§ 86.197. Deposits.

(a)

Each applicant for electric, water and/or sewer service shall make a cash deposit with the city to establish or reestablish credit before service will be instituted.

(b)

The requirement for a deposit shall be waived if:

(1)

The applicant meets all of the following:

a.

Has been a city utility service customer within the last 24 months, had that service for a minimum of one year, and is now applying for a similar service; and

b.

During the last 12 consecutive months of service, did not have any occasion in which a bill for service was paid after becoming delinquent, or service was disconnected for nonpayment, or a check or bank draft was returned because of insufficient funds, account closed, or no account.

(2)

The applicant is applying for electric service pursuant to Rate Schedules LGS-Sec or LGS-Pri (large general service with monthly billing demands in excess of 500 kilowatts) and provides the city with an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank or lending institution approved by the city in the same amount as would be required for a cash deposit. The letter of credit must be in a form approved by the city attorney and must contain a provision that any litigation concerning the letter of credit must be in Hays County, Texas; or

(3)

The applicant is applying for service and has been a customer of any public utility for the same kind of service within the last two years, and presents a letter from the public utility verifying that the customer was not delinquent in payment of any such utility service account, and during the last 12 consecutive months of service, did not have any occasion in which a bill for the utility service was paid after becoming delinquent, did not have service disconnected for nonpayment, and did not have a check or bank draft returned without payment because of insufficient funds, account closed or no account.

(4)

United States Military Utility Deposit Waiver Program. The city will waive the utility deposit for individuals who are in the United States Military serving on active duty or United States Military Veterans who have been honorably separated from military service (collectively referred to herein as "veteran") that establish a new utility service account and meets the following applicable criteria:

a.

The veteran or individual on active duty must be the applicant and the primary account holder at the time the account is established. This waiver is not applicable to spouses or dependants. This waiver is not applicable to veterans or active duty military personnel who transfer utility service from an existing service address to new service address.

b.

The veteran must substantiate active duty status or honorable separation by providing an official United States Department of Defense document, i.e. DD form 214 (DD214) "Release or Discharge from Active Duty" at the time the application is submitted.

The waiver will be voided and a full deposit shall be required if either of the following occurs:

a.

The utility account becomes delinquent twice within a 12-month period; or

b.

The veteran has any outstanding utility accounts with the city.

(c)

The amount of the deposit for electric, water and/or sewer service is established by the city council.

(d)

Deposits are nontransferable.

(e)

Deposits will be refunded as follows:

(1)

The excess of a customer's deposit over any unpaid electric, water and/or sewer bills will be refunded within 60 days of termination of service.

(2)

At a customer's request, a deposit will be refunded in cash or as a credit to the customer's account, or returned to the customer if a letter of credit, if the account has had no late payments during the last 12 consecutive months.

(f)

The city will keep records of customer deposits that provide:

(1)

The name and address of each depositor; and

(2)

The amount of the deposit and the date the deposit was made by the customer.

The city will issue a receipt of deposit to each applicant from which a deposit is received, and will provide means for a depositor to establish a claim if the receipt is lost. A record of each unclaimed deposit will be maintained by the city for a period of four years.

(Code 1970, § 30-18; Ord. No. 1995-22, § 2, 2-27-95; Ord. No. 1997-24, § 1, 5-19-97; Ord. No. 2002-13, § 1, 2-11-02; Ord. No. 2011-34, § 1, 8-2-11)