Service Fees
Unless specifically defined in the MHWSC's Tariff: all fees, rates, and charges as stated shall be non-refundable.
1. ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS
In the event any federal, state or local government imposes on the Corporation a “per meter” fee or an assessment based on a percent of water/sewer charges, this fee or assessment will be billed and collected as a “pass through” charge to the customer.
2. ASSESSMENTS
If at the end of the fiscal year, or in the event of emergency repairs, the Board of Directors determines the total amount derived from the collection of water or wastewater charges to be insufficient for the payment of all costs incident to the operation of the Corporation’s system during the year in which such charges are collected, the Board shall make and levy an assessment against each Member of the Corporation as the Board may determine or as may be required by Rural Development, so that the sum of such assessments and the amount collected from water and other charges is sufficient to fully pay all costs of the operation, maintenance, replacement and repayment on indebtedness for the year’s operations.
3. BILLING STUB FEE
A fee of $1.00 will be charged to customers who do not provide the return-billing stub with payments. This applies to all payments made to the Corporation whether mailed or hand delivered.
4. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FEE
In addition to the Membership Fee, each applicant shall be required to contribute capital in an amount projected to defray the cost of up-grading system facilities to meet growth demands created by adding customers. This fee shall be assessed immediately prior to providing service or reserving service on a per service unit basis for each tap/lot and shall be assigned and restricted to the Capital Improvement Fund.
5. CUSTOMER HISTORY REPORT FEE
A fee of $5.00 shall be charged to provide a copy of the Member’s record of past account information in response to a Member’s request for such a record.
a. Emailed $5.00
b. pickup - $5.00 + $1.00 per page
6. CUSTOMER SERVICE INSPECTION FEE (CSI)
A fee of $125.00 will be assessed each Applicant before permanent continuous service is provided to new construction.
a. $125.00 for the initial visit
b. $25.00 for every half hour that the inspection takes
7. DUPLICATE BILLING CHARGE
The Corporation may, at the expense of the Member, send a duplicate bill to said member of a renter/lessee account each month. The Duplicate Bill Fee shall be $1.00 per month charged to the Member's account.
8. EASEMENT FEE
When the Corporation determines that private right-of-way easements and/or facilities sites are necessary to provide service to the Applicant, the Applicant shall be required to make good faith efforts to secure easements in behalf of the Corporation and/or pay all costs incurred by the Corporation in validating, clearing, and retaining such right-of-way in addition to tap fees otherwise required pursuant to the provisions of this Tariff. The costs may include all legal fees and expenses necessary to attempt to secure such right-of-way and/or facilities sites in behalf of the Applicant.
9. EQUIPMENT DAMAGE FEE
a. If the Corporation's facilities or equipment have been damaged by tampering, by-passing, installing unauthorized taps, reconnecting service without authority, or other service diversion, a fee shall be charged equal to the actual costs for all labor, material, and equipment necessary for repair, replacement, and other Corporation actions. This fee shall be charged and paid before service is re-established. If the Corporation's equipment has not been damaged, a fee equal to the actual costs for all labor, material, equipment, and other actions necessary to correct service diversions, unauthorized taps, or reconnection of service without authority shall be charged. All components of this fee will be itemized, and a statement shall be provided to the Member. If the Corporation's facilities or equipment have been damaged due to negligence or unauthorized use of the Corporation's equipment, right-of-way, or meter shut-off valve, or due to other acts for which the Corporation incurs losses or damages, the Member shall be liable for all labor, estimated water lost, and material charges incurred as a result of said acts or negligence. In addition to actual costs incurred by the Corporation, a flat $250.00 tampering fee shall also apply.
b. If the Corporation’s facilities or equipment have been damaged in any respect due to excavation, digging, or any other activity that damages Corporation water lines and facilities, a fee shall be charged equal to the actual costs for all labor, water loss, materials and equipment necessary for repair or replacement of the Corporation’s water lines and facilities. In addition to the fee for the costs of all labor, materials, and equipment, an automatic penalty of six (6) times the then-applicable base rate shall also be assessed, and shall apply upon each occurrence of a violation of this section. A penalty under this section is in addition to any other penalty or remedy provided by the laws of the State of Texas or this Tariff. A penalty under this section is concurrent with and in addition to a penalty or fee incurred under any other provision in this Tariff.
10. EQUITY BUY-IN FEE
In addition to the Membership Fee, each Applicant for new service that requires a new service tap shall be required to achieve parity with the contributions to the construction or acquisition of the Corporation’s assets related to capacity that have been made previously by existing Members. This fee shall be assessed immediately prior to providing service on a per-service unit basis for each service requested and shall be assigned and restricted to that property for which the service was originally requested. This fee shall be set aside for future capacity improvements such as line upgrades, new tanks, treatment, or production. The formula applied to such fee calculated annually after receipt of the system audit is as follows: Water/sewer $2,716.78
11. FRANCHISE FEE ASSESSMENT
A fee of _____% of the amount billed for water service will be assessed to each customer whose meter is located inside the corporate limits of the City of ______, Texas, as required by the City’s ordinance requiring a franchise fee.
12. INFORMATION COPY FEE
A fee for the copying of any public information will be charged to the person requesting that information in compliance with the cost rules of the Texas Government Code Section 552.261. A fee for the copying of any public information will be charged to the person requesting that information in compliance with the cost rules of the Texas Government Code Section 552.261
13. INSTALLATION FEE
The Corporation shall charge an installation fee for service as follows:
a. Standard Service shall include all:
1. Tap fee – all current labor and materials necessary to provide individual metered water or wastewater service.
2. Engineering fee.
3. Legal fee.
4. Customer service inspection fee.
5. Administrative costs.
6. Any additional site-specific equipment or appurtenances necessary to provide water or wastewater service.
Standard service fees shall be charged on a per tap basis as computed immediately prior to such time as metered service is requested and installed.
Water - $1,500.00
Sewer - $500.00 (if clean out is there already)
b. Nonstandard Service shall include:
1. Facility improvement costs including, but not limited to, tanks, piping, main lines, hydrants, and other labor materials necessary to provide service at the level required by Water Code and as requested by the applicant;
2. line and facility inspection fees;
3. administrative costs including, but not limited to, contract administration costs, processing invoices, disbursement of checks to contractors;
4. legal fees, including but not limited to, contract development, easements, water rights, permits, and CCN amendments for the area;
5. engineering fees; and
6. any additional site-specific equipment or appurtenances necessary to provide water or wastewater service as determined by the Corporation under the terms of Section F. of this Tariff (includes tap fees).
Standard and Nonstandard Service Installations shall include all costs of any pipeline relocations as of this Tariff.
14. LATE PAYMENT FEE
Once per billing period, a penalty of $10.00 or 10%, whichever is larger, shall be applied to delinquent bills. This late payment penalty shall not be applied to any balance to which the penalty was applied in a previous billing period but shall be applied to any unpaid balance during the current billing period. This fee will not be applied to political subdivisions.
15. MEMBERSHIP FEE
At the time the application for service is approved, a non-refundable Membership Fee must be paid for each service requested before service shall be provided or reserved for the Applicant by the Corporation. The membership fee cannot be more than 12 times the minimum monthly base rate.
a. The Membership Fee for water service is $100.00 for each service unit.
b. The Membership Fee for wastewater service is $100.00 for each service unit.
c. Membership fee for oversized or Master Metered Accounts shall be based on multiples of meter size equivalence.
16. METER TAMPERING AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY PENALTY
In addition to the Equipment Damage Fee, the Corporation may charge a penalty for “Tampering” as defined in this Tarriff. The penalty may only be assessed against the person who committed the Tampering. The penalty cannot be assessed against the Member for the Tampering committed by their tenant. The penalty shall not exceed six (6) times the Base Rate and is assessed in addition to the actual cost of the damages and repairs. A penalty under this section is concurrent and in addition to a penalty or fee incurred under any other provision in this Tariff.
Meter-tampering - $250.00
17. MONTHLY CHARGES
Base Rate
Water Service ‑ The monthly charge for standard metered water service is for a 5/8" X 3/4" meter. The 5/8" X 3/4" meter charge is used as a base multiplier for larger nonstandard meters in accordance with the following chart based on American Water Works Association maximum continuous flow specifications:
Sewer Service - The monthly charge for standard sewer service on a per tap basis is as follows:
Monthly Charges
Water
RESIDENTIAL WATER ACCOUNTS
Minimum - $34.06 for Water Use from 0 to 2,000 Gallons
Gallonage Charge:
$4.78 per 1,000 Gallons from 2,001 to 25,000 gallons
$5.03 per 1,000 Gallons from 25,001 to 50,000 gallons
$5.28 per 1,000 Gallons from 50,001 to 75,000 gallons
NON-RESIDENTIAL WATER ACCOUNTS
Minimum - $38.06 for Water Use from 0 to 2,000 Gallons
Gallonage Charge - $5.78 per 1,000 Gallons Thereafter
Sewer
RESIDENTIAL SEWER ACCOUNTS
Minimum - $32.64 for Water Use from 0 to 7,000 Gallons
Surcharge - $2.37 per 1,000 Gallons of Water Use from 7,001 to 15,000 Gallons
Maximum - $52.32 for all Water Use over 15,000 Gallons
$5.53 per 1,000 Gallons from 75,001 to 100,000 gallons
** Thereafter $5.78 per 1,000 Gallons above 100,000 gallons
NON-RESIDENTIAL SEWER ACCOUNTS
Minimum - $38.14 for Water Use from 0 to 7,000 Gallons
Surcharge - $2.62 per 1,000 Gallons of Water Use over 7,000 Gallons
Maximum - None
The Corporation shall, as required by Texas Water Code Section 5.701, collect from each of its retail customers a regulatory assessment equal to one-half of one percent of the charge for retail water or wastewater service. This charge shall be collected in addition to other charges for utility service.
18. MORTGAGEE/GUARANTOR NOTIFICATION FEE
The Corporation shall assess a fee of $______.00 for each notification to a Membership lien‑holder under agreement prior to Membership cancellation.
19. METER TEST FEE
The Corporation shall test a Member’s meter upon written request of the Member. Under the terms of this Tariff, a charge of $50.00 shall be imposed on the affected account.
20. OTHER FEES
All services outside the normal scope of utility operations that the Corporation may be compelled to provide at the request of a Member, or the general public shall be charged to the recipient based on the cost of providing such service.
21. OWNER NOTIFICATION FEE
The Corporation shall assess a fee of $10.00 per notification to a Member of a renter/lessee delinquent account status prior to disconnection of service
22. RECONNECT FEE
The Corporation shall charge a fee for reconnecting service after the Corporation has previously disconnected the service for any reason provided for in this Tariff.
$50.00 – during the working hours
$75.00 – after hours
23. REGULATORY ASSESSMENT
A fee of 0.5% of the amount billed for water/sewer service will be assessed each customer; this assessment is required under Texas law and TCEQ regulations. This fee will not be charged to state agencies, wholesale customers, or buyers of non-potable (not drinkable) water.
24. RETURNED CHECK FEE
In the event a check, draft, or any other similar instrument is given by a person, firm, corporation, or partnership to the Corporation for payment of services provided for in this Tariff, and the instrument is returned by the bank or other similar institution as insufficient or non-negotiable for any reason, the account for which the instrument was issued shall be assessed a return check charge of $35.00.
25. SEASONAL RECONNECT FEE
The Corporation shall charge a fee calculated based on the Base Rate multiplied by the number of months during which service is suspended/locked, not to exceed nine (9) months during any twelve (12) consecutive months.
26. SERVICE INVESTIGATION FEE
The Corporation shall conduct a service investigation for each service application submitted at the Corporation office. A Standard Service Investigation Fee of $100.00 is due upon application for service. An investigation shall be conducted by the Corporation, as to whether the service request is Standard or Non-Standard. Further investigation shall be conducted if necessary for Non-Standard Service. All Non-Standard Service requests shall be subject to a fee (minimum $300.00), appropriate to each project, of sufficient amount to cover all administrative, legal, and engineering fees associated with investigation of the Corporation's ability to deliver service to the Applicant.
Standard Service Investigation Fee of $100.00
Non-Standard Service requests shall be subject to a fee (minimum $300.00)
27. SERVICE TRIP FEE
The Corporation shall charge a trip fee of $75.00 for any service call or trip to the Member’s tap as a result of a request by the Member or tenant for response to damage of the Corporation’s or another Member’s facilities; for customer service inspections due to suspicion of meter tampering, bypass or diversion of service; or for the purpose of disconnecting or collecting payment for services. For service trips that extend beyond one hour, such as when an extended line location is required, the Corporation shall charge $25.00 per employee per hour for each additional hour required.
28. TRANSFER FEE
A Fee of $30.00 shall be assessed for the transfer of any membership.
29. WATER SUPPLY ACQUISITION FEE
In addition to the Membership Fee, each applicant shall be required to contribute capital in an amount projected to defray the cost of acquiring additional water supply to meet growth demands created by adding customers. This fee shall be assessed immediately prior to providing service or reserving service on a per service unit basis for each tap/lot and shall be assigned and restricted to the Water Supply Acquisition Fund.
***All service fees are subject to change.