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A.
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Abatements of sewer use charges may be granted by the
Superintendent of the wastewater treatment plant upon application of a
ratepayer, where the ratepayer can demonstrate that a loss of water occurred
due to no fault of the ratepayer, his or her agents or employees. Abatement
requests from commercial properties will be considered only if the loss of
water was from building services (furnace, toilet, water heater, etc.), not
from equipment used in the course of business, or unless otherwise allowed by
§ 252-25I of the Bangor Code. Ratepayers are responsible for exercising
due care in the maintenance of their water and sewer systems to prevent water
losses. For purposes of abatement, "due care" shall be defined as
the normal and reasonable steps which would be taken by a prudent individual
in operating and maintaining his or her sewer systems. A property whose owner
has requested more than one abatement in any twelve-month
period shall be subject to a property inspection by the Bangor Code
Enforcement Division to verify compliance with the City of Bangor's Property Maintenance Code Editor's Note: See
Ch. 223, Property Maintenance Code. and to ascertain whether
due care is being exercised by the property owner. The inspection report,
along with the abatement request, will be referred to the appropriate
committee of the City Council. To be considered, a request for abatement must
be made within 120 days of the billing date of the bill in question. [Amended
2-12-2001 by Ord. No. 01-46]
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B.
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Valid reasons for a request for abatement include, but are not
necessarily limited to, unanticipated water pipe breakage, plumbing fixture
malfunction, heating system malfunction and vandalism. Upon notice or
knowledge of such circumstances, the ratepayer is responsible for taking
appropriate and timely action to remedy the problem.
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C.
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The Superintendent shall be responsible for researching the
basis for the requested abatement in light of the due care standard
established in Subsection A above. He or she shall
make a record of the results of the investigation, which shall include an
estimate of the amount of water lost. The estimate of water lost shall be
based on a minimum of the previous four quarters of water consumption, if
available, and consideration of seasonal water use patterns. This estimate of
water loss shall be used to calculate the amount of the abatement should one
be granted.
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D.
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When an abatement is granted, the amount
of the abatement shall be calculated based on the total sewer use charge for
the estimated amount of water lost less the cost to convey and pump the
estimated amount of water lost through the sewer system and treatment plant.
The Superintendent shall be responsible for calculating, on an annual basis,
the cost to convey and pump uncontaminated water through the sewer system and
treatment plant. The basis for this calculation shall be the prior fiscal
year's operation and maintenance costs of the system and plant.
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E.
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When an abatement is granted, the
Superintendent shall be responsible for taking the necessary steps to correct
the appropriate billing records to reflect the abatement or to process a
credit where the sewer use charge in question has been paid. Abatements
granted shall be used to credit past due balances (oldest first) on any sewer
bill(s) owed by the applicant prior to issuance of a refund for overpayment. [Amended
2-24-2003 by Ord. No. 03-77]
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F.
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Any abatement exceeding $500 must be reported to and confirmed
by the appropriate committee of the City Council prior to final approval and
the processing of a correction or credit.
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G.
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Any ratepayer who disagrees with the decision of the
Superintendent to deny an abatement or with the
amount of an abatement calculated by the Superintendent may, within 30 days
of the date the ratepayer is notified of the Superintendent's decision,
appeal the decision to the appropriate committee of the City Council.
Appropriate City staff shall notify the ratepayer of the date, time and
location of the meeting at which the appeal will be considered. In order for
the appeal to be considered, the ratepayer and/or his or her representative
must be present at the meeting. At the request of the ratepayer, consideration
of the appeal may be postponed to a future meeting to be held within 60 days
of the date established for the original meeting. Failure of the ratepayer to
appear before the committee at the originally scheduled meeting or at a
subsequent meeting called at the ratepayer's request shall result in the
denial of the appeal. The decision of the appropriate committee of the City
Council shall be final.
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H.
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Abatements shall not be granted for water used for watering
lawns or gardens, filling swimming pools or other outside water uses.
Ratepayers may, however, at their own cost, install a secondary water meter
that will measure only water used for outside water use purposes and/or only
for purposes of filling indoor swimming pools. [Amended 9-10-2001 by Ord. No. 01-343]
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(1)
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Installation of the meter must be by a permit granted by the
Superintendent or his or her designee. The installation must also be
permitted by appropriate City staff to ensure that the meter meets all
requirements of the Plumbing and Building Codes Editor's Note: See
Ch. 81, Building Code, and Ch. 211, Plumbing Code. and is used only to
measure water actually used for outside water use purposes. The City
Council may establish, by order, appropriate fees for this permit.
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(2)
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The City reserves the right to periodically inspect such
meters to ensure continued compliance with the requirements of this
Subsection H. Should it be determined that violations of this Subsection H
have occurred, the permit for this secondary meter shall be revoked, and
the ratepayer shall be subject to a fine equal to the amount the ratepayer
would have been charged in sewer use fees since the date of installation of
the secondary meter or for eight full quarters, whichever shall be the
lesser.
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(3)
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The ratepayer shall be responsible for reporting to the
Superintendent or his or her designee the reading on the secondary meter.
This report must be made no later than three working days after the date
the ratepayer's primary water meter is normally read. Failure to report the
reading in a timely matter will result in any adjustment appearing on the
ratepayer's next quarterly bill subject to the provisions of
§ 252-25E, above. If adjustment is applied to the next quarterly bill,
the adjustment will not exceed the quarterly sewer bill. [Amended
2-24-2003 by Ord. No. 03-77]
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(4)
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Where a secondary meter is installed, the ratepayer will be
granted an abatement equal to the water metered
through the submeter, in hundreds of cubic feet,
multiplied by the current sewer rate, subject to the limitation stated in
Subsection H above.
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I.
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Any ratepayer which uses water in its end manufactured product
which is shipped from the ratepayer's facility or in the process of
manufacturing a product or providing a service and where such water does not
enter into the sewer system, either in whole or in part, may apply for an
abatement of the sewer use fee equal to that portion of the water which does
not reach the City's sewer system.
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(1)
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The applicant shall bear the burden of providing the necessary
proof and documentation as to the amount of water used which does not enter
into the sewer system. Adequate documentation must accompany the request
for abatement and must clearly demonstrate the quantity of water used which
does not enter into the sewer system. All such requests for abatement shall
be made to the Superintendent, who shall be responsible for researching the
basis for the abatement as well as the adequacy of the information
provided.
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(2)
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The Superintendent shall provide to the appropriate Council
committee his or her recommendation as to whether the abatement should or
should not be granted. The appropriate Council committee shall make the
final determination as to whether the abatement shall or shall not be
granted.
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(3)
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All such abatements shall be limited to a period of no more
than three years. At the end of this period, the ratepayer may apply for a
new abatement. During the period in which an abatement
is in effect and for one year following the expiration of the abatement,
the City reserves the right to periodically inspect the ratepayer's
premises and records to ensure that the ratepayer is in compliance with the
abatement. Should it be determined that the information provided by the
ratepayer is invalid, that changes have occurred in the ratepayer's
processes which have the effect of increasing the amount of water reaching
the sewer system or that more water is reaching the sewer system than
reported by the ratepayer, the Superintendent may revoke the abatement, and
the ratepayer shall be subject to a revised user charge equal to the full
value of the abatement for the prior three-year period or the period in
which a current or prior abatement was in effect, whichever is lesser.
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(4)
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The amount of the abatement shall equal the full sewer use
charge for water documented not to reach the sewer system less a quarterly
charge established by order adopted by the City Council to recover expenses
associated with administering the abatement.
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J.
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Development discounts.
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(1)
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The appropriate Council committee, at its sole discretion, may
approve, subject to the following provisions, a sewer use charge discount
for new businesses or existing businesses which expand. Such discounts will
be available based on the number of full-time equivalent new jobs created
by the business. The discount shall be limited to the capital portion of
the sewer user charge. Any discounts granted shall be authorized for a
period not to exceed five years and shall proportionately decrease each
year. The sewer use discount shall be computed in accordance with the
percentages and job creation categories shown on the following table.
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Development
Discount Sewer Use
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Computation Table
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Number of Jobs Created
(Full-Time Equivalent)
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Percentage
Discount
Capital Portion of Sewer Use Fee
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Year 1
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Year 2
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Year 3
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Year 4
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Year 5
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100+
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100
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80
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60
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40
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20
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75 to 99
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80
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64
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48
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32
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16
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50 to 74
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60
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48
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36
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24
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12
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25 to 49
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40
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32
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24
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16
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8
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10 to 24
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20
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16
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12
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8
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4
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9 or fewer
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(2)
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Any business which has been granted a development discount
must, on an annual basis, report to the Sewer Treatment Superintendent the
number of new full-time equivalent jobs which continue to exist. Should
this number either increase or decrease to the extent that the business
receiving the discount moves from one job creation category to another, the
discount shown in the computation table shown above for the number of new
full-time equivalent jobs then reported shall apply for that year of the
five-year discount period.
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(3)
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In order to be eligible for such discount, the business
seeking it must be located within the corporate boundaries of the City of Bangor, be subject to
the payment of full municipal property taxes and have made a significant
investment in an existing or new facility. A "significant
investment" shall be defined as the construction of a new facility or
the investment of an amount equal to at least 20% of the preexisting
assessed value of an existing facility in renovation, expansion or
equipment costs associated with the location or expansion of the business.
This discount shall not be available to businesses which have purchased
other existing businesses, unless additional new employment is created or
the business purchased has not been in operation for a minimum period of
six months. It shall also not be available to businesses which recall
laid-off workers or increase employment due to a prior reduction in force,
unless such layoffs or reductions have been in effect for a period of more
than one year.
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