§ 19-24. Meters.

(a)

Except for the extinguishment of fires, no person except authorized city personnel shall use water from the water supply system or permit water to be drawn therefrom, unless the same shall be metered by meters furnished by the city which meters shall remain the property of the city. A meter charge equal to the cost of the meter and accessories, including administrative costs, shall be paid upon each application for permit to connect to the water supply system.

(b)

The city shall, at its expense, maintain and repair all meters when rendered unserviceable through ordinary usage, and shall replace meters when necessary. When replacement, repair or adjustment of any meter is made necessary by the act or neglect of the consumer, all cost incurred thereby shall be charged against the consumer, and water service may be discontinued until such cost has been paid. In the event city personnel determine that a water meter or remote have been tampered with to intentionally affect the true meter reading, a fine of $50.00 shall be included on the next quarterly billing and the bill shall include an adjustment to include the estimated usage not recorded due to the meter tampering. Repeated tampering shall be grounds for shutoff of the water service in the manner provided in section 19-18.

(c)

Installation of remote water meter readers shall be required on all structures serviced by the municipal water system.

(d)

Property owners shall allow reasonable access for maintenance and repair of water meters and/or remote water meter readers. Reasonable access means the following:

(1)

Providing a clear and uninterrupted path to and around the meter;

(2)

Containing children and animals that may threaten or inhibit work away from the path to and around the meter;

(3)

Providing a time for an appointment for any meter work to occur within two weeks of notice by the city of the need for work and providing the presence of a responsible adult during the appointment. Failure to allow for reasonable access as provided herein shall result in a charge of $100.00 per month to be included on the quarterly billing.

(e)

Radio read meters. Installation of a radio read capacity water meter shall be required on all structures served by the municipal water system. If a property owner does not authorize entry onto the property to allow installation of the meter, a $100.00 per month surcharge will be applied on the water bill for the property. If a property owner fails to allow proper service of or tampers with either the meter or radio transmitter thereby interfering with proper meter reading and utility billing, a $100.00 per month surcharge shall be applied and the water usage shall be estimated based on past usage. In addition to the surcharge, the property will be responsible for payment of any usage in excess of the estimated usage. The property owner may appeal the surcharge in writing. Such written appeal must include an explanation and/or justification for the failure to comply. Such appeal shall be directed to the city engineer. The appeal will be reviewed by the city engineer and forwarded to the city council with a recommendation for action.

(Ord. No. 6, § 3.01—3.03, 3-11-85; Ord. No. 334A, § 1, 3-3-02; Ord. No. 362, § 5, 12-8-03)