ORDINANCE NO. 180137

Amending Chapter 60, Code of Ordinances, entitled Sewers and Sewage Disposal by repealing Sections 60-2, 60-3, 60-9, and 60-30 and enacting in lieu thereof new sections of like number and subject matter, that adjust charges for sewer service and impose a two percent payment in lieu of taxes upon the City Sewer Fund’s gross revenues derived from sewer services to the City’s residential and commercial customers to be paid to the General Fund and charged to residential and commercial customers; and establishing an effective date.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That Chapter 60 of the Code of Ordinances of Kansas City, Missouri, entitled Sewers and Sewage Disposal, is hereby amended by repealing Sections 60-2, 60-3, 60-9, and 60-30 and enacting in lieu thereof new sections of like subject matter, to read as follows:

Sec. 60-2. Sewer charges for resident users.

There are hereby established charges against every person and for every property, partnership, corporation, association, and other entity within the city limits having an actual or available connection with the city's sanitary sewer system, or discharging sewage, industrial waste, water or other liquid into the system. All charges shall be prorated per day during the billing period. Such charges are to be the sum of service charges, volume and high concentration charges to be computed and levied as follows:

(1)               Service charges.

a. Sanitary sewer. A service charge of $21.30 per month to cover in part the cost of providing various services, and shall be prorated per day during the billing period and shall apply whether or not any sewage or wastes are actually discharged to the city sewer during the billing period; such charges are to be made each month.

b.   Wastewater discharge permits. Commercial and industrial users shall pay for the cost of the wastewater discharge permitting program as described and authorized in article IV of this chapter. Charges as authorized in article IV of this chapter shall be billed and collected with the commercial or industrial users' normal water and/or sewer billing charges.

(2)   Volume charges. A volume charge of $8.60 per 100 cubic feet (ccf) based upon the total volume of water purchased by the customer during the billing period subject to the following adjustments:

a.   Water supplied from separate source. Where water is supplied by a separate and independent source, the sewage volume charge shall be based upon the volume of water used, where such information is available, and computed at the volume charge established herein. Where usage information is not available, the water services department shall determine an appropriate volume of water used and compute it at the volume charge established herein.

b.   Residential accounts. Except as noted in (2)a, residential service account (one- and two-family residences) volume charges for the bills generated during the months of May through December shall be based upon water used during the winter period, such winter period being the bills generated during January through April, (these are the billing periods that most closely correspond to the December through March usage); such charges shall be payable with each bill rendered throughout the year. Where residential water services accounts do not have an acceptable history of winter water use, the volume charge for bills generated during the months of May through December shall be the volume charge established herein, or $51.60 per month, whichever is the lesser.

c.   Commercial and industrial water accounts with diverted water uses. Commercial and industrial water accounts are all water service accounts other than one- and two-family dwellings. Diverted water uses are those where a significant portion of the water purchased is used in manufactured products such as ice, canned goods or beverages. Where the product is transported away from the premises in containers (water to product) the application fee is $1,000.00. Where the water purchased is lost by evaporation or irrigation the application fee is $550.00. The director of the water services department or the director's representative, shall make the determinations of fact as to the amount of water which is diverted, and shall have authority to adjust the sewer use volume billed on the basis of the facts ascertained. The application fee is to pay for site review, plan review, and installation inspection.

(3)  Commercial and industrial water accounts with high concentration discharges. Commercial and industrial water accounts shall include all water service accounts other than one- and two-family dwellings. High concentration discharges are those in which the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), SS (suspended solids), and/or O&G (oil and grease) concentrations are in excess of the maximum concentration of these components in normal sewage as defined in article IV of this chapter. In addition to other sewer service and volume charges, a surcharge, as established by the formulae defined and set forth in article IV of this chapter, shall be levied on high concentration discharges received from any customer under this section.

For surcharge rate formulae calculation purposes, the following rates are hereby established;

RB (surcharge per pound of excess BOD)* = $0.364

RS (surcharge per pound of excess SS) = $0.190

RG (surcharge per pound of excess O&G) = $0.160

The director of water services is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations to develop various groups and classes to facilitate the equitable distribution of surcharge fees among like groups of customers.

(4) Definition. Month or monthly, as used in this section, shall refer to a time period of approximately 30 days.

Sec. 60-3. Sewer charges for nonresident users.

(a) Charges. There are hereby established charges against every person, partnership, corporation, association, and other entity outside the city limits having a connection with the city's sanitary sewer system or discharging sewage, industrial waste, water or other liquids into the city's sewer system. All charges billed shall be prorated per day during the billing period. Such charges are to be the sum of service charges and volume charges to be computed and charged as follows:

(1)   Metered connections with municipalities and political subdivisions. Bulk flows through a metered interconnection with a municipality or other political subdivision shall be charged and pay a rate of $3.48 per 100 cubic feet (ccf), with no service charges.

(2)   Unmetered connections with municipalities and other political subdivisions. Bulk flows through an unmetered interconnection with a municipality or other political subdivision shall be charged and pay a rate of $4.69 per 100 cubic feet (ccf) of actual water consumption for all residential, commercial and industrial customers, and shall also pay a service charge of $13.60 per month for each such customer.

(3) Unmetered connections with municipalities and other political subdivisions; no water consumption records. Where actual water consumption records are not available, bulk flows from a municipality or political subdivision through an unmetered interconnection shall pay a sewer charge of $46.95 per month per dwelling unit or equivalent dwelling unit.

(4)  Individual non-resident customers billed directly by the city. Individual non-resident customers billed directly by the city shall pay a service charge of $30.00 per month, plus a volume charge of $11.90 per 100 cubic feet (ccf).

(5) Accounts with high concentration discharges. High concentration discharges are those in which the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), SS (suspended solids), and/or O&G (oil and grease) concentrations are in excess of the maximum concentration of these components in normal sewage as defined in article IV of this chapter. In addition to other sewer service and volume charges, a surcharge, as established by the formulae defined and set forth in article IV of this chapter, shall be levied on high concentration discharges received from any non-resident user.

For surcharge rate formulae calculation purposes, the following rates are hereby established:

RB (surcharge per pound of excess BOD) = $0.446

RS (surcharge per pound of excess SS) = $0.220

RG (surcharge per pound of excess O&G) = $0.183

The director is hereby authorized to develop various groups and classes to facilitate the equitable distribution of surcharge fees among like groups of customers.

(b) Definition. "Month" or "monthly," as used in this section shall refer to a time period of approximately 30 days.

(c) Applicability. This section may not be applicable where arrangements for sewer service and sewer service charges are established by an existing or future contract or cooperative agreement.

Sec. 60-9. Payments in lieu of taxes.

Pursuant to Section 1209 of the City Charter, the water services department shall be assessed and required to make a payment in lieu of taxes to the general fund equal to two percent of the sewer fund's gross revenues derived from providing sewer services to the city's resident users. Such payment in lieu of taxes shall be considered part of the cost of sewer services and shall be charged to the city's resident users as a charge equal to two percent of the sewer charges for resident users.

Sec. 60-30. Connecting private sewers with district or joint district sewers—

Contents of contract; recording of contract.

(a) Any contract entered into by a developer and the director of water services as provided in section 60-26 shall provide that, if annexation is declared invalid, the developer, or his successors in ownership of the lands to be served, shall be billed in accordance with section 60-3 subsection (a) subsection (3). Where business and industrial property is to be served, the amount of the annual service charge shall be determined by the director of water services. Such contract shall be filed and recorded with the recorder of deeds in the respective county in which the sewers are to be constructed, along with a copy of the approved subdivision plat, and shall provide that the developer shall have the right to transfer responsibility for payment of the annual service charge to his successors in ownership by covenant running with the land.

(b) Such contract shall state that the granting of the permission for a sewer connection from projects now outside the city does not exempt the property drained from being taxed for the construction of public sewers in any district or joint district hereafter established in which these sewers are constructed, and it shall not be understood that the construction of the sewers, or the property drained by them, establishes a separate sewer district.

(c) Such contract shall further provide that the city retains the right and power to make use of, construct, reconstruct or change the sewers and the connections to the city sewers, laterals and appurtenances, as may be necessary for the sewering of the property to be drained under the terms of such contract.

Section 2. This ordinance shall become effective on May 1, 2018.

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Approved as to form and legality:

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Charlotte Ferns

Assistant City Attorney