O-1902-12-00ORDINANCE NO. 1902-12-00
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN
COUNTY, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 14, UTILITIES, ARTICLE L IN GENERAL,
IN PART; PROVIDING FOR A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDNG A
SEVERABHdTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING
FOR A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000)
FOR EACH OFFENSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN,
TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1: The Code of Ordinances of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, be and is hereby
amended by amending Chapter 14, Utilities, Article I, in part to read as follows:
"ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Sec. 14-1. Deposits and Interest.
(a) Any person desiring to obtain water services from the City shall make application
therefore to the Utility Billing Office, and prior to connection of service, provide a deposit
established by resolution of the City Council from time to time.
Sec. 14-4. Billings and adjustments.
The waterworks system shall be operated on a fully metered basis, to be in accordance
with contractual agreements and bond indentures.
(1) No free service shall be allowed, and to the extent the city or any of its agencies or
instrumentalities avail themselves of the services and facilities provided by the
waterworks and sanitary sewer system, they shall pay for them.
(2) The city shall simultaneously collect the respective amounts due the city for services
supplied by the waterworks and sanitary sewer system. All payments are due in full
prior to or on, specified due date.
(3) The city manager or designated representative is authorized to evaluate individual
customer bills and make billing adjustments or payment arrangements if determined
that special circumstances warrant such action. The city manager may establish
written administrative utility billing policies and procedures that are reasonable and
are in the best interest of the City and its citizens. The decision of the City Manager
or designated representative shall be final.
' (7) The City Council shall establish a returned check fee by resolution from time to time,
for any check given to the City in payment of services which is insufficient or
unpaid.
Sec. 147. Late Penalty, Service Disconnection and Extension.
' (a) The rates and charges imposed hereby are due and payable on the twentieth (20') day
after the billing date.
(b) Should the amount due on the twentieth day not be paid in full, a ten percent (IO%)
penalty shall be added to the amount past due and unpaid.
(c) The customer's regular bill will serve as a past due notice if a past due and penalty
amount is shown. The customer is subject to service discontinuation if payment of the past
due and penalty amount is not paid by the due date on the current bill.
(d) A customer may request a payment extension from the City Manager or his or her
designated representative. If approved, partial payments will be accepted during the
extension period. The agreement will provide a plan for the customer to pay the entire past
due amount. The payment must be paid on the agreed upon due date(s) for the agreement to
remain in force. The utility billing office will record the details of the extension agreement
on the customer's account record. Payment penalties will continue to accrue during the
extension period. No consecutive extensions will be allowed. Only two (2) extensions will
be granted to each utility customer each calendar year.
Sec. 148. Reconnection fee.
(a) Should service be disconnected for any customer and the amount of any past due and
delinquent fees be paid thereafter, such service may be resumed, but a reconnection fee
established by the City Council by resolution, shall be paid for reconnection to the
waterworks system.
(b) If service is disconnected for non-payment of fees more than one time in any calendar
year, each subsequent time thereafter in the same calendar year that service is discontinued, the
customer shall pay an additional deposit of fifty dollars ($50.00) at the time service is restored.
Such deposits shall be applied to a customer's fatal bill.
See. 14-11. Penalty for violation of this article.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provision of this article shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor and upon conviction therefor, shall be fined any sum not to exceed two thousand dollars
($2,000) and each and every day that such violation continues shall be construed to be a separate
offense; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall preclude the municipality of bringing
suit for injunction for the prevention of any threatened violation or the removal of any structure in
violation of this article.
Sec. 1416. Transfer of meter from developer/builder to property.
' (a) The City shall only accept the transfer of a meter from the developer/builder if the
meter is correctly installed and accessible to city personnel. Should the meter not be accessible
or properly installed, the developer/builder shall pay a fifteen dollar ($15) administrative fee
prior to the transfer.
Ordinance No. 1902-12-00 , Page 2
(b) The developer/budder shall have thirty (30) days to correct faulty installation from the
date notice is provided by the City that transfer has been refused. If corrections/repairs are not
made within the thirty (30) day period, the City shall disconnect water service until corrections
are made and the transfer is complete. A reconnection fee shall be charged and paid by the
developer/builder when service is restore.
Sec. 14-17. Consumer credit reporting agencies.
The City Manager is authorized to contract with a consumer credit reporting agency to
report water service customer account payment history.
Sec. 14-18. Use of collection agency to collect delinquent accounts.
The City Manager is authorized to contract with a collection agency for the collection of
terminated water service customer accounts that have an unpaid final balance for more than
ninety (90) days after termination of service."
SECTION 2. Should any word, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase or section of this
ordinance, or of the Code of Ordinances, as amended hereby, be adjudged or held to be void or
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of said ordinance or the Code
of Ordinances, as amended hereby, which shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. All ordinances of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, in conflict with the provisions of
this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed; provided, however that all other provisions of said
ordinances not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
' SECTION 4. An offense committed before the effective date of this ordinance is governed by prior law and
the Code of Ordinances of the City of Allen, as amended, in effect when the offense was committed and the
former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
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SECTION 5. Any person, firm or corporation that violates any of the provisions or terms of this ordinance
shall be subject to penalty and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Two Thousand
Dollars ($2,000).
SECTION 6. This ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage in accordance with its
provisions of the Charter of the City of Allen, and its is accordingly so ordained.
DULY PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN
COUNTY, TEXAS, ON THIS THE 7TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2000.
APPROVED:
Stephen Terrell, MAYOR
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
G. Smith, d ify ATTORNEY JAy MoMson, CMC/AAE, CITY SECRETARY
Ordinance No. 1902-12-00 , Page 3