Chapter XIII.
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES
Section 13.1. General Powers Respecting Municipal Utilities. The city shall have all the powers not prohibited by law to acquire, own, operate, promote and regulate public utilities, either within or beyond its corporate limits, and may also sell utility services beyond its corporate limits.
Section 13.2. Rates. (a) The council may provide by ordinance for the establishment of utilities and may provide for their regulation, promotion, control and the fixing of the rates to be charged, so that each utility will be financially self-sustaining, if possible.
(b) No agreements shall be made for utility services outside of the city which will return to the city less net revenues than it realizes for the same services within the city. Increased rates for utility service outside of the city may be established by the council.
(c) Transactions pertaining to the ownership and operation of each municipal utility shall be recorded in a separate group of accounts, which shall be classified in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices. An annual report shall be prepared to show the financial position of each city utility and the results of its operation. Such reports shall be available for inspection at the office of the city clerk.
Section 13.3. Collection of Municipal Utility Rates and Charges. The council shall provide in the Code for the collection of rates and charges for public utility services furnished by the city. When any person fails or refuses to pay to the city any sums due on utility bills, the service upon which such delinquency exists may be discontinued and suit may be brought for the collection thereof.
Section 13.4. Disposal of Municipal Utility Plants and Utility Property. The council may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of a municipal utility or of property and interest in property used or useful in the operation of a utility only after a proposition to do so is approved by three-fifths of the electors of the city voting on the proposition.
Section 13.5. Public Utility Franchises. The city may grant a franchise to any person for the use of the streets, alleys, bridges, easements and other public places of the city for the furnishing of any public utility service to the city and its inhabitants. Public utility franchises and renewals, amendments and extensions thereof shall be granted only by contract. Public utility franchises shall include provisions for fixing rates and charges, and may provide for readjustments thereof at periodic intervals. With respect to any public utility franchise granted after the effective date of this Charter, whether or not so provided in the granting contract, the city may:
(1) Terminate the same for the violation of any of its provisions, for the misuse or nonuse thereof, for failure to comply with any provision thereof, or any regulation imposed under authority of this Charter or of the Code;
(2) Require proper and reasonable extension of plant and the maintenance thereof at the highest practicable standard of efficiency;
(3) Establish reasonable standards of service and quality of products, and prevent unjust discrimination in service or rates;
(4) Require continuous and uninterrupted service to the public in accordance with the terms of the franchise throughout the entire period thereof;
(5) Impose other regulations determined by the council to be conducive to the health, safety, welfare and convenience of the public;
(6) Require the public utility to permit joint use of its property and appurtenances located in the streets, alleys, bridges, easements and public places by the city and other utilities, insofar as such joint use may be reasonably practicable and upon payment of reasonable rental therefor; and, in the absence of agreement, upon application by the public utility, provide for arbitration of the terms and conditions of such joint use and the compensation to be paid therefor;
(7) Require the public utility to pay any part of the cost of improvement or maintenance of streets, alleys, bridges, easements and public places, that arises from its use thereof, and to protect and save the city harmless from all damages arising from such use; and
(8) Require the public utility to file with the city clerk reports concerning the utility and its financial operation and status and to file with the city clerk such drawings and maps of the location and nature of its facilities as the council may request.
Section 13.6. Limitations on the Granting of Franchises. No franchise shall be granted by the city for a term exceeding twenty years and no exclusive franchise shall ever be granted. Each franchise shall include a provision requiring the franchise to take effect within one year after the adoption of the ordinance granting it. An irrevocable franchise and any extensions to or amendments to such a franchise may be granted by the city only upon approval of at least three-fifths of the votes cast with respect to such proposition at a general or special election in the city. Such irrevocable franchise shall be subject to the conditions set forth in section 13.5. An irrevocable franchise may be approved by the council for referral to the electorate, only after a public hearing has been held thereon and after the grantee named therein has filed with city clerk his unconditional acceptance of all terms of franchise. No special election for such purpose may be ordered by the council, unless the estimated expense of holding such election has first been paid to the fiscal officer of the city by the grantee. In case a balance remains in the amount paid, after the expenses of the election are deducted therefrom, such balance shall be repaid to the grantee.
Section 13.7. Procedure for Granting Franchises. All franchises and any renewals, extensions and amendments thereto, shall be granted only by ordinance. Every contract granting a franchise, license or right to occupy or use streets, alleys, bridges, public places or easements, shall remain on file with the city clerk for public inspection, in its final form for at least thirty days before the final approval thereof, or the approval thereof for referral to the electors of the city. In the case of renewals of franchises for terms of ten years or longer, the renewal of said franchise must be approved by a majority of all qualified voters two years before the expiration date of such franchise.
Section 13.8. Sale or Assignment of Franchises. The grantee of a franchise may not sell, assign, sublet or allow another to use the same, unless the council gives its consent. Nothing in this section shall limit the right of the grantee of any public utility franchise to mortgage his property or franchise, nor shall it restrict the rights of the purchaser upon foreclosure sale, to operate the same, except that such mortgagee or purchaser shall be subject to the terms of the franchise and provisions of this Charter and the Code.
Section 13.9. Plans of Facilities in Streets and Public Places. The council may require in the Code that, as a condition to the placing or installment thereof, each public utility conducting a business in the city shall file with the city clerk a duplicate copy of layout plans of pipes, conduits, wires and other facilities and appurtenances which are to be placed on, under or above the surface of the city’s streets, alleys, bridges, easements and public places.