§ 94-54. Tampering with meter.

(a)

The presence at any time of any device or the manipulation of any equipment on the premises of any customer on or about the utility connection or equipment of the system or owner utilized in delivering the utility service, which is connected with or which if connected would result in the prevention of the proper action or accurate registration of the meter used to measure the amount of utility service rendered or utilized by the customer, or which would interfere with the proper action or accurate registration of such meter or accurate registration of the utility service rendered or utilized by the customer, shall require the system to disconnect such utility service, and the customer shall be required to pay a service charge of $35.00 to reconnect or reestablish such service. Prior to the reconnection and reestablishment of any discontinued service, the customer shall be required to correct, to the satisfaction of the system, the condition which necessitated the discontinuance of the service.

(b)

On any subsequent discoveries of such devices or manipulations referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the customer will be assessed a penalty of $100.00 in addition to the $35.00 service charge.

(c)

A missing seal, or the presence at any time of a severed seal, on any utility meter shall require the system, on the initial incident of the system's discovery of such condition, to advise the customer that a second such discovery of a missing or severed seal shall cause the system to install a locking device on the utility metering device and assess the customer a service charge therefor on the customer's utility bill. Should a second incident of seal removal or severing necessitate the installation of a locking device, the customer shall be assessed a service charge of $35.00 on the utility bill. Should the locking device be severed or removed, the utility shall assess the customer a penalty of $100.00 on the utility bill, in addition to the $35.00 service charge. For each and any subsequent incident of severing and/or removing locking devices, there shall be an additional $100.00 penalty and $35.00 service charge assessed on the utility bill.

(d)

A missing or severed seal resulting from work performed by any person other than the utility customer at the service location, without the written consent of the director, will result in the person or business responsible for the work which resulted in the severed or missing seal being assessed a $35.00 service charge on the initial incident. Subsequent incidents by the same person or business, regardless of service location, will result in a $100.00 penalty being assessed for each subsequent incident.

(e)

The reconnecting or reestablishment of utility service at any location by any person other than the director is expressly prohibited (see also section 94-49). A $35.00 service charge shall be added to the customer's bill for each utility service which is reconnected or reestablished in conflict with the prohibitions of this subsection. This charge shall be in addition to the cost of any damages to the system's equipment resulting from the unauthorized reconnection or reestablishment of service which the system is entitled to recover.

(City Code 1965, § 23-22.2)