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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2349ORDINANCE NO. A3T l AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles clarifying and amending policies for collection of utility accounts, amending Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Ordinance 2276, Sections 4 and 5 of Ordinance 2055, and Sections 13.16.015, 13.16.040 and 13.16.050 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES as follows: Section 1. Section 1 of Ordinance 2276, Section 4 of Ordinance 2055 and Section 13.16.040 of the Port Angeles Municipa Code are hereby amended to read as follows: 13.16.040 Bills Delinquent Before Next Monthly Billing - Notice of Delinquent Account.. A. All utility bills of the City shall be delinquent if payment therefor is not received by the City on or before the twenty -fifth day after the current charges date posted on the bill. Such current charges date shall be stated on the bill with particularity. B. Upon lapse of a bill into delinquency, the City Manager or his designee, shall cause a notice of delinquent account to be deposited in the United States mails, addressed to the consumer as provided in Section 13.16.020. C. Deposit in the United States mails pursuant to subsec- tion B of this section shall be deemed full and complete notice to the consumer of the nature and amount of any particular utility billing. D. The notice of delinquent account shall state that un- less all delinquencies are corrected within ten days of the date of the notice of delinquent account, the City will disconnect or discontinue utility service without further notice on or after a date certain to be stated in the notice of delinquent account. The notice of delinquent account shall further state that, if the consumer has questions concerning the account or disputes the -1- amount of the account, he may appeal to the Director of the Administrative Services Department, or his authorized designee, whose address and telephone number shall be stated on the notice of delinquent account. E. An account which has become delinquent and for which a notice of delinquency is issued, may be assessed a penalty fee in accordance with City policy defining chronic delinquencies as follows: First assessment, $2; Second assessment, $5; Third assessment and beyond, $10. For the purposes of this subsection, when an account receives a third penalty during any consecutive twelve -month period, the City Manager or his designee may further request a deposit or additional deposit be submitted in accordance with Section 13.16.050, along with payment or arrangement thereof for the delinquent charges due. F. The Director of the Department of Administrative Ser- vices, with the approval of the City Manager, is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate rules and policies for the implementa- tion of this Chapter and for the definition of terms such as "chronic delinquencies ". Section 2. Section 2 of Ordinance 2276, Section 5 of Ordinance 2055, and Section 13.16.050 of the Port Angeles Munici- pal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: 13.16.050 Disconnection of Utility Services. A. Should a delinquent account not be paid pursuant to Section 13.16.040, the City Manager or his designee shall imme- diately cause the electric and water services to be cut off from the premises, and such utility service shall not be reconnected to the premises until all arrears, delinquent charges, service charges and unpaid charges are paid, together with a reconnection fee, and deposit pursuant to Section 13.16.015. -2- B. Fees for reconnection shall be those in effect for regular connections of water and electric service and may vary if reconnection is made during regular office hours or after office hours. Section 3. Section 3 of Ordinance 2276 and PAMC 13.16.015 are each hereby amended to read as follows: 13.16.015 Creation of Accounts - Deposits. A. At the time an account is requested and before it is authorized, the City Manager or his designee shall require the person requesting services to either make a deposit with the City of Port Angeles or present a copy of a verifiable prior utility credit rating deemed suitable to assure with certainty that the account with the City of Port Angeles will not become delinquent. A deposit, if required, will normally be based on sixty days of average residential /electrical charges for the unit type for which services are requested indicated in the following schedule: 1. Single- family, $160.00 2. Multi- family, $125.00 For the purpose of this section, single - family units are defined as structures designed for occupancy by a single family only, containing a complete kitchen unit. Structures which are not single - family residences include, but are not limited to, du- plexes, fourplexes, apartments and condominiums. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent the City requiring additional or new de- posits when conditions such as chronic delinquencies warrant. B. A deposit, once established, may be refunded with interest at the standard passbook savings rate in whole or in part to the person or credited to the account of that person upon receipt by the City of the person's prior utility credit rating deemed suitable by the City Manager or his designee to assure with certainty that the account with the City of Port Angeles will not become delinquent. In the absence of such assurance, the deposit may be retained by the City of Port Angeles until an -3- account is ordered off or otherwise discontinued. The City may then, at its option, apply such deposit to fully pay any remain- ing charges on the account. Under no circumstances shall any part of the deposit be used as payment for charges until an account has been finalized and all services been discontinued. If circumstances such as timely payment history warrant, the City Manager or his designee may, by determining that the City is assured with certainty that an account will not become delinquent release all or part of the deposit with interest at the standard passbook savings rate to the depositor at their request; pro- vided, however, that no such refund will occur for at least 12 months from the time of deposit. C. A deposit may be required on commercial accounts, in a manner consistent with the procedure set forth in this Section, when the City Manager or his designee determines that such deposit is necessary, based on utility credit rating and /or payment history. Section 4. Effective Date. The provisions of this Ordinance shall become effective on 1985. E.3) 19 SS PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said Council held on the day of , 1985. MA OR ATTEST: _ Mer A. Lannoye, City APPROVED AS TO FORM: ciatc:17, erk 61,(4.4,0X `�c Craig g Knutson, City Attorney i L/, Q3 PUBLISHED:JLL is t ?& -4-