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ORD 00-12CITY OF OTSEGO COUNTY OF WRIGHT ORDINANCE NO. 00-12 SEWER USE ORDINANCE SECTION 1. PURPOSE AND OBJECT. The City Council has determined that in order to pay for the costs of construction, reconstruction, repair, enlargement, improvement, maintenance, operation, and use of the City sanitary sewage system and treatment plant;,the cost of new State and Federal regulations; and the cost of principal and interest to become due or to be issued therefore; it is necessary to impose just and equitable charges for the use and availability of the Municipal sanitary sewer collection and treatment system pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 444.075. SECTION 2. SEWER USAGE CHARGES. A. Usage Charge. Sewer charges levied and assessed against the property in the City shall be established by resolution of the City Council. 1. For residential users, the sewer charge shall be determined using the average of the winter months water use. 2. Sewer charges for non-residential users shall be determined in the same manner as for residential users where practical and appropriate. Where this is not practical or appropriate, the monthly sewer charge shall be based on the monthly water usage for the affected premises. B. Penalty Charge and Interest on Unpaid Bills. The sewer usage charge shall be billed to the owner or occupant of the premises served by said sewer monthly and shall be payable to the City within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date in which the statement is issued. All delinquent accounts shall be subject to a penalty calculated as follows: 1. A bill paid in full within 30 days after the due date shall pay a penalty of 10% of the balance due. 2. Beginning 30 days after the due date all unpaid balances shall accrue interest at a rate to be established by resolution. C. Availability of Sewer Service. Owners or users of any property within those areas where City sewer service is available may not use a non -municipal sewer system without specific written agreement with the City. SECTION 3. SEWER CONNECTION CHARGES. All connections to the municipal sewage treatment system shall be in conformity with the following regulations, except that the City may, by resolution, waive the same upon showing of special conditions justifying such waiver. A. Separate Connection. Every premises served by the municipal sewage system shall have a separate connection. B. Permit Required. No person, firm, or corporation shall hook up any sewage connection to the City sewage collection system without first obtaining a permit from the City. C. Licensed Plumber Required. No person, firm, or corporation may hook up or service, or assist therein, any sewage line connected to the City sewage collection system, unless such person, firm or corporation is a plumber duly licensed under the laws of the State of Minnesota or the ordinances of the City. D. Connection Charge. The connection charge imposed by the City for hookup of premises to the municipal sewage collection system shall be set by a duly adopted resolution of the City Council. E. Residential Equivalent Connections (REC's) will be established for non-residential users. The number of REC's per use will be as per the current version of the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Procedures Manual. Any charges so established may be amended at any time by a duly adopted resolution of the City Council. F. No person shall connect to the City sewer system without also connecting to the City Water system, except by resolution of the City Council. SECTION 4. ACCOUNTS IN NAME OF PROPERTY OWNER; LIEN FOR DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS. A. Account Name. All accounts shall be carried in the name of the property owner who personally, or by their authorized agent, shall apply for such service. Said owner shall at all times be personally liable for'sewage treatment service used upon the premises whether they are occupying the same or not. B. Lien on Property. All accounts and charges imposed by and pursuant to this ordinance are hereby made a lien upon the premises served by the sewage treatment hookup. All such accounts and charges which are, on the 1st day of October of each year, 30 or more days past due, and the same having been properly billed to the owner or occupant of the premises served, may be certified by the City Clerk as unpaid and delinquent to the County Auditor by the 1st day of November of each year. The City Clerk, in so certifying such accounts and charges to the County Auditor, shall specify the amounts thereof, the description of the premises 2 served, and the name of the owner thereof. The amount so certified shall be extended by the Auditor on the tax rolls against such premises in the same manner as other taxes and shall be collected by the County Treasurer and paid to the City Treasurer. SECTION S. USE OF SEWER WITHOUT AUTHORITY. Any person, firm or corporation who uses or connects to the municipal sewer system without complying with the provisions of this ordinance, or without other authorization, or who assists any other person in so doing, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not to exceed Seven`Hundred Fifty ($750.00) or by imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90) days, or both. Violators are also responsible for the City's costs for prosecution or in seeking injunctive relief. SECTION 6. CLASSIFICATION AND CHANGE OF RATE. The City Council shall have the power by resolution, to classify all types of sewage discharged into the sanitary sewer system of the City based on the quantity, concentration, cost of disposal and other pertinent facts, and to fix, increase, or decrease the rates charged for the use of said sanitary sewer system on any equitable basis the City Council may deem appropriate as the proper basis for measuring the use of said sanitary sewer system. SECTION 7. RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPAIRS. The cost of all repairs and replacement of any sewer service lines between the residence or structure and the public sewer main line, shall be borne entirely by the owner of the premises affected, and if such repair or replacement work is performed by the City, the cost of time and material shall be assessed against the owner of the affected premises. SECTION S. PENALTY. Any person violating any provision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction therefor, be punished by a fine not exceeding Seven Hundred Fifty and N0/100 Dollars ($750.00) or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed for each day the violation shall continue. The City is also allowed to seek injunctive or other relief and assess penalties as part of that process. ' SECTION 9. SEVERANCE. The provisions of the ordinance are separable and the invalidity of any provision shall not effect the remaining provisions. 3 SECTION 10. REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are to the extent of such conflict hereby repealed. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force from and after the date of its publication. Adopted by the City Council of the City of Otsego this 26TH day of �TUAg , 2000. Aax- E-&ine Beatty, Cit Cler D,,1-,1 4 -1, . CITY OF OTSEGO arry ournier, Mayor DO - Elk River Star NEws 10, 2000 - Otsego City HAll 4