HomeMy WebLinkAbout1605 09-23-2003ORDINANCE NO. 1605
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 86 -32
"DELINQUENCY AND SERVICE DISCONTINUANCE
PROCEDURE" OF ARTICLE II "WATER AND SANITARY
SEWER SYSTEMS" OF CHAPTER 86 "UTILITIES" OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF EULESS,
TEXAS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO IMPOSE A LIEN
AGAINST NON - HOMESTEAD PROPERTY FOR
DELINQUENT BILLS FOR MUNICIPAL UTILITY SERVICE
TO THAT PROPERTY; PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR
PERFECTION AND RECORDING OF SAID LIEN;
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A
SAVING CLAUSE AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Euless provides water and sewer utility service to all water
and sewer customers within the city; and
WHEREAS, the City has experienced difficulty in collecting some delinquent
accounts for water and sewer utility service to customers who have gone out of business,
moved or become insolvent; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 402 of the Local Government Code allows a city to impose a
lien by ordinance upon property where municipal water and sewer service have been
provided to the property but the bills for such service have not been paid timely; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Euless, Texas, finds and determines that
the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of Euless will be best served by
imposing such liens by ordinance in appropriate circumstances, and does by this
ordinance impose such liens and provides procedures for perfecting such liens against
property henceforth.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF EULESS:
That Sec. 86 -32 "Delinquency and service discontinuance procedure" be
renamed "Delinquency and service discontinuance procedure; imposition of lien for
delinquent charges" and that Subsections (c), (d), and (e) be added to said section to
hereafter be and read as follows:
(c) A lien is hereby imposed against an owner's property, unless it is a homestead as
protected by the Texas Constitution, for delinquent bills for municipal utility service
to that property. A homestead is a place of residence owned by the person living
there and intended by the owner to be the owner's primary personal residence,
indefinitely.
(d) The city's lien shall not apply to bills for service connected in a tenant's name after
notice by the property owner to the city that the property is rental property. Such
notice shall be in writing and shall not be effective until delivered to the City Water
Billing Office. The city's lien also shall not apply to bills for service connected in a
tenant's name prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
(e) The city shall perfect its lien by recording in the real property records of Tarrant
County, Texas, a "Notice of Lien" containing a legal description of the property and
the city's account number under which the delinquent charges were incurred. The
city's lien may include penalties, interest and collection costs as provided
elsewhere in this chapter or otherwise. The city's lien is inferior to a bona fide
mortgage lien recorded before the recording of the city's lien in the real property
records, but is superior to all other liens, including previously recorded judgment
liens and any liens recorded after the city's lien.
Severability Clause. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City
Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance
are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance
shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court
of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the
remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since
the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this
ordinance of any such invalid or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or
section.
Saving Clause. That Chapter 86 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Euless, Texas,
as amended, shall remain in full force and effect, save and except as amended by this
ordinance.
IV.
Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its
passage and publication as provided by the Euless City Charter and the laws of the State
of Texas.
PRESENTED AND APPROVED ON FIRST AND FINAL READING at a regular
meeting of the Euless City Council on the 23rd day of September, 2003, by a vote of 6
ayes, 0 nays and 0 abstentions.
APPROVED:
n � ,
Mary Lib $aleh, Mayor
ATTEST:
r
Susan Crim, C C, City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Me
Ordinance No. 1605, Page 3 of 3