Needles Municipal Code Art. XII Department Of Public Utilities

There shall be a department of public utilities which shall be under the management and control of the city manager and the director of public utilities, subject, however, to the powers and duties of the board of public utilities as prescribed in this Charter and to the provisions of this Charter. Said department shall include all public utilities owned, controlled or operated by the city.

It shall be competent for the city to make contracts and covenants for the benefit of the holders of any bonds payable solely from any of the revenue of any such utility or utilities for the establishment of a fund or funds, for the maintaining of adequate rates or charges, for restrictions upon further indebtedness payable out of the same fund, for restrictions upon transfers out of such fund, and other appropriate covenants.

Money placed in any such special fund for the payment of principal and/or interest on any issue of such bonds or to assure the application thereof to a specific purpose shall not be expended for any purpose whatever except for the purpose for which such special fund was established and shall be deemed segregated from all other funds of the city and reserved exclusively for the purpose for which such special fund was established until the purpose of its establishment shall have been fully accomplished.

Each utility shall be operated as a separate unit and all accounting respecting such utility shall be on that basis. All personal services of officers or employees and all costs incurred for the joint benefit of any such utility and any other office, department or agency of the city shall be prorated between them. Charges shall be made by the utility for all service, property or other things of value supplied or rendered by it to any other office, department or agency of the city.

The purchase of equipment, materials and supplies peculiar to the needs of the department of public utilities need not be made through the centralized purchasing system. The expenditure and disbursement of funds of the department of public utilities shall be made and approved as elsewhere in this Charter provided.

No payments or contributions shall be made by any utility to the general funds of the city, otherwise than as above provided in this article, except that:

1. There may be paid into the general funds of the city in lieu of taxes, an amount equivalent to the amount which would be payable from the funds of such utility for city taxes, on the property held by the utility in the name of the city if such property were not exempt from city taxes: and
2. There may be paid from the revenues of such utility, after the payment of all costs of operation and maintenance of said utility and all principal and interest on revenue bonds of the utility, sufficient moneys to pay principal and interest on any outstanding issue or general obligation bonds for such utility purposes and/or to reimburse the general funds of the city for any payments made therefrom on account of such bonds or for the benefit of such utility from and after the effective date of this article.

No public utility now or hereafter owned or controlled by the city shall be sold, leased or otherwise transferred unless authorized by the affirmative votes of at least four members of the council and by the affirmative votes of a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at a general or special election at which said proposition is submitted.