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Elyria committee approves updates to municipal water rules; introduces 5% delinquency fee and $250 habitual penalty
Summary
The Utility Safety and Environment Committee approved updates Wednesday to Elyria’s municipal water rules, adding a 5% delinquency fee at 30 days, a $250 habitual-delinquency penalty for three delinquencies in a rolling 12 months, and a tampering fee; staff declined to add a per-transaction credit-card service charge, saying card costs are built into rates through 2027.
The Utility Safety and Environment Committee voted Wednesday to update Elyria Codified Ordinance Chapter 9.39 (Water Rules and Regulations) and related fee provisions, adding a 5% delinquency fee for bills 30 days past due, a $250 habitual-delinquency penalty for accounts delinquent three times in a rolling 12 months, and a fee for tampering with meters or service.
Miss Connor, who presented the revisions, said much of the update is housekeeping and operational clarification but highlighted three substantive changes: the introduction of a 5% delinquency fee assessed at 30 days; a $250 habitual-delinquency penalty for accounts delinquent three times in a rolling 12 months; and a new tampering fee to address incidents of meter/service interference. "We did include, however, what we are calling a, delinquency fee," Miss Connor said, noting the committee could later adjust the percentage if desired.
Safety Service Director Pajnowski and staff explained the committee decided not to add a point-of-sale credit- or debit-card service fee to the ordinance. The cost of card processing was included in the user-rate study performed by Black & Veatch and is built into rates at least through 2027; shifting card fees to a per-transaction service charge would be considerably more expensive for some customers, staff said. "Those charges were factored into our rates at least through 2027," Pajnowski said.
The committee discussed implementation timing and administrative steps. Staff asked that the ordinance not carry an emergency clause because billing-printing changes and updates to the billing system (New World) require lead time; if the committee moves the ordinance forward at the next meeting it could be ready for the Sept. 2 council meeting and — without an emergency clause — would take effect Oct. 2. Staff also described an annual homestead audit process to be done each April to verify homestead exemptions, and confirmed letters were sent to customers during the cleanup of homestead records.
After discussion, Councilman Oswald moved the ordinance changes and Councilman Armstrong seconded; the committee approved the changes by voice vote.
Decision/direction: committee approved updated water rules and fees, directed staff to finalize administrative steps (billing changes, printer coordination, and New World updates), and requested the legislation be prepared for the council calendar with implementation timing that allows for system and billing updates.
