APPENDIX A – CHARTER ORDINANCESAPPENDIX A – CHARTER ORDINANCES\Charter Ordinance No. 2004-2

A CHARTER ORDINANCE EXEMPTING THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS, FROM THE PROVISIONS OF K.S.A. 12-63lk, K.S.A. 12-860, K.S.A. 14-569 and K.S.A. 19-27,170; PROVIDING SUBSTITUTE PROVISIONS ON THE SAME SUBJECT AND REPUBLISHING SECTION 106 OF ARTICLE 15 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST, FRANCIS, KANSAS.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNMENT BODY OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS:

SECTION 1. EXEMPTION - The City of St. Francis, Kansas by virtue of the power vested in it by Article 12, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas, hereby elects to and does exempt itself and make inapplicable to it those provisions on K.S.A. 12-63 1k, K.S.A. 12-860, K.S.A. 14-569 and K.S.A.19-27,170 as amended by SB 328 and prohibiting the holding by cities of landlords for the delinquent sewer and water bills of their tenants as these amended statutes do not apply uniformly to all cities.

SECTION 2. SUBSTITUTE AND ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS - That the City of St. Francis, Kansas, does hereby provide substitute and additional provisions on the same subject as established by the City Code and as follows, to wit:

“15-106. Landlord Liability.

(a)   Owners of premises served by utility service under this article shall be liable for payment of the cost of any utility service account delinquency arising from service provided to such premises, regardless of whether the utility service was furnished upon the application and request of the owner or the lessee of the premises. This provision shall also apply when the premises are leased by or through an agent or other representative of the owner.

(b)   In the event a delinquency arises involving leased premises, the owner or owner’s agent shall be notified in writing of the delinquency of the lessee by first class regular mail within 10 days after the billing to the lessee becomes delinquent. Notice shall be sufficient if mailing to the last known address of the owner or owner’s agent known to city personnel responsible for said mailing, after reasonable inquiry. If the delinquent billing, interest and penalty are not paid within 15 days of the mailing, the affected utility service may be discontinued and no further such service shall be furnished by the city to the premises until all billing for the utility service to be premises, interest, late payment charges and a reconnection charge, if applicable, is paid in full.

(Code 1994; Code 2003)”

“15-426. Delinquent Accounts; Lien Against Property.

(a)   In the event any person, except the United States and the state of Kansas or any political subdivision thereof, shall fail to pay the user charges when due, water service shall be terminated as provided in sections 15-102;104.

(b)   In lieu of terminating water service, the governing body may elect to assess such delinquent charges as a lien upon the real estate serviced as provided in section 15-106, and the city clerk shall certify such delinquent charges to the county clerk to be placed on the tax roll and collected in a like manner as other taxes are collected.

(Ord. 422, Sec. 13-204; Code 1994; Code 2003)”

(07-20-2004)