title
SERVICE CHARGES FOR INSTALLATION OR TURN-ON OF UTILITY SERVICE AND FIELD VISITS FOR RECONNECTION OF UTILITY SERVICE (B)
Ordinance No. 0-07-81
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 27, ARTICLE 1, SECTION 27-15 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA RELATING TO SERVICE CHARGES FOR INSTALLATION OR TURN-ON OF UTILITY SERVICE AND FIELD VISITS FOR RECONNECTION OF UTILITY SERVICE; AMENDING APPENDIX A, UTILITIES SECTION (1), SUBSECTION c BY DELETING AN ADDITIONAL BILLING CHARGE FOR METERS READ BY THE CONSUMER; AMENDING APPENDIX A, UTILITIES SECTION (3), SUBSECTION c BY PROVIDING FOR A BACKFLOW TESTING FEE; AMENDING APPENDIX A, UTILITIES SECTION (7), SUBSECTION b(3) SERVICE CHARGES BY DELETING A FEE FOR TRANSFER OF UTILITY SERVICE CLASSIFICATION AND PROVIDING FOR A FIELD VISIT TRIP CHARGE; AND AMENDING APPENDIX A, UTILITIES SECTION (7)b BY ADDING SUBSECTION 10 PROVIDING FOR AN UNAUTHORIZED SERVICE INVESTIGATION FEE; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING DIRECTIONS TO THE CODIFIER; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
Background:
Minor changes are needed to Chapter 27, City of Gainesville Code of Ordinances, to reflect revised practices brought about by the implementation of the new SAP Customer Care System in April, 2007. The manner in which the SAP software accomplishes the billing function is different than the previous billing system. Rather than change the software at a higher cost, staff has revised its processes and procedures. To accurately reflect the procedures and the sequence of charges, staff recommends that minor changes to Chapter 27, City of Gainesville Code of Ordinances, including but not limited to the following, be made:
1. Combined fees for service reconnection were replaced with reconnection fees for each service.
2. With a customer-based data model and system, the classification of "accounts" is no longer required. The provision and fee specified in the ordinance needs to be stricken.
3. No fee is charged for a customer reading his/her own meter. The fee needs to be stricken from the ordinance.
4. Two (2) service charges are generally referenced in the ordinance as cost recovery charges; yet in practice, the charges are standardized fees.