§ 16.30.080. Stormwater drainage fee collection.

(a)

The drainage fee shall be billed and collected monthly with the monthly water and sewer utility bill for those properties utilizing other city utilities and shall be billed and collected separately at intervals as set by the director for those properties not utilizing other city utilities. The drainage fee for those properties utilizing other city utilities shall be part of a consolidated statement for utility customers which shall be paid by a single payment. In the event that a partial payment is received, the payment shall be applied to the water and sewer portion of the account first and then to the drainage fee portion of the account. Unless otherwise provided for herein, all bills for drainage fees shall become due and payable in accordance with sections of the code of the city and with rules and regulations that pertain to the Wichita water and sewer utility that relates to the collection of utility charges. Drainage fee bills for any given property shall initially be the responsibility of the person who is paying for water and/or sewer service for the property. If the property is not using water and/or sewer services, then drainage fees shall be the responsibility of the person in possession of the property, unless other arrangements are made. If no person is in possession of the property, then the drainage fees shall be the responsibility of the property owner. The property owner is responsible for the drainage fees not paid by the occupant.

(b)

Drainage fees shall be subject to a penalty for late payment which is the same as that imposed for late payment of water and sewer utility charges. In addition to any other remedies or penalties provided by this chapter or any other ordinance of the city, failure of any user of the stormwater management system to pay such charges promptly when due shall subject such user to discontinuance of water services and the city manager of the city, or the city manager's designee, is empowered and directed to enforce this provision as to any and all delinquent users in accordance with provision set forth in Chapter 17.12. Users shall be entitled to notice and shall have the right to a hearing in accordance with Chapter 17.12 before such users' water service is discontinued for failure to pay drainage fees.

(c)

Drainage fees authorized to be charged in this chapter when delinquent may be certified by the clerk of the city to the county clerk of Sedgwick County to be placed on the tax roll for collection, subject to the same penalties and to be collected in like manner as other taxes, and such charges shall, thereafter, constitute a lien upon the real estate served by the stormwater utility and against which such charges were made, regardless of whether the drainage fees were incurred when a property owner was in possession of the property or a nonowner was in possession of the property.

(Ord. No. 41-948 § 8)