What Charges Make Up My
Utility Bill?
Water - Billing for water is
charged a base rate plus an amount for water used as measured by the water
meter. Any meter which is turned on is
charged the base rate for that sized meter plus the charge for the actual
amount of water used. Anyone temporarily
not requiring service may have their water shut off at the meter and then the basic fee will not be charged. If water is turned on and available to the
user there will be at least the basic fee charged for the hook-up.
Sewer - The monthly fee charged for sewer is similar to the water
fee but it is computed once a year and stays at that amount through the
year. There is a base fee based on the size
of water meter plus a per-thousand gallon of water fee that is computed based
on the average water usage during the winter months when it is assumed no
outside watering is taking place and essentially all the water metered is going
into the sewer. In addition there may be
a pretreatment fee if the user’s sewer flow has the potential for pollution
that requires them to be regulated.
Trash Collection -
Residential - The basic
monthly fee is charged per household unit.
The charge is one fee per home in the case of single family residences,
two collection fees for duplexes including homes accommodating two families
such as is the case with an authorized “accessory dwelling unit”, and per
household unit for multiple family dwellings such as four-plexes. Housing areas with three or more housing
units per building will normally be serviced with dumpster containers but they
will still be charged per household unit.
Each residence must have access to at least one trash container. Trash collection charges can be eliminated
for periods when there are temporary vacancies in single family homes but only if
the owner requests such by signing a form from the city prior to the planned
vacancy. Trash collection is suspended
during that time and when resumed the charges are reinstated. No credit is given for temporary vacancies in
multiple family housing units.
Commercial - Trash
collection for commercial is established by the size of container and the
frequency of collection. Each business
must have access to at least one container.
Multiple businesses in a common building may elect to have only one trash
service and share the cost but in this case each business is charged at least
the base fee per business, a fee charged to
Dispatch Fee -
Residential - The basic
monthly $2.00 fee charged is per household unit. The charge is one fee per home in the case of
single family residences, two fees for duplexes or homes accommodating two
families such as authorized houses with an “accessory dwelling unit”, and per
household unit for multiple family dwellings or mobile home parks. The number of telephone lines into the
residence is not a consideration for charging this fee.
Commercial - The monthly $2.00
fee will be charged per business.
Multiple businesses in the same building will each be charged the
dispatch fee. Those businesses which
share a utility bill because of common water meter and common sewer hook-up
will be charged for multiple dispatch fees on the single, shared billing.
Single businesses with multiple water and/or sewer connections will only be
charged one monthly dispatch fee. The
number of telephone lines into the business is not a consideration for charging
this fee.
NLC Info Sheet 006