Sanitary Sewer User Charges.

(1) 

Purpose. It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the City, to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the City's collection system. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating and maintaining the public wastewater collection system.

(2) 

Definitions. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this section shall be as follows:

(a) 

"Sanitary Sewer" means a conduit which carries sewage.

(b) 

"Sewage" means the water carried wastes created in and to be conducted away from residences, industrial establishments, commercial buildings and public buildings, as defined in sec. 101.01 of the Wisconsin Statutes.

(c) 

"Industrial Wastes" means any liquid, solid or gaseous substances or form of energy or combination thereof resulting from any process of industrial, manufacturing, business, trade or research, including the development, recovery or processing of natural resources.

(d) 

"Storm Sewer" means a conduit which carries storm water and surface water, street wash and other waters or drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes.

(e) 

"Building Sewers" means a conduit which carries the drainage from a building or private property to a street sewer.

(f) 

"Collection Sewerage System" includes all street sewers, main sewer and intercepting sewers and structures by which sewage or industrial waste is collected, transported, treated and disposed of. This shall not include plumbing inside or in connection with buildings served or building sewers.

(g) 

"Billable Flow" shall mean a user's recorded quarterly water usage, as metered by the West Allis water utility, plus unmetered or partially metered water from wells and other sources, as estimated in accordance with the provisions of this section, and less any sewer-exempt metered data, times the percentage factor approved by the City Engineer for wastewater entering the sewer system out of the metered water.

(h) 

"Operation and Maintenance" shall mean all expenditures during the useful life of the sewer collection system for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the collection system to achieve the capacity and performance for which such system was designed and constructed.

(i) 

"Replacement" shall mean expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances, which are necessary during the useful life of the collection system, to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.

(j) 

"Shall: is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

(k) 

"Useful Life" shall mean the estimated period during which a collection system will be operated.

(l) 

"Local User Charge" shall mean that portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the collection system.

(m) 

"Residential customer or user" shall mean a premises that accommodates exclusively one (1) to three (3) housing units. A housing unit may be a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home or similar unit occupied as separate living quarters or, if vacant, intended for residential use and occupancy. Housing units in buildings with more than three (3) housing units or a business use or uses are classified commercial.

(n) 

"Commercial customer or user: shall mean a premises with businesses and institutions or more than three (3) housing units.

(o) 

"Industrial customer or user" shall mean a premises constituting manufacturing property, as defined in sec. 70.995(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes.

(3) 

Disposition of Revenue.

(a) 

The local user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay costs of annual operation and maintenance, including replacement associated with financing the collection system.

(b) 

The portion of the total local user charge collected, which is designated for operation and maintenance, including replacement associated with financing the collection system, shall be deposited in a separate nonlapsing fund known as the "Local Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund" and will be kept in two (2) primary accounts as follows:

1. 

An account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs, excluding replacement, of the collection system (Operation and Maintenance Account). The City may credit from this account to the general fund of the City sums to be expended for the retirement of principal and interest on outstanding sanitary sewer indebtedness of the City.

2. 

An account designated for the specific purpose of insuring replacement needs over the useful life of the collection system (Replacement Account).

(c) 

Fiscal year end balances in the Operation and Maintenance Account and the Replacement Account shall be carried over to the same accounts in the subsequent fiscal year, and shall be used for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Moneys which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the local user charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The local user charge rate(s) shall be adjusted such that the transferred moneys will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the Fiscal year in which the moneys were borrowed.

(4) 

User Charges and Rates. The annual user charge shall be based on a volumetric charge, as follows:

[Ord. 6103 (repeal & recreate 1.07(4)(a)1.-2. & (4)(b)), 6/21/1994]

The volumetric charge shall be calculated by dividing the total expected operation, maintenance and replacement costs, including billing and meter reading costs, by the total expected billable flow in the system. Individual user charges are as follows:

(a) 

Residential, commercial, industrial and public sewer service - Metered:

[Ord. 6142 (repeal & recreate 1. & 2.), 12/6/1994]

1. 

Minimum quarterly charge: 10 ccf times the volumetric charge.

2. 

Volume charge: Based on a metered consumption for each quarter of the calendar year.

	First 10 ccf used: Apply minimum quarterly charge.
	Over 10 ccf used: Individual user's volume of water consumption times the volumetric charge.

(b) 

Residential Sewer Service - Unmetered: Fixed quarterly charge. Unmetered residential rates shall be based upon average usage for single family residences as established by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

	Single Family	21 ccf times the volumetric charge
	Two (2) Family	42 ccf times the volumetric charge. [Ord. 6142, 12/6/1994]

(c) 

Commercial, Industrial and Public Sewer Service - Unmetered or Partially Metered: When any commercial, industrial or public customer serviced by the City's sewer system is a user of water not supplied by the City, the amount of water shall be measured by a metering device installed at the owner's expense and approved by the City Engineer, or determined from an estimated volume calculated by the City Engineer.

(d) 

In the event that the customer has more than one connection to the water system, the minimum charge and volume charge shall apply to each such connection.

(e) 

The City will review the local user charge system at least every two (2) years and revise local user charge rates, as necessary, to insure that the system generates adequate revenues to pay the costs of operation and maintenance, including replacement, and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance, including replacement costs among users and user classes.

(f) 

The City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation and maintenance, including replacement of the collection system. This notification will display separately MMSD treatment charges and local operation maintenance and replacement rates.

(5) 

Credit for water Not Discharged into the Sanitary Sewer.

(a) 

In the event that a commercial, industrial or public customer discharging waste into the sanitary sewers produces satisfactory evidence that significant amounts of the total annual volume of water used does not reach the sanitary sewer, by use of a meter or meters installed by the owner, with the approval of the City, or by the use of scientific or engineering tests and calculations approved by and conducted under the direct supervision of the City Engineer, at the expense of the customers, such amount of water shall be deducted in computing the sewer service charge.

[Ord. 6103 (repeal 1.07(5)(b)), 6/21/1994]

(6) 

Quarterly Charges. Bills for sewer service shall be rendered quarterly and become due and payable on the same date as the respective water bill. A penalty of that equal to the rate for water, which is approved by the Public Service Commission, shall be added per month to bills not paid by the due date.

[Ord. O-2014-0052, 9/2/2014]

(7) 

Lien. All charges established by sub. (2) shall be a lien upon the property served, pursuant to secs. 66.0821(4)(d) and 66.089(1) to (4), 66.0811 and 66.0813 of the Wisconsin Statutes, and shall be collected in the manner therein provided.

(8) 

Severability. If any provision or portion of this section is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the section shall not be affected thereby.