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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-10 13-196 ORDINANCECOUNCIL ACTION Item No. -13-196 Date: June 10, 2013 Item/Subject: ORDINANCE, Amending Chapter 252, Sewers and Drains, of the Code of the City of Bangor, By Increasing the Authority of the Superintendent to Review Abatements Responsible Department: Waste Water Treatment Plant Commentary: This Ordinance amends provisions of the City Code concerning the issuance of sewer user charge abatements. The amendments will make the abatement process more efficient while improving oversight by the Council committee responsible for the Sewer Fund. The amendments include shortening the time limit to request abatement to 90 days; requiring any outstanding balance owed the City to be paid before the abatement is processed; and increasing the limit at which the Superintendent can grant abatement without Council approval to $3000. Also, the Superintendent will now provide a quarterly report to the appropriate committee of the Council summarizing processed abatements. Lastly, the owner/tenant of the property in question must now sign the abatement request for it to be considered. This item was reviewed and recommended for approval by the Infrastructure Committee at its May 28, 2013 meeting. Manager's Comments: Associated Information: Budget Approval: Legal Approval: Introduced for Passage x First Reading x Referral to Infrastructure Committee on June 11, 2013 Department Head Finance Director dify Solicitor 13-196 JUNE 10, 2013 r(S�,^N�:z'. Assigned to Councilor Gallant �. '\09 CITY OF BANGOR. �R4IED.f�'� ORDINANCE, Amending Chapter 252, Sewers and Drains, of the Code of the City of Bangor, By Increasing the Authority of the Superintendent to Review Abatements WHEREAS, given the number of sewer abatement requests the City receives, and the straightforward character of a number of these requests, the Superintendent of the Wastewater Treatment Plant is capable of handling many of these requests without need for direct involvement of the City Council; WHEREAS, 90 days is sufficient time for a reasonable ratepayer to discover any sewer use issues and request an abatement; WHEREAS, in the interests of equity, abatements should not be granted to ratepayers who otherwise owe money to the City; and WHEREAS, the owner or tenant of a property should have knowledge of an abatement request and any underlying problems; BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BANGOR AS FOLLOWS, THAT Chapter 252 of the Code of the City of Bangor be amended as follows, with the amendment taking effect 90 days after passage of the amendment by the City Council: § 252-25. Abatement of and discounts to sewer use charge. A. Abatements of sewer use charges may be granted by the Superintendent of the wastewater treatment plant upon application of a ratepayer, where the ratepayer can demonstrate that a loss of water occurred due to no fault of the ratepayer, his or her agents or employees. Abatement requests from commercial properties will be considered only if the loss of water was from building services (furnace, toilet, water heater, etc.), not from equipment used in the course of business, or unless otherwise allowed by § 252-25I of the Bangor Code. Ratepayers are responsible for exercising due care in the maintenance of their water and sewer systems to prevent water losses. For purposes of abatement, "due care" shall be defined as the normal and reasonable steps which would be taken by a prudent individual in operating and maintaining his or her sewer systems. A property whose owner has requested more than one abatement in any twelve-month period shall be subject to a property inspection by the Bangor Code Enforcement Division to verify compliance with the City of Bangor's Property Maintenance Code and to ascertain whether due care is being exercised by the property owner. The inspection report, along with the abatement request, will be referred to the appropriate committee of the City Council. To be considered, a request for abatement must be made within 4N 90 days of the billing date of the bill in question. IN CITY COUNCIL June 10, 2013 F"r Readin CITY CL RK IN CITY COUNCIL June 24, 2013 Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9-0 Councilors Voting Yes: Baldacci, Blanchette, Civiello, Gallant, Hawes, Longo, Nealley, Sprague, Durgin Councilors Voting No: None Passd-A. CITY CLEffK 13-196 JUNE 101, 2013 B. Valid reasons for a request for abatement include, but are not necessarily limited to, unanticipated water pipe breakage, plumbing fixture malfunction, heating system malfunction and vandalism. Upon notice or knowledge of such circumstances, the ratepayer is responsible for taking appropriate and timely action to remedy the problem. C. The Superintendent shall be responsible for researching the basis for the requested abatement in light of the due care standard established in Subsection A above. He or she shall make a record of the results of the investigation, which shall include an estimate of the amount of water lost. The estimate of water lost shall be based on a minimum of the previous four quarters of water consumption, if available, and consideration of seasonal water use patterns. This estimate of water loss shall be used to calculate the amount of the abatement should one be granted. D. When an abatement is granted, the amount of the abatement shall be calculated based on the total sewer use charge for the estimated amount of water lost less the cost to convey and pump the estimated amount of water lost through the sewer system and treatment plant. The Superintendent shall be responsible for calculating, on an annual basis, the cost to convey and pump uncontaminated water through the sewer system and treatment plant. The basis for this calculation shall be the prior fiscal year's operation and maintenance costs of the system and plant. E. When an abatement is granted, the Superintendent shall be responsible for taking the necessary steps to correct the appropriate; billing records to reflect the abatement or to process a credit where the sewer use charge in question has been paid. Abatements granted shall be used te erreeddift past due -6-ilan�{eld�%oil ugly 3V.TT ill(s) owed by the appi-eant prior to issuanee eF a Any outstanding balance owed the City by the properly owner must be paid before the abatement is processed. F. Any abatement exceeding $588 3000 must be reported to and confirmed by the appropriate committee of the City Council prior to final approval and the processing of a correction or credit. G. The Supgrintendent will submit a quarterly report to the appropriate committee of the City Council summarizing processed abatements. The regorts will be submitted in January. April, July and October. GtL Any ratepayer who disagrees with the decision of the Superintendent to deny an abatement or with the amount of an abatement calculated by the Superintendent may, within 30 days of the date the ratepayer is notified of the Superintendent's decision, appeal the decision to the appropriate committee of the City Council. Appropriate City staff shall notify the ratepayer of the date, time and location of the meeting at which the appeal will be considered. In order for the appeal to be considered, the ratepayer and/or his or her representative must be present at the meeting. At the request of the ratepayer, consideration of the appeal may be postponed to a future meeting to be held within 60 days of the date established for the original meeting. Failure of the ratepayer to appear before the committee at the originally scheduled meeting or at a subsequent meeting called at the ratepayer's request shall result in the denial of the appeal. The decision of the appropriate committee of the City Council shall be final. I. For the purposes of this section, ratepayer is defined as the owner or tenant of the property. The ratepayer must sign the abatement request. KJ. Abatements shall not be granted for water used for watering lawns or gardens ... 13-196 JUNE 10, 2013 1-.K. Any ratepayer which uses water in its end manufactured product ... IL. Development discounts. Additions are underlineddeletions struEk-threugh.