01/15/90 Board of Public Works Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 15, 1990 RESOLUTION NO. 1-1990 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF WATER WORKS COMMISSIONERS AND OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA AUTHORIZING AN INCREASE TO THE WATER AND SEWER SECURITY DEPOSITS ASSESSED AGAINST CUSTOMERS OF THE SOUTH BEND WATER WORKS WHEREAS, the approved water rate tariff of the South Bend Water Works (hereafter the "Water Works") issued February 5, 1987 pursuant to Order Number 37995 by the Indiana Public Service Commission, now the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (hereafter the "IURC"), authorizes the Water Works to assess a security deposit of "no more than one -sixth of the estimated annual bill for each meter size;" and WHEREAS, the South Bend Public Utilities Rules, Regulations & Policy, revised June 1, 1987, authorizes the assessment of a security deposit of "no greater than one -sixth of the estimated annual bill for water and sewer service to the applicant;" and WHEREAS, the security deposits currently assessed against customers of the Water Works are as follows: Meter Size Current Deposit Up to 1" $ 12 12" $ 15 2" $ 30 3" $ 45 4" $ 75 6" $120 8" $198 10" $220 12" $240; and WHEREAS, rules governing the operation of the Water Works provide, in essence, for the extension of service and credit to water/sewer customers, secured only by the indicated deposit, for up to approximately three (3) months, before water service may legally be terminated; and WHEREAS, the average charges assessed a Water Works customer for three (3) months service, assuming monthly consumption of 10.40 ccf water and 7.08 ccf sewage on a 5/8" meter, and including tax and insurance, is Sixty -One Dollars and Fourteen Cents ($61.14); and WHEREAS, the minimal deposit of Twelve Dollars ($12.00) on a 5/8" meter account, in light of the possible extension of service and credit, three (3) months service end, is insufficient security to cover that extension of credit and provides no incentive for a Water Works customer to pay his or her bill; and WHEREAS, a similar circumstance exists in the case of all metered water/sewer accounts; and WHEREAS, the Water Works security deposit schedule has been in place for approximately twenty-five (25) years, since its implementation in 1964; and WHEREAS, the following adjustments to the security deposit schedule under which the Water Works is currently operating, is hereby found by the Board of Public Works and the Board of Water Works Commissioners of the City of South Bend to be just, equitable, reasonable, fair, within the terms of the approved tariff, and no greater than one -sixth the average annual