body of the city or such person or persons as the governing body shall designate. Customers are responsible for furnishing the department with their correct address and the correct names and addresses of the owners of the property for billing purposes. The owners of the property shall ultimately be responsible for payment of sewer charges which can be assessed as a lien on the real estate serviced by the connection to the sewer system if not paid.

(Ord. 345, Sec. 6; Code 1984)

Revenues generated from the collection of sewerage service charges shall be paid into the sewer revenue fund by the city clerk.

 (Code 1984)

The officers or employees of the city, who may be designated from time to time, shall cause all statements for sewer service charges of the city to be rendered monthly at the same time as statements for water and water service provided by the city are rendered.

 (Code 1971, Sec. 9-203)

All applicants shall furnish to the city a detailed map, detailed plans and specifications of the proposed system sufficient to permit the city to know generally the nature of the user’s system. This map shall be submitted for a plan review and written approval by the public works director or his or her designee. At such time as the system is completed, the applicant will provide a detailed engineering “as built” map. Both maps are to be furnished to the city without cost to the city.

 (Code 1971, Sec. 9-205; Code 1984)

It shall be a violation of this code for any person or persons to tamper with any sewer line constituting any part of the city’s sewage disposal system, or to make any connection therewith without written permission from the city or to reconnect sewer service when such service shall have been disconnected until such time as a reconnection shall be authorized by the city. Each day the violation is committed shall constitute a separate offense. Any person so convicted shall be subject to a fine to be assessed according to the general penalty provisions of this code in section 1-121.

 (Code 1971, Sec. 9-206; Code 2003)