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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.
For Meeting of: May 1, 2012
ITEM TITLE: Ordinance pertaining to utility service fees; amending
Section 7.50.040 of the Yakima Municipal Code regarding
utility services fees, and defining business hours for
purposes of administering such fees.
SUBMITTED BY: Cindy Epperson, Director of Finance and Budget
CONTACT Tammy Regimbal, Utility Services Manager (509) 576 -
PERSON/TELEPHONE: 6615
Dave Brown, Water /Irrigation Manager (509) 575 -6204
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Section 7.50.040 of the Yakima Municipal Code designates "business hours" to delineate
what constitutes "nonbusiness hours" for "turn -on and shut -off customer request" as set
forth in the schedule of fees.
In January 2012, the Water Service Specialist job classification and the four employees
performing the duties were transferred from the Utility Services Division to the
Water /Irrigation Division. As anticipated, the change has resulted in greater efficiencies in
meter reading and other water related service requests.
The current definition of "business hours" mandates ten -hour shift coverage for the assigned
Water Service Specialists performing this duty, and a corresponding ten -hour coverage
requirement for the business office. In order to provide consistency with the actual work
shifts of the Water Service Specialist, as well as providing constant service to utility
customers a change in the designated business hours is required. In other words, the term
"business hours" should be equal to the actual shift for the Water Service Specialists, which
should in turn be equal to the shifts of the other Water /Irrigation Division employees. Also,
the Water /Irrigation Division desires flexibility to schedule such shifts to better meet
customer needs and to provide a constant work schedule for the Water Service Specialists.
Elimination of the mandated coverage of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. provides this flexibility.
The attached ordinance changes the "Business Hour" definition to correspond to the work
shift of Water Service Specialists, which is currently 7 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday excluding holidays. It also discloses that these hours are subject to change,
and the Utility Services Division will update and provide notice of a change in business
hours.
Resolution Ordinance X Other
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Contract Term: Amount: Expiration Date:
Insurance Required? No
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APPROVED FOR City Manager
SUBMITTAL:
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Pass Ordinance
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Ordinance pertaining to utility service fees
ORDINANCE NO. 2012 -
AN ORDINANCE pertaining to utility services fees; amending Section 7.50.040 of the
Yakima Municipal Code regarding utility services fees, and defining
business hours for purposes of administering such fees.
WHEREAS, the City Council has previously adopted ordinances establishing fees for
certain utility services together with provisions setting administrative procedures for imposition
of such fees, which provisions are codified at Section 7.50.040 of The Yakima Municipal Code;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that such section should be amended
to clarify the definition of business hours for purposes of distinguishing utility turn -on and shut-
off services occurring during non - business hours; and
WHEREAS, fees for such services should be corrected to reflect current fees as
previously authorized by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that YMC 7.50.040 should be
amended as shown and set forth below, and that such amendment is in the best interests of
residents of the City of Yakima and will promote the general health, safety and welfare; now,
therefore
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
Section 1. Section 7.50.040 of the Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to
read as follows, with amended provisions set forth in legislative format, and with corrected fees
for services as previously approved for such services:
7.50.040 Utility services fees.
$+ #rough Friday, cxcluding holidays. The following fees and charges
shall apply when the listed actions are taken /provided by the utility services division. The
fees set forth in the following table shall be considered the base for calculations of future
fee increases. Once every two years beginning in March, 2008 (or as soon thereafter as
reasonably possible based upon availability of the indices set forth herein), an
adjustment shall be added to the base figures that is either eighty percent of the
December change in the United States Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI -W) for the Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton region or eighty percent of
the December Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumer Expenditures, whichever is
lower and rounded to the nearest whole dollar, to reflect the changes in inflation for
these two indices over the previous two calendar years. (For purposes of determining
the change in the CPI, the standard reference base period of 1984 equals one hundred
will be used.)
a. Account reinstatement fee $17.60
b. Start temporary water service (less than twenty -four hours in duration) $22.77
c. Immediate service — customer request $17.60
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d. Irrigation shut -off fee $25.00
e. Turn -on and shut -off customer request for nonbusiness hours $178.02/call out (1)
f. Meter obstruction charge (after notice) $45.54
g. Check read charge, after first accurate check read within one billing $17.60
cycle
h. Lien processing fee (4-)
i. Returned NSF check fee $40.00
j. Field visit for delinquency $45.54
k. (For future use)
I. Illegal turn -on, tampering of utility service or illegal connection as $113.85 fine plus
defined in YMC 7.50.100 3X cost of any
repairs
"Business hours" for purposes of this section correspond to the work shift of Water Service
Specialists established by the City Water Division from time to time. Current work shift hours are
Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. through 3:30 p.m., excluding holidays. These hours are
subject to change, and the Utility Services. Division will update and provide notice of business
hours to customers by any means deemed appropriate, including posting of such information on
its Internet web site.
al This fee will be based on actual cost plus any related costs and taxes incurred.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage,
approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this 1 day of May, 2012.
ATTEST: Micah Cawley, Mayor,
City Clerk
Publication Date:
Effective Date:
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