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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2285ORDINANCE NO. r .a`3 L AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles relating to the theft of utility services, establishing a rebuttable presumption relating to theft, providing for payment of, and penalties for, unauthorized or unmetered utility services, and adding a new chapter in Title 13 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES DOES ORDAIN as follows: Section 1. A new chapter is hereby added to the Port Angeles Municipal Code to read as follows: Chapter 13.18 CURRENT DIVERSION Sections: 13.18.010 Purpose 13.18.020 Billing Procedure 13.18.030 Administrative Appeal 13.18.040 Penalty Fee 13.18.050 Obtaining Utility Services With Intent to Deprive - Theft 13.18.060 Intent to Deprive - Rebuttable Presumption 13.18.070 Criminal Penalties Section 13.18.010 - Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to provide more effective methods and remedies for dealing with cases of tampering with, and diverting around, utility meters and other City equipment and to thereby protect the financial resources of the City and the rate - paying public. Section 13.18.020 - Billing Procedure. A. Any customer, owner, or person in control of premises receiving unmeasured or unauthorized utility services is responsible for paying the full amount of said services reasonably determined by the utility to have been diverted around the meter or received unmetered or unauthorized due to meter tampering, alteration, or replacement. -1- B. Any customer, owner or person in control of premises who receives utility services for which payment, consumption or other other utility records have been falsified is responsible for paying the full amount of utility services reasonably determined by the utility to have been obtained. C. Any City utility becoming aware that utility services have been obtained without full payment through tampering, alteration, bypass, or falsification of records, shall bill the recipient for the full amount of said services as is reasonably determined in good faith by said utility using the best known estimating methods. D. The recipient of utility services that have been obtained without full payment through tampering, alteration, bypass, or falsification of records, shall also be responsible and billed for payment of the costs incurred by the City due to investigation, damages, repairs, and bookkeeping. E. Notice of a supplemental billing shall be sent to the recipient of unauthorized or unmetered utility services. The supplemental bill shall be added to the next regular utility bill and shall be collected under the normal collection procedures. The notice of a supplemental billing shall consist of the following: 1. Billing amount for unauthorized or unmetered utility services under PAMC 13.18.020 (A) and (C). 2. Related costs pursuant to PAMC 13.18.020(D). 3. Fifty Dollar ($50) Penalty Fee, pursuant to PAMC 13.18.040. 4. Notice apprising the recipient of the right to an administrative appeal pursuant to PAMC 13.18.030. F. Deposit in the United States Mails shall be deemed full and complete notice of the nature, amount, and right to appeal the supplemental billing. G. Liability for the supplemental billing shall be in -2- addition to, and notwithstanding, any charge, conviction or acquittal under PAMC 13.18.040 et seq. H. The supplemental billing shall be placed on the next forecoming utility bill and shall be collected under the normal collection procedures as set forth in Chapter 13.16 PAMC. Section 13.18.030 - Administrative Appeal. A. Within ten (10) days of deposit of the Notice of Supplemental Billing in the United States Mails pursuant to PAMC 13.18.020(F), the recipient may file a written notice of appeal. The notice of appeal shall state the reasons why the recipient is contesting the supplemental billing. B. The administrative appeal shall be decided by the Administrative Services Director or his authorized designee within twenty (20) days of the date of receipt of the Notice of Appeal. C. The amount of the supplemental bill shall remain on the recipient's utility bill but shall not be collected by the City until the final determination of the appeal. D. If the determination on appeal is adverse to the recipient, the City shall proceed to collect the full amount of the supplemental bill from the date the original bill should have been paid had no appeal been filed. Section 13.18.040 - Penalty Fee. For each single instance of receipt of unauthorized or unmetered utility services, a fifty dollar ($50) penalty fee shall be assessed. Section 13.18.050 - Obtaining Utility Services With Intent to Deprive - Theft. It is a theft within the meaning of PAMC 9.16.090 for anyone to knowingly obtain utility services, including but not limited to electricity, water or sewer services, with the intent to deprive the utility of the full payment for said services, by: A. Secret or unauthorized connections to any utility; or B. Bypassing or diverting around the utility's meter; or -3- C. Obtaining services through a meter which has been tampered with, altered, replaced, or operated backwards so that the meter does not measure the full amount of the service supplied to the person or the person's premises, or another person or premises; or D. Falsification of payment, consumption or any other utility records; or E. Any other method or combination of methods, including methods in Subsections A, B, C and D, above, which deprives the utility of full payment for supplying its services without the utility's permission. Section 13.18.060 - Intent to Deprive - Rebuttable Presumption. For the purposes of PAMC 13.18.050, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the recipient of unauthorized, unmetered or incorrectly metered utility services intended to deprive the utility of proper payment for its service within the meaning of PAMC 9.16.090 defining the crime of theft. This presumption does not apply if the diversion of the utility's service or the tampering, alteration, or replacement of the utility's metering equipment is reasonably attributed to accident or accidental malfunction of the utility's metering equipment. Section 13.18.070 - Criminal Penalties. Violation of PAMC 13.16.050 shall be punished as a Class I misdemeanor under PAMC 9.16.900. Section 2. If any provision or section of this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 3. This ordinance shall become effective in the manner provided by law. • • PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 17th day of January, 1984. ATTEST: Merri A. Lannoye, City C APPR D AS TO FORM: Craig D. Knu son, City Attor ey PUBLISHED : 4 -5- .Z .T. M A Y