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Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 2020-189, adopted 12-21-2020, repealed and reennacted Ch. 13. For historical information on former Ch. 13 and amendments to that chapter consult the Comparison Table and Disposition List at the end of the Code.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates,
CUSTOMER
Means a person who purchases or obtains utility services from the Town, and may include the owner of real property, a person with a leasehold interest in the real property or any other person entitled to possession of such real property.
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY
Means a structure or portion thereof designed to house two (2) or more families, with each dwelling unit having a separate entrance.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED
Means a residential structure designed to house a single-family unit from lowest level to roof, with private outside entrance but not necessarily occupying a private lot, and sharing a common wall between adjoining dwelling units.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED
Means a residential structure designed to house a single-family unit with private outside entrance but without common walls between the dwelling units.
DWELLING UNIT
Means a housing unit designed and used for occupancy by a single individual or a family containing cooking, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities and having a separate entrance as required by the building code adopted by the Town.
MAY
Is permissive (see shall).
MULTIFAMILY
Means a development of buildings or portions thereof which contain three (3) or more dwelling units.
OWNER
Means any person having title to or right of ownership in property, excluding mineral owners, and shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common or joint tenant.
PERSON
Means an individual, a partnership, an association, a corporation, a municipality or any other legal entity, public or private.
PROPERTY
Means the property, including but not necessarily limited to the building, lot, parcel, house or dwelling, to which the Town provides or is requested to provide utility services.
SHALL
Is mandatory (see may).
SUBDIVISION or SUBDIVIDING
Means any division of any parcel of land where additional water taps are requested or additional water is necessary to provide adequate water service to property.
TOWN
Means the Town of Johnstown.
TOWN MANAGER
Means the Town Manager of the Town of Johnstown, Colorado.
TOWN WATER SERVICE or WATER SERVICE
Means treated water service or raw water service furnished by the Town for any purpose, including but not limited to domestic, commercial and industrial uses.
UTILITY SERVICE
Means water and sewer services.
WATER SYSTEM
Means the water system owned and operated by the Town. The system includes, without limitation, the Town's water, water rights, water treatment facilities, water storage facilities, pipe network, pumps and other facilities and equipment used to produce and supply water.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
The Town Manager is hereby delegated the authority to administer the provisions of this Chapter. Among other duties and obligations, the Town Manager may prescribe forms and rules and regulations in conformity with this Chapter and implement procedures for the ascertainment, computation and collection of the fees imposed hereunder. Subject to the limitations of the Code, the Town Manager may delegate the administration of this Chapter, or any part thereof, to duly qualified employees and agents of the Town.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
(a) 
Utility service provided to property pursuant to the terms of this Chapter shall be deemed to be provided at the request and with the consent of the owner of said property, unless and until the Town receives written notice of said owner's withdrawal of such consent.
(b) 
The owner, regardless of whether the owner is the customer, shall be liable for all utility services charges provided to the owner's property. No change of ownership shall affect the application of this Chapter. The failure of any owner to learn that such owner purchased property against which a lien for utility services exists does not affect the owner's liability for such payment in full and is not a basis for any claim of any kind whatsoever against the Town.
(c) 
The customer shall be responsible for maintenance of facilities required to provide utility services located on the customer's side of the point of delivery.
(d) 
The customer shall hold the Town harmless and indemnify the Town against any and all claims and liability for injury to persons or damage to property when such injury or damage results from or is occasioned by the facilities located on the customer's side of the point of delivery unless caused by the negligence of the Town's employees or agents. The customer shall pay all costs that may be incurred by the Town in enforcing this indemnity.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
(a) 
Each customer or applicant for utility service shall provide the Town with all requested information to initiate, modify or terminate utility services, including but not limited to information regarding the customer, the owner and the property. The Town may require any person requesting the initiation, modification or termination of utility service to produce a government issued photo identification.
(b) 
If, after utility service is activated, there is any change in the information provided to the Town, the customer shall notify the Town within thirty (30) days of such change.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly provide any untrue, deceptive or misleading information to the Town in connection with the provision of utility services. A violation of this Section shall be punishable as provided in Article IV of Chapter 1 of the Code and may constitute grounds for disconnection of utility services.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
Unless otherwise required by law, the Town shall not disclose utility account information, except to:
(1) 
A peace officer, employee or officer responsible for enforcement of the Code, upon the provision of satisfactory evidence that the inspection is reasonably related to the authority and duties of such peace officer, employee or responsible officer;
(2) 
The owner of real property to which a utility account applies;
(3) 
The public in an aggregated or statistical form so classified as to prevent identification, location or habits of individual customers; or
(4) 
Persons within the Town's organization or to Town contractors, so long as the release of the information is conditioned upon reasonable precautions and requirements to prevent disclosure of said information to the public.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
Unless the Town Manager determines that a different process is warranted for a particular property, the following billing procedures shall apply:
(1) 
Utility bills shall be sent to the customer once per month, via U.S. Mail or electronic delivery, as applicable. The Town's failure to forward a utility bill shall not constitute a waiver of any fee or charge imposed by this Chapter.
(2) 
All charges for Town utilities shall be due and payable within fifteen (15) days after the date of the utility bill.
(3) 
Payment of any utility charge shall be considered delinquent if not received in the Town offices before the close of business on the last day specified for payment.
(4) 
Late fees shall be assessed twenty (20) days after the date of the utility bill on all accounts with an outstanding balance.
(5) 
Monthly service charges shall be billed to each meter in use regardless of whether any quantity charge is made. A meter is considered to be in use as long as it is in place.
(6) 
Payments toward amounts owed for utility services shall be applied first to delinquent amounts, then to late fees, then to restoration fees and then to current service fees.
(7) 
If payment of any utility charge imposed pursuant to this Chapter is made by a dishonored check, a non-sufficient funds fee shall be assessed.
(8) 
If utility service is terminated due to a transfer of ownership on dates other than established billing dates, the Town shall only prorate the charge for water services, but not for sewer services.
(9) 
All utility service charges, late charges, service fees, non-sufficient funds fees, reconnect fees and other associated fees shall be assessed in the amount set forth by resolution of the Town Council in the Town Fee Schedule.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
(a) 
If utility services are not paid as provided in this Article, in addition to the imposition of late fees and other charges provided in this Article, the Town may avail itself of any or any combination of the following remedies:
(1) 
The Town may consider any utility service fee a lien upon the owner's property from the time when due and a perpetual charge against such property until paid. The lien shall be considered prior and superior to all other liens, claims, titles and encumbrances, whether prior in time or not, except liens for general taxes. The Town may foreclose any lien imposed by this Chapter in accordance with the law.
(2) 
The Town may maintain an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of the charge due and collect interest, costs and attorney's fees.
(3) 
The Town may certify the amount of the charge due to the county clerk and treasurer, together with an assessment fee, which shall thereafter become an assessment upon the property served and be collected and paid over to the Town in the same manner as taxes.
(4) 
The Town may discontinue utility services pursuant to the following procedure:
a. 
The Town shall send written notice to the customer and, if the customer is not also the owner, to the owner, at the last known address available to the Town, providing that, absent timely full payment of all amounts due, services will be discontinued as of the date specified in the notice;
b. 
Within the time allotted in the notice, the customer or owner, as appropriate, may pay the outstanding amounts due or may file a written protest with the Town Manager;
c. 
If a written protest is filed, the Town Manager shall determine whether to discontinue the utility service and provide written notice to the customer and owner, if appropriate, of his or her decision, along with an additional opportunity to pay the outstanding amounts; and
d. 
If outstanding amounts are not paid and utility services are discontinued as provided herein, such services shall not be reinstated until all amounts due are paid to the Town, unless the Town Manager agrees to a payment plan. If the Town Manager agrees to a payment plan, utility services may be discontinued if the customer does not comply with the payment plan without providing the notices set forth above.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
(a) 
If more than one dwelling unit, including but not limited to multi-family dwelling units, commercial buildings or other such properties, is served by a common meter, thus by means other than by metering the consumption of each individual unit, any act or omission by any person served by a common meter constitutes a joint act of all persons served through such common meter.
(b) 
The Town shall issue only one utility bill for utility services to dwelling units with a common meter. While the customers may proportion the payment of the utility bill among themselves, as to the Town, each customer shall be liable for payment of the utility bill in full. If the utility bill is not paid in full when due, the Town may impose fees or undertake any remedies provided in this Article.
(c) 
If the Town desires to discontinue utility services to dwelling units with a common meter, the Town shall send written notice to each customer and, if the customers are not also the owners, to the owners, at the last known address available to the Town, providing that, absent full payment of all amounts due, services will be discontinued as of the date specified in the notice. The Town shall thereafter comply with the disconnection procedures set forth in this Article.
(d) 
For dwelling units with a common meter, the lien for unpaid utility fees attaches upon each separate unit in an amount computed by dividing the total amount of the lien by the number of units served by the common meter.
(e) 
No person who has complied with the rules and regulations relating to utility services who has paid a proportionate or other share of the charges outstanding or remaining unpaid may file a claim for damages against the Town because utility services have been discontinued as provided in this Article.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020; Ord. No. 2025-266, 3-17-2025]
(a) 
In connection with the necessary discharge of their duties and the enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter, authorized Town personnel shall, at all reasonable times, have safe access to property within or without the Town served by water or sewer utilities for any purpose incidental to supplying or disconnecting such utility service.
(b) 
Customers shall provide access to meters and utility service equipment located on the customer's property for proper administration and billing of utility services. Such access includes non-intrusive, automatic drop out access to the customer's service for remote reading of meters by the utilities when such service is available. If any meter cannot be read or access to utility service equipment is not provided for three (3) consecutive months, the Town shall provide written notice to the customer and, if the owner is not the customer, to the owner providing that the condition must be corrected by a date certain or the Town may discontinue service until access is accomplished.
(c) 
Whenever the Town has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in or upon any property a condition or violation which makes such property unsafe, dangerous or hazardous or presents a significant, immediate danger to human health or the environment, authorized Town personnel may enter such property to inspect it and, if required, perform any authorized act to bring the property to a safe condition.
(d) 
If property is occupied at the time entry is required, authorized Town personnel shall first present proper credentials and request entry. If such property is unoccupied, except in the case of an emergency as described above, authorized Town personnel shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner, customer or other person having charge or control of the property. If such entry is refused, the Town shall have recourse to pursue remedies provided by law to secure entry.
(e) 
When the Town has obtained an inspection warrant or other remedy provided by law to secure entry, no owner, customer, occupant or other person having charge or control of the property shall fail or neglect, after proper request, to promptly permit entry therein by authorized Town personnel for the purpose of inspection and examination pursuant to this Chapter.
(f) 
Owners or such other persons having charge or control of property shall permit the Town or other utility providers, as appropriate, to trim the limbs and branches of trees, bushes and shrubs to the extent that such trimming is reasonably necessary to avoid interference with utility lines, streetlights, or other equipment or to allow access to meters or other equipment on said property or in the public right-of-way.
(g) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, authorized Town personnel shall have the right to enter property at all reasonable times, upon notice from the Town, for the purpose of maintenance, inspection, or replacement of indoor water meters. Customers are required to provide access to the indoor water meters within thirty (30) days of the Town's notice. If a customer fails to provide access within this timeframe, the Town may, at its discretion, assess a fee in the amount set forth by resolution of the Town Council in the Town Fee Schedule, which fee will be added to the monthly utility bill until access is granted.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
Any person requesting either water or sewer service for a property that is outside the Town boundaries must first annex such property to the Town to be included within the Town boundaries prior to the Town extending either water or sewer service.
[Ord. No. 2020-189, 12-21-2020]
For good cause, consistent with the purposes of the provisions contained herein, Town Council may substitute, modify or waive any condition or requirement contained in this Chapter.