Chapter 12.10 UTILITY SERVICE BILLING REGULATIONS


Section 12.10.080 Estimated bills.

    1. Whenever it comes to the attention of the director that a meter is inaccurate as defined in section 12.10.070, the director shall adjust the customer's bill for the period that the meter was inaccurate.  If the adjustment results in a credit, there shall be an adjustment on the customer's next regular bill.  If the adjustment results in a debit, the additional charge shall be made on the customer's next regular bill.  The estimated amount of overcharge or undercharge is to be based on the period the error first developed or occurred.  If that period cannot be determined, it will be assumed the overregistration or underregistration existed for a period equal to one-half the time since the meter was last tested, or one-half the time since the meter was installed.

    2. Whenever it comes to the attention of the director that a meter in service was not registering, the director shall prepare and render an estimated bill for the period that the meter failed to register.

    3. Any estimated bill shall be prepared and rendered for a billing period for which the city was unable to read a customer's meter or obtain a reading from the customer’s automatic meter reading device.
    4. For the period of inaccuracy or for the period when a meter in service did not register or a reading was not obtained, the finance and  administrative services director shall estimate the charge for the water and sewer usage by averaging the amount registered over a similar period preceding or subsequent to the period of inaccuracy or when the meter had not been read for a corresponding period in previous years, adjusting for any changes in the customer's usage.
    5. Billing adjustments due to fast and slow meters shall be calculated on the basis that the meter should be one hundred percent accurate.  For the purpose of billing adjustment, the meter error shall be one-half of the algebraic sum of the error at maximum test flow plus the error at intermediate test flow. (Ord. 2006-0415; 2004-0795; 98/U-6342; 91/T-9469; S-40615, 1980)