§ 50.58. RATES SCHEDULE.

(A) For the use of, and for the service rendered by the treatment works, rates and charges shall be collected from the owner or occupier of each and every lot whose premises are served by the treatment works, or connected or to be connected with the treatment works, or otherwise discharges sanitary sewage, industrial wastes, water or other liquids, either directly or indirectly, into the treatment works of the town. If a lot, parcel of land, or building is occupied by someone other than the owner, the owner shall be jointly and severally liable for the charges incurred by the occupant. Such rates and charges shall be payable as hereinafter provided and shall be in an amount determined as hereinafter provided.

(B) Except as herein otherwise provided, each user shall pay for the services provided by the treatment works based on the amount of water used on the property as determined by water meter readings (or other appropriate methods) acceptable to the Town Council, plus a user and debt service charge as hereinafter set forth.

(C) For industrial, institutional and commercial users, monthly user charges will be based on either actual water usage or a flat monthly charge, or a combination thereof. If a commercial, institutional, or industrial user has an unusually high amount of consumptive use of water, or, in some other manner, uses an unusually high amount of water which is not discharged into the wastewater collection system, the user may request that the Town Council authorize the user charge for that user to be based on readings of a wastewater meter(s) or separate water meter(s) installed and maintained at the user's expense.

(D) (1) Each user shall pay a user charge rate for operation and maintenance, replacement and debt service, according to schedule that follows. The monthly volume charge shall be based upon the quantity of water used per month, as measured by the water meter there in use and as applied in 1,000 gallon increments. For users inside the town limits, charges shall be effective upon connection of the property to the treatment works or expiration of the time period provided in the notice to connect, whichever first occurs.

(2) The rates and charges shown on the schedule set forth in subdivision (D)(3) of this section are just and equitable fees as required to maintain the sewage works in the sound physical and financial condition necessary to render adequate and efficient service and sufficient to:

(a) Pay all expenses incidental to the operation of the works, including legal expenses, maintenance costs, operating charges, repairs, lease rentals, and interest charges on bonds or other obligations;

(b) Provide the sinking fund required by I.C. 39-9-23-21;

(c) Provide adequate money to be used as working capital; and

(d) Provide adequate money for improving and replacing the works.

(3) The following schedule of rates and charges is hereby approved and adopted.

SEWAGE WORKS

Schedule of Rates and Charges

Rates

Metered rates – Inside town limits	Initial customers
	Monthly service charge – per user	$56.67
	Monthly volume charge – per 1,000 gallons	$4.70
	Non-initial customers
	Monthly service charge – per user	$29.84
	Monthly volume charge – per 1,000 gallons	$4.70
Nineveh Conservancy District (wholesale rate)	Nineveh rate – per 1,000 gallons	$4.35
Metered rates – Outside town limits (excluding Nineveh Conservancy)	First 3,000 gallons – per 1,000 gallons	$4.70
Over 3,000 gallons – per 1,000 gallons	$4.70

SEWAGE WORKS

Schedule of Rates and Charges

Rates

Minimum charge – outside town limits (excluding Nineveh Conservancy)	Size of meter	5/8 inch meter		$49.40
3/4 inch meter		$70.50
1 inch meter		$141.00
	1-1/4 inch meter		$176.27
1-1/2 inch meter		$246.77
2 inch meter		$423.05
3 inch meter		$740.32
4 inch meter		$1,128.10
	6 inch meter		$2,220.90
8 inch meter		$3,701.54
10 inch meter		$5,675.67
12 inch meter		$8,037.61
Returned check charge: A charge of $20, plus the amount charged by the town’s bank, shall be assessed to all customers who pay their account with a check that is not honored by the bank
The percentage differences in rates for users whose property served is inside v. outside the town corporate boundaries:
Volume charge for users inside town limits			$4.70
Volume charge for users outside town limits			$4.70	0%
Volume charge for users in Nineveh Conservancy			$4.35	(7.44%)
Minimum service charge for users inside town limits			$56.67
Minimum service charge for users outside town limits			$4.40	(12.82%)

(4) Credits. Water that is used to irrigate or sprinkle yards or to fill swimming pools is not discharged into the town's sanitary sewer system. Accordingly, the town makes available to customers of its sewage works the flowing credits:

(a) Yard sprinkling credit.

1. The current owner or occupant of real estate served by the town's sewage works must apply for a sprinkling credit prior to May 1 of the calendar year for which the credit is sought. If application for the sprinkling credit is not made prior to May 1st, the credit will not apply until the following calendar year. Applications for subsequent years will not be required unless ownership or possession of the property changes.

2. For those customers who apply for a sprinkling credit (eligible customers), the monthly water usage recorded for their property for the prior months of October through April will be averaged (the winter average). For eligible customers who have not owned or occupied their property beginning with the prior October 1, the winter average shall be deemed to be 6,000 gallons for the following year.

3. Then, for the months of May through September (bills for which are printed and mailed in June through October), eligible customers will be billed for water usage equal to their winter average plus 2,000 gallons. This amendment shall be effective as of May 1, 2008.

4. New or existing sewage works customers may apply for a “sod credit” against their monthly sewer charge. The sod credit shall be for a maximum of 60 days or two billing cycles. To be eligible for the sod credit, customers must apply in writing, and the customer must state they are installing new sod for a new home or are replacing their entire yard with new sod. Credit can be made for usage in excess of 9,000 gallons during a 60-day period or two billing cycles, unless customer history supports a normal usage greater than 9,000 gallons during such billing cycle, in which event, no credit shall be given.

(b) Pool credit. Customers shall make yearly written application for a “pool credit.” Such application shall include the dimensions of the pool to be filled and the month in which the pool will be filled. The customer's average usage shall be checked to verify that the pool was actually filled and the calculated amount of water was used. If not, the pool credit is disallowed.

(5) Effective immediately after a contract for the construction of sewage works has been let and actual work has commenced, each user inside the corporate limits shall pay an interim charge for interest on the revenue bonds and other expenses payable before the completion of the work on a flat fee basis, according to the following schedule:

Interim Charge	Monthly Charge
Users inside corporate limits	$3.50

(6) In order to connect to the treatment works, each new user shall pay a new service stub-out fee equal to the actual costs of installing the stub-out for the property to be connected. The new user shall submit a stub-out fee deposit at the time the new user applies for connection to the treatment works, according to the following schedule:

New Service Stub-Out Fee Deposit
Gravity connection	$1,700
Pressurized connection	$1,100

After the stub-out is installed, the actual costs shall be itemized and invoiced to the new user within 14 days. If the actual costs are less than the deposit, a refund shall be issued accordingly. If the actual costs exceed the deposit, a refund shall be issued accordingly. If the actual costs exceed the deposit, the new user will be responsible for paying the town for the excess costs within 30 days of the date the invoice is mailed. The new service stub-out fee and deposit shall only apply to new users connecting directly into treatment works owned by the town. Properties that are part of a new subdivision for which the owner or developer will be installing the sewer stub-outs, may be given a special stub-out fee as determined according to an evaluation of the plans for the new subdivision at the time the new subdivision is considered. Any special stub-out fee must be adopted by ordinance after notice and hearing in accordance with I.C. 36-9-23-26.

(E) For those users whose wastewater has a greater strength than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition to the normal user charge, will be collected. The surcharge for operation and maintenance including replacement is:

$ 0.20 per pound BOD, in excess of 250 mg/l

$ 0.20 per pound SS, in excess of 250 mg/l

$ 0.60 per pound Ammonia, in excess of 40 mg/l

(F) Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants (as defined in the Sewer Use Ordinance) which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent of the sludge from the 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 such user shall be as determined by the appropriate financial personnel and approved by the Town Council.

(G) The user charge rates established in this section apply to all users of the treatment works.

(H) In the event a property served by the town's treatment works is transferred to a new owner between meter readings, the user charges shall be pro-rated to the date of transfer as shown in the records of the County Auditor.

(Ord. 249, passed 5-11-98; Am. Ord. 286, passed 11-13-00; Am. Ord. 287, passed 11-13-00; Am. Ord. 299, passed 3-5-01; Am. Ord. 355, passed 7-16-12)