§ 160A-314. Authority to fix and enforce rates.
§ 160A‑314. Authorityto fix and enforce rates.
(a) A city mayestablish and revise from time to time schedules of rents, rates, fees,charges, and penalties for the use of or the services furnished by any publicenterprise. Schedules of rents, rates, fees, charges, and penalties may varyaccording to classes of service, and different schedules may be adopted forservices provided outside the corporate limits of the city.
(a1) (1) Beforeit establishes or revises a schedule of rates, fees, charges, or penalties forstormwater management programs and structural and natural stormwater anddrainage systems under this section, the city council shall hold a publichearing on the matter. A notice of the hearing shall be given at least once ina newspaper having general circulation in the area, not less than seven daysbefore the public hearing. The hearing may be held concurrently with the publichearing on the proposed budget ordinance.
(2) The fees establishedunder this subsection must be made applicable throughout the area of the city.Schedules of rates, fees, charges, and penalties for providing stormwatermanagement programs and structural and natural stormwater and drainage systemservice may vary according to whether the property served is residential, commercial,or industrial property, the property's use, the size of the property, the areaof impervious surfaces on the property, the quantity and quality of the runofffrom the property, the characteristics of the watershed into which stormwaterfrom the property drains, and other factors that affect the stormwater drainagesystem. Rates, fees, and charges imposed under this subsection may not exceedthe city's cost of providing a stormwater management program and a structuraland natural stormwater and drainage system. The city's cost of providing astormwater management program and a structural and natural stormwater anddrainage system includes any costs necessary to assure that all aspects ofstormwater quality and quantity are managed in accordance with federal andState laws, regulations, and rules.
(3) No stormwaterutility fee may be levied under this subsection whenever two or more units oflocal government operate separate stormwater management programs or separatestructural and natural stormwater and drainage system services in the same areawithin a county. However, two or more units of local government may allocateamong themselves the functions, duties, powers, and responsibilities forjointly operating a stormwater management program and structural and naturalstormwater and drainage system service in the same area within a county,provided that only one unit may levy a fee for the service within the jointservice area. For purposes of this subsection, a unit of local government shallinclude a regional authority providing stormwater management programs andstructural and natural stormwater and drainage system services.
(a2) A fee for the use ofa disposal facility provided by the city may vary based on the amount,characteristics, and form of recyclable materials present in solid wastebrought to the facility for disposal. This section does not prohibit a cityfrom providing aid to low‑income persons to pay all or part of the costof solid waste management services for those persons.
(b) A city shall havepower to collect delinquent accounts by any remedy provided by law forcollecting and enforcing private debts, and may specify by ordinance the orderin which partial payments are to be applied among the various enterpriseservices covered by a bill for the services. A city may also discontinueservice to any customer whose account remains delinquent for more than 10 days.When service is discontinued for delinquency, it shall be unlawful for anyperson other than a duly authorized agent or employee of the city to do any actthat results in a resumption of services. If a delinquent customer is not theowner of the premises to which the services are delivered, the payment of thedelinquent account may not be required before providing services at the requestof a new and different tenant or occupant of the premises, but this restrictionshall not apply when the premises are occupied by two or more tenants whoseservices are measured by the same meter.
(b1) A city shall not doany of the following in its debt collection practices:
(1) Suspend ordisconnect service to a customer because of a past‑due and unpaid balancefor service incurred by another person who resides with the customer afterservice has been provided to the customer's household, unless one or more ofthe following apply:
a. The customer and theperson were members of the same household at a different location when theunpaid balance for service was incurred.
b. The person was amember of the customer's current household when the service was established,and the person had an unpaid balance for service at that time.
c. The person is orbecomes responsible for the bill for the service to the customer.
(2) Require that inorder to continue service, a customer must agree to be liable for the delinquentaccount of any other person who will reside in the customer's household afterthe customer receives the service, unless one or more of the following apply:
a. The customer and theperson were members of the same household at a different location when theunpaid balance for service was incurred.
b. The person was amember of the customer's current household when the service was established,and the person had an unpaid balance for service at that time.
(b2) Notwithstanding theprovisions of subsection (b1) of this section, if a customer misrepresents hisor her identity in a written or verbal agreement for service or receivesservice using another person's identity, the city shall have the power tocollect a delinquent account using any remedy provided by subsection (b) ofthis section from that customer.
(c) Except as providedin subsection (d) of this section and G.S. 160A‑314.1, rents, rates,fees, charges, and penalties for enterprisory services shall be legalobligations of the person contracting for them, and shall in no case be a lienupon the property or premises served, provided that no contract shall benecessary in the case of structural and natural stormwater and drainagesystems.
(d) Notwithstandingsubsection (b1) of this section, rents, rates, fees, charges, and penalties forenterprisory services shall be legal obligations of the owner of the premisesserved when:
(1) The property orpremises is leased or rented to more than one tenant and services rendered tomore than one tenant are measured by the same meter.
(2) Charges made for useof a sewage system are billed separately from charges made for the use of awater distribution system.
(e) Nothing in thissection shall repeal any portion of any city charter inconsistent herewith. (1971, c. 698, s. 1; 1991,c. 591, s. 1; c. 652, s. 4; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1007, s. 46; 1995 (Reg.Sess., 1996), c. 594, s. 28; 2000‑70, s. 4; 2009‑302, s. 3(a),(b).)