ORDINANCE 541

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING APPLICABLE SECTIONS NAMED HEREIN TO ORDINANCES 472 and 530 OF THE CITY CODE ESTABLISHING NEW FEES AND RATES FOR RELATED CITY SERVICES OF THE CITY OF PANHANDLE TEXAS.

WHEREAS, The City’s current Landfill Usage Fees are as follows:

Landfill Usage Fees

Minimum Charge$10.00

Car Load$13.00

Half Ton Pick-up truck$13.00

Single Axle Trailer$15.00

Dual Axle Trailer: $20.50

One Ton Truck$20.50

Single Axle Dump Truck$35.00

Tandem Axle dump truck$50.00

WHEREAS, The City’s current Refuse Collection Fees are as Follows:

Residential$17.25

Professional services, churches, light retail$29.90

Retail, service stations and repair garages$44.25

Food stores, restaurants and hotels/motels$60.50

Commercial$75.25

Special service (minimum)$60.50

7.75% sales tax will be assessed to the solid waste collection rates.

For solid waste collection outside the City limits, the rates are 1 1/2 times the above amount plus 6.25% sales tax

WHEREAS, The City of Panhandle appoints a Board of Adjustment to hear request for variance in applicable planning and zoning issues; and

WHEREAS, A variance fee is applicable for persons wishing to redress a petition for variance in conflict with proposed plans versus current code of ordinances, and such a variance request requires a fee for these services; and

WHEREAS, The current fee for planning and zoning related variance requests are as follows:

(b)(1)Appeals to the board of adjustment can be taken by any person aggrieved by a decision of any administrative officer of the City of Panhandle concerning the interpretation or enforcement of this article, or by any office or department of the municipality affected by any decision of such administrative officer. Such appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days time after the decision has been rendered by the administrative officer, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the board of adjustment, a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof, and paying a filing fee in the amount of $50.00. No action shall be taken by the board of adjustment until the filing fee has been paid. This fee shall not be refunded should the person making the request fail to make formal presentation or should the requested appeal or variance be denied. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

WHEREAS, The current fee for water service sold by the City of Panhandle is as follows:

Bulk Water Sales472

Water Vendor: Each 250 gallons$ 0.75

Fire Hydrant:

Meter Connection fee$50.00

Each 1,000 gallons$ 2.50

Open/Transfer Water Account$10.00472

Reconnect Fee$30.00472

Water Service Deposit$50.00472

Water Rates530

Residential:

First 2,000 gallons minimum$7.00

Each 1,000 gallons over Minimum $ 2.50

Commercial:

First 2000 gallons minimum $7.00

Each 1,000 gallons over min.$2.50

Industrial:

First 2000 gallons minimum $7.00

Each 1,000 gallons over min. $2.50

For water service outside the City limits, the rates are 1 and 1/2 times the above amounts.

Water Taps (Meter size)472

Three quarters of an inch$ 510.00

One inch$ 625.00

One and one half inch$ 950.00

Two inch$1200.00

Two and one half inch or larger: Cost of materials plus labor

For taps made outside the City limits, the charge is 1 1/2 times the above rates.

Severability

If any section, subsection, sentence, paragraph, clause or phrase of these Ordinance(s) is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Panhandle hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, paragraph, clause or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, paragraphs, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid.

WHEREAS, the availability of these services shall be in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code §212.012.

WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Council desire to maintain financial responsibility and have determined that in the best interest of the City of Panhandle, a rate increase is necessary.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Panhandle the following rates and fees are adopted and effective beginning with service on October 1, 2008 and will be reflected on utility billings mailed on November 1, 2008;

  1. Water rates shall be as follows:

Bulk Water Sales541

Water Vendor: Each 250 gallons$ 0.75

Fire Hydrant:

Meter Connection fee$50.00

Each 1,000 gallons$ 3.00

Open/Transfer Water Account$20.00541

Reconnect Fee$60.00541

Water Service Deposit$75.00541

Water Rates541

Residential:

First 2,000 gallons minimum$13.00

Each 1,000 gallons over Minimum $ 2.50

Commercial:

First 2000 gallons minimum$13.00

Each 1,000 gallons over min.$2.50

Industrial:

First 2000 gallons minimum $13.00

Each 1,000 gallons over min. $2.50

For water service outside the City limits, the rates are 1 and 1/2 times the above amounts.

Water Taps (Meter size)472

Three quarters of an inch$ 510.00

One inch$ 625.00

One and one half inch$ 950.00

Two inch$1200.00

Two and one half inch or larger: Cost of materials plus labor

For taps made outside the City limits, the charge is 1 1/2 times the above rates.

II. Solid Waste Collection Fees are as follows:

a)Fair and reasonable charges to the owner, occupant, tenant, or lessee based on the volume of garbage shall be and are hereby shown in terms of dollars and cents for the different types of premises served for a calendar month as follows:

CATEGORY / CHARGE
I / $17.25
II / $29.90
III / $44.25
IV / $60.50
V / $75.25
VI / $60.50 (minimum)

(b)Category VI. The charges for special services shall be calculated in the following manner: $10.50 per cubic yard of container size, times the number of collections per week, with a minimum charge of $52.50 per month.

(c)Categories of customers shall be determined by the following minimum criteria:

(1)Category I: Residential, single-family dwellings, duplexes (per unit), apartments (per unit), mobile home parks (per unit space, whether occupied or not, unless on individual water meters).

(2)Category II: Professional services, churches, and light retail.

(3)Category III: Retail, service stations, and automobile repair garages.

(4)Category IV: Food stores, restaurants, and hotels/motels of not more than ten (10) units.

(5)Category V: Commercial.

(6)Category VI: Special services, including location of a container at a designated location requested by the customer for the sole use and convenience of the customer, collection at times or frequency other than that designated by the city, or providing a container of greater capacity than, in the opinion of the designated city official, is necessary for normal accumulation of refuse at that location. The charges for special services shall be calculated in the following manner: $10.50 per cubic yard of container size, times the number of collections per week, with a minimum charge of $60.50 per month.

(d)Customers in Category I shall be scheduled to receive collection once weekly. Customers in Categories II-VI shall be scheduled to receive collection twice weekly.

(e)Any customer outside the corporate limits of the City of Panhandle, Texas, which is provided refuse collection services by the city shall, in addition to the charges established by the appropriate category of service, pay a fifty percent (50%) surcharge for said service.

(f)Premises not specifically enumerated in the above schedule and those listed in the above schedules which are found by the city manager not to be fair and equitable will be classified in a different category to be determined by the city manager.

III.Extra Service Fees are as follows:

(a)The city will provide special pickup service for items which are too large or not appropriate for disposal in the city dumpsters. This service will be furnished after a request for such is made to city hall and scheduled by the director of public works. The service will be provided only in accordance with the schedule established by the director of public works. The city will not provide pickup service for trash accumulated through the services of paid professionals. Such accumulations will be disposed of by the professional or the one paying for the services. Items of unusually large size or weight, such asautomobile frames, and used tires will not be picked up by the city truck.

(b)The rates to be charged for special pickup services and location of a dump truck at a residence are changed to read as follows:

Minimum Charge / $21.00 per load
Dump Truck Load / $60.00 per load

(c)The charge for the location of a dump truck at a residence and the disposal of the waste is a follows:

Dump Truck Located at Residence / $38.50 per load – SmallTruck
$77.00 per load – Large Truck

IV. Variance Fee is as follows:

(b)(1)Appeals to the board of adjustment can be taken by any person aggrieved by a decision of any administrative officer of the City of Panhandle concerning the interpretation or enforcement of this article, or by any office or department of the municipality affected by any decision of such administrative officer. Such appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days time after the decision has been rendered by the administrative officer, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the board of adjustment, a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof, and paying a filing fee in the amount of $100.00. No action shall be taken by the board of adjustment until the filing fee has been paid. This fee shall not be refunded should the person making the request fail to make formal presentation or should the requested appeal or variance be denied. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

V. Severability

If any section, subsection, sentence, paragraph, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Panhandle hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, paragraph, clause or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, paragraphs, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid.

VI.Ordinances Repealed

This Ordinance repeals Applicable sections named above in relation to Ordinance Number 472 and 530. Any other Ordinances, or parts thereof, in conflict with this Ordinance are expressly repealed.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of October 2008

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Mayor Dan Looten, City of Panhandle

ATTEST:

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City Secretary Connie McKiernan

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