AN ORDINANCE
OF THE
ESTABLISHING
A USER CHARGE SYSTEM
WHEREAS,
operation,
maintenance, equipment replacement, existing facility improvement and debt
service costs are incurred by the Sanitary District for collection, conveyance,
treatment and disposal of wastewaters from various classifications of users
connected to the District system or to sewers connected therewith;
and
WHEREAS,
the District has accepted a loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency for construction of the Wet Weather Retention Facility and will need to
generate revenue to provide to cover debt service for the loan;
and
WHEREAS,
the Sanitary District adopted Ordinance No. 431 establishing a User Charge
System for all users that is consistent with Federal Regulations;
and
WHEREAS,
The Board of Trustees has determined that amendments to the User Charge System
are necessary and desirable.
NOW
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED
by
the Board of Trustees of the THORN CREEK BASIN SANITARY DISTRICT of Cook and
This
Ordinance is promulgated pursuant to the statutory authority contained in
Chapter 70 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, and further pursuant to the
requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act as amended along with any applicable
regulations promulgated thereto.
The
purpose of this Ordinance is to establish a User Charge System to pay for the
operation, maintenance and capital improvements of the sewage transport and
treatment works of the District, to establish principles of application, classes
of users, procedures, basis for determination of rates, manner of revenue
collection and penalties in the event of nonpayment.
This
Ordinance supplements an Ordinance Governing Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer
Use and shall be applied in addition to an Ordinance Establishing the Fees and
Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District.
It
is hereby declared to be the policy of the District to adhere to the Federal
Clean Water Act as amended along with any applicable regulations promulgated
thereto.
Ad
valorem taxes and unit charges levied by ordinance for the operation,
maintenance and capital improvements of Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District
wastewater collection and treatment facilities are hereby repealed and in lieu
thereof, there shall be assessed to all users, in accordance with the provisions
of this Ordinance, a user charge.
General
tax revenues may continue to be collected for general obligation bonds, public
benefit funds, for the operation, maintenance and capital improvement costs
attributable to inflow and infiltration, for the acquisition of capital
additions and for any other purpose provided by law.
The
Board of Trustees, having duly considered the actions and analyses of the staff
of the District in the preparation of this Ordinance, hereby adopts such
assumptions and analyses contained herein as a basis for the establishment of a
procedure for the assessment and collection of a user charge pursuant to the
Federal Regulations.
The
following general definitions shall apply for this
Ordinance:
a.
District - Shall mean the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District, a
municipal corporation organized under Chapter 70 of the Illinois Compiled
Statutes, Section 2405.
b.
User - Any person, firm, establishment or institution which discharges
wastewater, excluding inflow and infiltration, to a sanitary sewer which
eventually leads into a District owned sanitary sewer or treatment plant or any
waste hauler as defined in Section 2.06 k. "Customer" and "Discharger" are used
interchangeably with "User".
c.
Wastewater - Shall mean the spent water of a community. It thus may be a
combination of the liquid and water carried wastes from residences, commercial
buildings, industrial plants and institutions both governmental and private,
together with any inflow and infiltration. "Sewage" is used interchangeably with
"Wastewater".
d.
Domestic Wastewater - Shall mean wastewater, which is the same as, or
similar to the strength, character and chemical makeup of wastewater discharged
from a building used solely for a residential dwelling.
e.
Wastewater Facilities - Shall include sewers, force mains, pumping
stations, sewage treatment plants, outfall sewers, pumping, power and other
equipment and appurtenances of such facilities and any other works, including
land, which is a part of the treatment process, ultimate disposal of the
residues or biosolids, monitoring and testing equipment, or administrative and
engineering support systems necessary for treating, separating or disposing of
municipal or industrial waste. This term is synonymous with "Wastewater
Collection and Treatment Works" and "District's System".
f.
Building Sewer Line - Shall mean the sewer, which transports the
wastewater from a discharger's facility to the public sanitary sewer
system.
g.
Milligrams per liter - Shall mean a unit of the concentration of the
water or wastewater constituent. It is 0.001 grams of the constituent in one
liter of water.
h.
Shall and May - shall is required; may is
permissive.
i.
Approved - Shall mean the item or procedure must meet the conditions of
and be accepted by the District.
j.
Required - Shall mean that the task stated must be
done.
k.
Permit - Shall mean a Wastewater Discharge Permit as required in Part 400
of the Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer Use Ordinance.
l.
Debt Service - Shall mean the amount of money necessary to pay the
interest and principal on outstanding debt, to pay the principal of maturing
bonded debt not payable from a sinking fund, or to provide a fund for the
redemption of bonds payable from a sinking fund. Debt service on bonds may be
calculated on a calendar year, fiscal year, or bond fiscal year basis.
The
following definitions of the District's other ordinances shall apply for the
purpose of this Ordinance.
a.
Ordinance Governing Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer Use - Shall mean
the Ordinance passed and as amended from time to time by the District that
regulates the use and discharge into the wastewater
facilities.
b.
Ordinance Establishing the Fees and Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin
Sanitary District - Shall mean the Ordinance passed and as amended from time to
time by the District setting forth rates for all the various ordinances of the
District.
c.
Ordinance Regulating Annexation and Sewer Connection - Shall mean the
Ordinance passed and as amended from time to time by the District that regulates
annexations and sewer extensions and connections.
The
following cost definitions shall apply for this Ordinance.
a.
Operation - Shall mean all manner of activity necessary including labor,
electrical power, fuel, chemical supply and administrative requirements to
properly conduct the functions of collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal
of wastewater and residuals generated within the District.
b.
Maintenance - Shall mean all manner of activity necessary including
labor, supply, contract repair work and administrative requirements to
maintain the works, assets and property of the District for the purpose of
ensuring its continued and uninterrupted operation.
c.
Replacement - Shall mean the provision for and the installation of
replacement equipment, accessories or appurtenances that are necessary during
the service life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance
for which such works were designed and constructed.
d.
Useful or Service Life - Shall mean the period of time that a particular
component of the works of the system can reasonably be expected to perform the
function intended in its design before replacement or extensive rehabilitation
is required.
e.
Existing
Facility Improvements - Shall mean major maintenance or rehabilitation of
wastewater facilities needed to meet or extend their useful life and
improvements to increase the operating efficiency or reliability of the
facilities consistent with their design objectives.
f.
New
Capital Improvements - Shall mean the provision for and installation of
wastewater facilities such as equipment and accessories; structures and
appurtenances; buildings; pump stations; forcemains; and sewers to increase the
capacity of the wastewater facilities or to enhance the system's
performance.
The
following definitions relating to sampling and measuring wastewater shall apply
for this Ordinance:
a.
Water Supplier - Shall mean any city, village or water company, which
sells water.
b.
Public Water Meter - Shall mean the water meter installed within the
water piping system of any building by a city, village, sanitary district or any
other public entity. It also includes all meters owned by a private water
company, which is regulated by the Illinois Commerce
Commission.
c.
Private Water Meter - Shall mean an existing water meter or a meter
required to be installed by this Ordinance on any privately owned water supply
or a water meter installed on any portion of a user's water distribution
system.
d.
Flow Report - Shall mean a report prepared by the user and approved by
the District indicating the total usage for the purpose of
invoicing.
e.
Water Meter
f.
Flat Rate Estimates - Shall mean the water estimated to be used by a
structure not equipped with a water meter. Such estimate shall be based upon the
District's analysis of other users within that user's
category.
g.
Flow Meter - Shall mean a fluid measuring device approved by the District
capable of being installed in a sewer sampling manhole and capable of
registering continuous flow rates over a prescribed
period.
h.
Credit Meter - Shall mean a flow meter, which measures water not returned
to the sanitary sewer system. These flows would then be subtracted from the
incoming water usage. Also means any method or procedure approved by the
District that would have the same effect of measuring non-returning water as
would be achieved by installing such a meter.
i.
Sampling Manhole - Shall mean a structure installed in the building sewer
line accessible to District personnel and being capable of housing a flow meter
and a composite 24-hour sampler. The construction of such a manhole shall be
approved by the District.
j.
Composite Sampler - Shall mean a sampling device approved by the District
capable of being installed in a sampling manhole and capable of taking flow or
time proportioned wastewater samples over a prescribed continuous period.
The
following parameter definitions shall apply for this
Ordinance:
a.
Flow - Shall mean the total amount of wastewater entering the District's
treatment plant, expressed in millions of gallons.
b.
TBOD - (denoting total biochemical oxygen demand) - Shall mean the amount
of oxygen expressed in milligrams per liter, utilized in the total biological
oxidation of the organic matter and total kjeldahl nitrogen present in
wastewater. For the purposes of this Ordinance, TBOD shall be determined in one
of the following two ways:
If
the sample contains only domestic wastewater:
TBOD
= (CBOD5 x 1.5) + (total kjeldahl nitrogen x
4.6)
All
other samples:
TBOD
= COD + (total kjeldahl nitrogen x 4.6)
All
parameters expressed in milligrams per liter.
c.
CBOD5 (denoting carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand) -
Shall mean that amount of oxygen expressed in milligrams per liter, utilized in
five days at 20 degrees C. in the presence of a nitrification inhibitor, for
biochemical oxidation of the organic matter present in wastewater and measured
by the method set forth in the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater" or EPA-600/4-79-20 "Methods for Chemical
Analysis of Water and Wastes" as approved under the Code of Federal Regulations
40 CFR part 136.
d.
COD - (denoting chemical oxygen demand) - Shall mean the quantity of
oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant (standard potassium dichromate solution)
measured by the method set forth in the most recent edition of "Standard Methods
for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" or EPA-600/4-79-20 "Methods for
Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes" as approved under the Code of Federal
Regulations 40 CFR part 136.
e.
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen - Shall mean all nitrogen in the trinegative
state including ammonia and organic nitrogen contained in wastewater expressed
as milligrams per liter of nitrogen and measured by the method set forth in the
most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater" or EPA-600/4-79-20 "Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and
Wastes" as approved under the Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR part
136.
f.
Suspended Solids - Shall mean non-filterable solids expressed in
milligrams per liter, contained in wastewater and measured by the method set
forth in the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of
Water and Wastewater" or EPA-600/4-79-20 "Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water
and Wastes" as approved under the Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR part
136. Suspended Solids refers to
Total Suspended Solids.
g.
Sulfate – Shall mean the amount of sulfate ion that is precipitated in an
acetic acid medium with barium chloride to form barium sulfate expressed in
milligrams per liter of sulfate, contained in wastewater and measured by
"Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" or
EPA-600/4-79-20 "Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes" as approved
under the Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR part 136.
h.
Infiltration - Shall mean water other than wastewater that enters a
sewage system from the ground through such means as defective pipes, pipe
joints, connections or manholes.
i.
Inflow - Shall mean water other than wastewater that enters a sewage
system from sources such as roof leaders, drains, manhole covers, cross
connections between storm and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers,
storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters or
drainage.
All
users of the system shall be divided into the following sixteen 16) categories
according to the definition that best fits a particular
user:
a.
R01-Residential - Shall mean any single family or multiple family
dwelling unit designed primarily as a place of human habitation which discharges
to the District's system domestic wastewater only.
b.
G01-Governmental - Shall mean any unit of federal, state, county or
municipal government which has been given the authority to control or rule over
the affairs of the above mentioned units and which discharges to the District's
system primarily domestic wastewater. Any unit of government not primarily
discharging domestic wastewater shall be assigned to the user category that best
fits that unit of government.
c.
S01-Institutional - Shall mean any organization having a social,
education or religious purpose which discharges to the District's system
primarily domestic wastewater.
d.
C01-Commercial - Shall mean any business establishment dealing with the
commerce or trade of a product or skill or the buying and selling of goods or
services on a large scale without manufacturing and which discharges to the
District's system domestic wastewater only.
e.
C02-Food Store - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in the
sale of foods or food and household products.
f.
C03-Bakery - Shall mean any establishment engaged in the production
and/or selling of bread, pastries, cookies, crackers, candies, soft drinks or
any other bakery or confectionery goods.
g.
C04-Auto Service - Shall mean any establishment solely engaged in the
repair or servicing of transportation equipment, or engaged solely in the sale
of repair parts for transportation equipment, or both.
h.
C05-Cleaning Establishment - Shall mean any establishment primarily
engaged in the laundering or cleaning, dry or otherwise, of personal clothing or
household items, or cleaning or laundering of items either worn or used within
an industry as a service to that industry.
i.
C06-Restaurant - Shall mean any establishment where food can be bought
and eaten on the premises, whether served or not, or where food which is
prepared on the premises can be purchased for consumption at another
location.
j.
C07-Carwash - Shall mean any establishment whose main service is that of
exterior cleaning of any vehicle that may be used for the transportation of
passengers, freight, etc.
k.
C08-Waste Hauler - Shall mean any establishment whose main service is
that of hauling, storage and disposing of waste materials from residential
septic tank systems.
l.
I01-Industrial I - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in
wholesale commercial or industrial wet warehousing and which is located in a
building which could easily be converted into a manufacturing facility and which
discharges to the District's system primarily domestic
wastewater.
m.
I02-Industrial II - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in the
manufacturing of goods or engaged in manufacturing service goods which
discharges to the District's system primarily domestic
wastewater.
n.
I03-Industrial III - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in
manufacturing service goods which discharges to the District's system
non-domestic wastewater and which normally has a flow less than 25,000 gallons
per day.
o.
I04-Industrial IV - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in the
manufacturing of goods or engaged in manufacturing service goods which
discharges to the District's system non-domestic wastewater and which normally
has a flow of 25,000 or more gallons per day but less than 50,000 gallons per
day.
p.
I05-Industrial V - Shall mean any establishment primarily engaged in the
manufacturing of goods or engaged in manufacturing service goods which
discharges to the District's system non-domestic wastewater and which normally
has a flow of 50,000 gallons or more per day or which is subject to a National
Categorical Pretreatment Standard.
The
above sixteen (16) user categories shall be further grouped into five general
classes based upon the first letter designating each such user category. The
five general classes shall be residential (R), governmental (G), institutional
(S), commercial (C) and industrial (I).
The
term "non-residential" user shall mean any user except those designated
R01-Residential.
The
term "non-contract" user shall mean any user except those designated as Sewer
Service Agreement user. A Sewer Service Agreement user shall be any user with
whom the District has a contract setting forth the terms and conditions of its
connection along with the fees charged. In no case is a sewer permit issued by
the District to be construed as a contract for the purposes of this
classification of customers.
Under
the provisions of this Ordinance and the applicable provisions contained within
the Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer Use Ordinance, the District shall
administer the following aspects of the user charge system in connection with
non-residential users:
a.
meter flows of the above users when deemed
necessary;
b.
measure strengths and concentrations of any pollutants or chemical
constituents in the wastewater of the above users;
c.
verify CBOD5 or COD, total kjeldahl nitrogen, suspended solids
and sulfate data furnished by the users to the District;
d.
verify the credit data furnished by any user that has been granted an
exemption for water not returned to the sanitary sewer
system;
e.
report the billable flows and strengths of the above
users;
f.
classify all users of the system into various user categories;
and
g.
determine standard TBOD, suspended solids and sulfate concentrations by
user category.
Within
180 days after the effective date of this Ordinance, all nonresidential users,
not having a water meter in their source of water supply shall install, at their
own expense, a water meter approved by the District between the well or other
source of supply and the plumbing system of such building. The District may
waive this requirement and instead base the usage upon an estimate derived from
a physical inspection and analysis of the user's premises.
The
District will use, as an estimate of the water volume for a user for a given
time period, the volume of water as reported to the District by that user's
water supplier or by the user in a flow report. For those users without a meter,
the District shall use an amount of water previously determined as being
representative for that user or user category.
The
District may use, as an estimate of the strength of a user's wastewater,
concentrations for TBOD, suspended solids and sulfate that have been determined
as indicative and typical for that user's category. Such values shall be known
as standard values and shall be reviewed annually by the District and issued for
use beginning in the next subsequent month. All users shall be charged, at a
minimum, for domestic strength wastewater.
The
discharge of wastewater containing CBOD5, suspended solids, COD,
total kjeldahl nitrogen or sulfate in excess of the limits defined in Section
300.110 part d of the Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer Use Ordinance shall be
by permission only. All pounds of pollutants above domestic strength wastewater
including those above said limits shall be charged at rates derived from Section
4.04 below.
Those
users, for which standard values are not indicative and typical of a particular
user's wastewater, will be sampled in a manner and frequency deemed necessary,
to determine the CBOD5 or COD, total kjeldahl nitrogen, suspended
solids and sulfate concentrations. Likewise, any user who believes that the
strength of its wastewater is below the values assigned for its user category,
may at its own expense, request the District to determine the strength of its
wastewater. Alternately, a user may install such facilities necessary to
determine the strength of the wastewater and shall have such samples analyzed
also at its own expense. Such facilities and sampling program must be approved
by the District. In addition, the user shall supply the District upon request
with a split sample for comparison purposes. All users will be charged, at a
minimum, for domestic strength wastewater, as discussed above.
All
costs incurred by the District in sampling and testing such users shall be
recovered by invoicing such users according to the fees listed in an Ordinance
Establishing the Fees and Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary
District.
After
the effective date of this Ordinance, each nonresidential user, where required
by the District and within 90 days of notice by the District, shall install a
sampling manhole and may also be required to install a flow meter and/or
composite sampler on each building sewer line so designated. Such manhole and
equipment shall be maintained at the user's expense according to the terms and
conditions set forth in the Industrial Pretreatment and Sewer Use
Ordinance.
From
and after the passage of this Ordinance authorized District personnel shall have
the right to enter upon private property to take water meter readings and to
take flow meter readings and composite samples from meters and samplers
installed therein. They shall also have the right to conduct an inspection of a
property in order to determine whether the user is exempt from the system and to
validate compliance with the conditions as set forth in this
Ordinance.
District
personnel shall be considered authorized under this Ordinance if they have been
bonded and insured and have been issued District badges that contain their
photograph and other identification information.
The
District shall hold harmless the owner of the property and/or the tenant for
injury or death to such District employees, except such as may be caused by
negligence or failure of the owner of the property and/or the tenant to maintain
safe conditions.
In the
event of a refusal to permit District personnel upon private property, the
authorized person shall seek the assistance of the local police department or
the sheriff's office, and shall make the inspection accompanied by such officer.
Failure to permit such readings shall constitute grounds for termination of
service or for estimating the usage based upon past or similar use.
Once
a year, the Board of Trustees shall determine annual costs. The annual costs
shall include:
a.
the
projected amount for all operation and maintenance costs for the next 12
months;
b.
an
annual amount for equipment replacement and existing facility improvement costs
as determined by:
i.
projecting for the next five years all equipment replacement costs and
those existing facility improvement costs that the Board of Trustees has
determined shall be recovered from user charges;
ii.
projecting interest earned on the balance in the Capital Improvement
Account;
iii.
calculating the minimum balance to be maintained in the Capital
Improvement Account that is equal to the replacement cost of all fixed assets
divided by the average life of all fixed assets;
iv.
calculating
an annual amount of user charge revenue to be transferred to the Capital
Improvement Account, that after considering the net of the projected costs and
the interest earned on the account's balance, will maintain a balance at or
above the calculated minimum for the next five years.
c.
an
annual amount for new capital improvements or such portion of annual capital
improvements that the Board of Trustees has determined shall be covered by user
charges.
d.
an annual amount for debt service to cover the payment of interest,
principal and coverage of either loans or bonds outstanding, including IEPA loan
number L17 2117, and other debt service, as determined to be payable from user
charges by other ordinances of the District.
The
total annual cost for determination of rates shall be the sum of the four above
annual costs.
The
total annual costs shall be apportioned among the following eight parameters
using such percentages as were derived from the previous fiscal
year:
a.
Flow
b.
TBOD
c.
Suspended
Solids
d.
Sulfate
e.
User Charge Invoicing
f.
Industrial Pretreatment Program
g.
User Surveillance
h.
Sanitary collection sewer operation, maintenance and
replacement
Then,
in order to determine the costs that must be recovered through the user charge
system, all other sources of revenue such as interest on investments, laboratory
fees, penalties, violations charges and fees for other special services, must
first be applied against the above costs. Industrial Pretreatment Program fees
shall first be applied against the costs attributable to 4.02f. The laboratory
fees shall first be applied against the costs attributable to 4.02g. Revenues
from sanitary collection sewer charges shall first be applied against the costs
attributable to 4.02h. Any revenues remaining shall then be prorated against the
costs of 4.02a to 4.02d inclusive. Such costs remaining shall then be the costs
of 4.02a to 4.02e inclusive which will be used in the determination of rates as
set forth in Section 4.04.
There shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees, at the same time that the annual estimate of projected costs is determined, the individual components and summary totals of the following parameters from data recorded during the previous calendar year:
a.
the component quantities and totals of yearly water use obtained from
public water meter readings, private water meter readings, waste flow meter
readings and flat rate estimates less credit meter
readings;
b.
the yearly total quantities of TBOD as calculated from the base of
historical data on the users of the system;
c.
the yearly total quantities of suspended solids as calculated from the
base of historical data on the users of the system,
d.
the yearly quantities of sulfate as calculated from the base of
historical data on the users of the system;
e.
the yearly total number of user charge invoices.
The
unit rates to be used by the District shall then be determined as
follows:
a.
the flow rate shall be computed by dividing the costs in Section 4.02a by
the total flow in Section 4.03a. The resulting number shall be expressed in all
the various units of measure as are used by the various water
suppliers;
b.
the TBOD rate shall be computed by dividing the costs in Section 4.02b by
the total annual quantity of TBOD in Section 4.03b. The resulting number shall
be expressed in $ per pound;
c.
the suspended solids rate shall be computed by dividing the costs in
Section 4.02c by the total annual quantity of suspended solids in Section 4.03c.
The resulting number shall be expressed in $ per pound;
d.
the sulfate rate shall be computed by dividing the costs in Section 4.02d
by the total annual quantity of suspended solids in Section 4.03d. The resulting
number shall be expressed in $ per pound;
e.
the rate for user charge invoice handling shall be computed by dividing
the costs in Section 4.02e by the total number of invoices in Section 4.03c. The
resulting number shall be expressed in cost per invoice.
For
ease of administering the system, the District shall develop combined rates. A
combined flow rate for each user category shall be developed which incorporates
the flow rate, TBOD rate, the suspended solids rate and the sulfate rate. This
shall be done by converting the total loadings into a flow equivalent rate based
upon each user category's standard TBOD, suspended solids and sulfate
concentrations. The formula is as follows:
Combined
Flow Rate = Flow Rate +
(per
1000 gallons)
(1000 x 8.34 x TBOD/1000000 x TBOD rate) +
(1000 x 8.34 x TSS/1000000 x TSS rate)
+
(1000 x 8.34 x SO4/1000000 x Sulfate rate)
where: TBOD = standard TBOD
concentration for that user category
TSS = standard TSS concentration for that
user category
SO4 = standard sulfate concentration for
that user category
Any
user who is not individually sampled may thus be billed at the District's option
on the combined rates. In no case may the actual fees charged a user on an
invoice be different by using the combined rates as opposed to using the
determined individual rates, after taking into account the fact that all rates
are to be rounded to the nearest cent.
Industrial
users required to obtain a Wastewater Discharge Permit under the Industrial
Pretreatment and Sewer Use Ordinance shall be billed a permit application fee to
obtain their permit and a monthly pretreatment program fee to cover the costs of
administering and monitoring the permit. Rates shall be determined by dividing
the estimated cost of issuing permits and the estimated cost of administering
the program by the number of users required to obtain
permits.
The
laboratory fees for user surveillance shall be determined by estimating the
actual labor, material and capital depreciation costs for sample collection and
each type of laboratory analysis. The laboratory fees shall not exceed the
typical commercial laboratory fees for the same analyses.
In areas where the District owns
the local sanitary collection sewers, a charge shall be developed to cover the
cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the local sanitary sewers.
Replacement costs may be estimated based on the expected service life of the
sewers divided into the estimated cost of new sewers. A rate for sanitary
collection sewers shall be determined by dividing the estimated average annual
cost for operation, maintenance and replacement, as determined by the Board of
Trustees, by the total annual water usage. Totals of yearly water use shall
include public water meter readings, private water meter readings, waste flow
meter readings and flat rate estimates for un-metered users; less credit meter
readings.
The revenue from the portion of
the rate to cover replacement shall be transferred to the Capital Improvement
Account at least annually.
All
such individual and combined rates shall be listed in the Ordinance Establishing
the Fees and Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District. User charge
rates shall be effective in the next month after their adoption and publication
as required by law.
Users
shall be invoiced at the same frequency with which they receive their water
bills, except for those users that require special billing, flow reports or
usage determinations other than their total water usage. Such invoices shall be
sent out as soon as possible after the issuance of the water bills by the
particular water supplier. Those customers who do not receive a water bill shall
be invoiced at the same frequency with other users of the same category in their
community. Invoice, when issued, shall use the most current set of rates. No
invoice will be issued for less than the minimum as set forth in an Ordinance
Establishing the Fees and Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District.
Instead, any usage that would have been billed will be carried forward to the
next invoice.
Customers
may pay either at the District's office during normal business hours, by mail,
or at an authorized collection agent. Payment in any other manner shall be
deemed to have been paid by mail. The date that a payment is made shall be the
date that the payment was either received at the office of the District or
received at an authorized collection agent.
Each
invoice shall become due twenty one (21) days after its issuance. An invoice not
paid by the due date and which has an outstanding balance of at least the
minimum as set forth in an Ordinance Establishing the Fees and Charges of the
Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District shall have a delinquent penalty charge
assessed. Such charges shall be as set forth in the Ordinance Establishing the
Fees and Charges of the Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary
District.
Any
user may petition for exemption from the system by completing a form established
for this purpose. Exemptions shall be granted for the following
reasons:
a.
user is not connected to a sanitary sewer;
b.
user is connected to a sanitary sewer but the sanitary sewer does not
eventually lead into a District owned sanitary sewer or treatment
plant;
c.
a partial exemption will be granted for water not returned to the
sanitary sewer system. The user must install a credit meter or a meter on the
sanitary line or have a method of procedure to determine such amounts that has
been approved by the District. Such values shall be reported to the District in
order to have the values deducted from the user's incoming water
readings.
The owner of the property and the occupant/user of the property shall be jointly and severally liable for the charges for wastewater collection and treatment services. Wastewater collection and treatment services are supplied to the property solely upon the condition that the owner and occupant/user of the service are jointly and severally liable to the District. A new property owner shall be responsible for all unpaid service charges of the previous owner or occupant/user. The new owner is responsible for requesting a final water meter reading and insuring that the final service charges are paid by the previous owner. Property owners may receive user charge invoices instead of the same persons that currently receive the water supplier invoices. The property owner must submit to the District a written request to change the invoiced party.
A
user may dispute an invoice and withhold payment for the same. Any such
contention must be stated in writing. All amounts not disputed must be paid in
the normal time and manner. While the matter is in dispute, no late fees,
finance charges or penalties will accrue and no action will be taken to collect
the amounts in dispute. If it is decided that the District erred, no such
penalties will have to be paid on the amounts in error. Furthermore, the user
will be given the normal time to pay which is accorded undisputed amounts. If it
is decided that there was no error, the user may be required to pay any such
penalties that would have accrued and the amounts must then be paid in the same
time as though the amounts had not been disputed.
All
such disputes will first be referred to the user charge section of the District
for analysis and a decision. If the user is not satisfied with that decision,
the matter will then be referred to a committee hereby created called the User
Charge Review Committee consisting of three employees of the District appointed
by the Manager. The User Charge Review Committee will review the matter and make
a decision. If the user is not satisfied with this decision, the matter will
then be referred to the Manager of the District and the Manager will make a
decision. If the user is not satisfied with that decision, then the matter is
subject to appeal as set forth in Section 5.07 of this
Ordinance.
In
the case that a user is not satisfied with a decision of the District staff with
respect to the disputed amounts or with respect to the manner in which the
District staff has determined the user's billable flow, TBOD concentration,
suspended solids concentration or sulfate concentration, the user may request in
writing that the dispute be appealed to the Board of
Trustees.
The
user shall present the case at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board
of Trustees. All decisions rendered by the Board of Trustees shall be considered
final and binding to all parties involved.
All
user charges including charges incurred by the District for the collection of
amounts owed shall become a lien upon the lands on or after the effective date
of this Ordinance. In addition to any other method of collection as herein
provided or as provided by law, the District shall also have the power to sue
the owner or the occupant/user of the real estate involved in a civil action to
recover any money due plus court costs and a reasonable attorney's fee to be
fixed by the Court.
The District shall establish a fee to recover the costs of both filing and releasing a lien. The user shall be liable for such costs unless it is subsequently determined that no lien should have initially been placed on the property. All such actions to file and release a lien shall be done in accordance with Chapter 70 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes. No lien shall attach to real estate until the oldest unpaid invoice is at least sixty (60) days past due; however, the lien amount shall include all invoices that are past due, plus unpaid user charges incurred by the user until the release of the lien and all charges and expenses incurred by the District related to the lien and the collection of unpaid charges. Collection charges shall include attorneys' fees and expenses incurred by the District to collect unpaid charges. A notice shall be sent to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number, stating that unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on the real estate and that all charges including all expenses and attorneys' fees incurred by the District for collection of the charges shall be paid prior to the release of a lien after it is filed with a copy of all past due notices.
The
notice of the lien filed with the recorder of the county in which such real
estate is located shall include the information required by statute. A copy of
the notice of lien shall be sent to the owner or owners of record of the real
estate.
The
District shall have the power to foreclose such lien in like manner and with
like effect as in the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate. Judgment in a
civil action or filing of a suit shall not operate as a release and waiver of
said lien. Only satisfaction of said judgment and the payment of all unpaid user
charges and collection charges incurred by the District or the filing of a
release of satisfaction of said lien shall release said lien. Payments made to
the District for collection charges and user charges shall be applied in the
following order: (1) user charges billed by the District after referral of
unpaid invoices to a collection agency or attorney, (2) collection charges
incurred by the District to recover amounts owed, (3) user charges billed by the
District prior to referral to a collection agency or
attorney.
The
District may employ a private collection agency and/or attorneys to attempt to
collect past due invoices. In the case that this option is employed, any
additional expenses incurred by the District or the fees of said collection
agency and attorneys shall be added to the amount of the past due
invoices.
The District reserves
the right to discontinue service or disconnect the sewer servicing the property
for which service charge invoices are more than thirty (30) days past due,
regardless of the action taken by the District to collect said amounts. Such discontinuation of service or
disconnection shall be processed in accordance with procedures established by
the Board of Trustees and Public Act 093-0500 and after notice to the owner,
user or both. In the event the
user/owner shall within five (5) working days of the receipt of notice request a
hearing before the Board of Trustees, the discontinuation of service or
disconnection shall be stayed until the user is given an opportunity to be heard
by the Board of Trustees. All
invoices due shall continue to be due, whether or not said sewer is
disconnected. No service shall be
restored nor sewer shall be reconnected until the District is paid in full all
amounts due plus all costs incurred by the District for discontinuation
of service or cost of
disconnect.
Failure
of any property owner or user of the works of the system to receive an invoice
for sewage treatment user charges shall not be grounds for nonpayment or reason
to extend or defer the date upon which payment is due or to avoid the inclusion
of penalties. The responsibility for the payment of said user charges rests
entirely with the property owner and user of the system.
Any
user who knowingly makes any false statement, representation or certification in
any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be
filed pursuant to this Ordinance, or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly
renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method under this Ordinance, shall,
upon conviction be punished by the imposition of a civil penalty of not more
than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months. A separate
violation shall be deemed to have occurred on every day in which a violation
occurs or continues.
The
following deposit of funds shall apply for this Ordinance.
All moneys received from the user charge system shall be
delivered to the Treasurer or the Treasurer's authorized representative within
the time interval prescribed by the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer or the
authorized representative shall, upon receipt of said funds, deposit said funds
in the General Operating Account within the time interval prescribed by the
Board of Trustees. Funds to cover the equipment replacement and existing
facility improvement costs shall be transferred to the Capital Improvement
Account. The portion of the Sanitary collection sewer charges intended to cover
replacement costs shall be transferred to the Capital Improvement Account. Funds
to cover the debt service shall be transferred to a separate account.
All such revenues and moneys shall be held by the Treasurer separate and apart from the Treasurer's private funds.
The
District shall establish a system of accounts in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles in which all transactions relative to the user
charge system shall be kept. At regular annual intervals the District shall have
an independent auditing concern audit the books to show the receipts and
disbursements of the District.
The
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or its authorized representative shall
have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the District which
are applicable to the District's system of user charges for the purpose of
making audit, examination, excerpts and transcriptions thereof to ensure
compliance with the terms of any grants issued by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency.
The
general public shall have access to the District's user charge records as
required by the "Illinois Freedom of Information Act".
The
Board of Trustees shall be empowered at any time at their discretion, as it is
deemed necessary, to amend the terms of this Ordinance and to increase the
individual charges to provide additional revenue to defer costs not known or
anticipated at the time of preparation of the latest estimate of anticipated
costs, except, however, if at such time the Board has determined that funds
allocated in the latest estimate of anticipated costs will not be expended for
items originally intended, either in full or in part, the unexpended funds may
be allocated to the new or increased cost to the extent possible before
increasing the charges heretofore established. Amendments to this Ordinance and
to user rates shall be effective in the next month after their adoption and
publication as required by law.
a)
"Sanitary District Act of 1917" (
b)
"Sanitary District Act of 1941", Section II (
c)
"Environmental Protection Act", Title XIII (
If
any provision, paragraph, word, section or chapter of this Ordinance is
invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions,
paragraphs, words, sections and chapters shall not be affected and shall
continue in full force and effect.
All
other ordinances and parts of other ordinances inconsistent or conflicting with
any part of this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such
inconsistency or conflict; provided, however, that the foregoing repeal shall
have no effect on the right of the District to collect any sum due and unpaid
under any prior ordinance.
This
Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval
and publication as required by law.
____________________________
Thomas E.
Brabec, President
ATTEST:
________________________
David M.
Zerante, Clerk
Passed:
5/18/07
Approved:
5/18/07
Published:
5/24/06
Effective:
6/04/07