Santa Barbara Municipal Code Ch. 14.33 Wastewater Fund

Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

Maintenance and Operation Costs of the Wastewater System.

The reasonable and necessary costs spent or incurred by the City for maintaining and operating the Wastewater System, including, but not limited to, the reasonable expenses of maintenance and repair and other expenses necessary to maintain and preserve the Wastewater System in good repair and working order, and including administrative costs of the City attributable to the Wastewater System, salaries and wages of employees, payments to employees' retirement systems (to the extent paid from System Revenues), overhead, taxes (if any), fees of auditors, accountants, attorneys or engineers and insurance premiums, and including all other reasonable and necessary costs of the City or charges required to be paid by it to comply with the terms of any Obligations, but excluding in all cases costs of capital additions, replacements, betterments, extensions or improvements to the Wastewater System which under generally accepted accounting principles are chargeable to a capital account or to a reserve for depreciation, and charges for the payment of principal and interest on any general obligation bond heretofore or hereafter issued for Wastewater System purposes.

Obligations.

Either: (1) obligations of the City for money borrowed (such as bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness), or as installment purchase payments under any contract, or as lease payments under any financing lease (determined to be such in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles), the principal and interest on which are payable from System Revenues; (2) obligations to replenish any debt service reserve funds with respect to such obligations of the City; (3) obligations secured by or payable from any of such obligations of the City; and (4) obligations of the City payable from System Revenues under (a) any contract providing for payments based on levels of, or changes in, interest rates, currency exchange rates, stock or other indices, (b) any contract to exchange cash flows or a series of payments, or (c) any contract to hedge payment, currency, rate spread or similar exposure, including, but not limited to, interest rate swap agreements and interest rate cap agreements.

Qualified Take or Pay Obligation.

The obligation of the City to make use of any facility, property or services, or some portion of the capacity thereof, or to pay therefor from System Revenues, or both, whether or not such facilities, properties or services are ever made available to the City for use.

System Revenues.

All income, rents, rates, fees, charges and other moneys derived from the ownership or operation of the Wastewater System, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing:

All income, rents, rates, fees, charges, or other moneys derived by the City from the wastewater services or facilities, and commodities or byproducts, sold, furnished or supplied through the facilities of or in the conduct or operation of the business of the Wastewater System, and including, without limitation, investment earnings on the operating reserves to the extent that the use of such earnings is limited to the Wastewater System by or pursuant to law, and earnings on any amounts on deposit in the Wastewater Fund and in any funds established within the Wastewater Fund from time to time, or any funds established in connection with the incurrence by the City of any Obligations;

Standby charges and capacity charges derived from the services and facilities, sold, furnished or supplied through the Wastewater System;

The proceeds derived by the City directly or indirectly from the lease of a part of the Wastewater System;

Any amount received from the levy or collection of taxes which are solely available and are earmarked for the support of the operation of the Wastewater System;

Amounts received under contracts or agreements with governmental or private entities and designated for capital costs for the Wastewater System; and

Grants for maintenance and operations with respect to the Wastewater System, received from the United States of America or from the State of California.

Wastewater System.

The properties, improvements and works at any time owned, controlled or operated by the City as part of the system of the Wastewater Fund of the City for the collection, storage, treatment, distribution, administration, disposal or discharge of sewage waste and its other commodities or byproducts, whether located within or without the City for public and private use and any related or incidental operations designated by the City as part of the Wastewater System, but excluding any operations exclusively related to reclaimed and re-purified water.

(Ord. 5320, 2004)

A. Wastewater fund. There is hereby created a City "Wastewater Fund." All System Revenues shall be paid over to and deposited in the Wastewater Fund.

B. Use of fund proceeds. All amounts on deposit in the Wastewater Fund from time to time shall be used only for the following purposes:

1. Payment of Maintenance and Operation Costs of the Wastewater System; and

2. Payment of any Qualified Take or Pay Obligation; and

3. Payment of costs of capital additions, replacements, betterments, extensions or improvements to the Wastewater System, including the purchase or condemnation of lands and other property for Wastewater System purposes; and

4. For the promotion of any of the products or services of the Wastewater System; and

5. Payment of principal and interest (including payments into any reserve or sinking fund) and premiums, if any, upon prepayment thereof, of any Obligations, and any other financing costs related thereto (including the fees and expenses of auditors, accountants, attorneys or engineers incurred in connection with the issuance thereof, and the premium and other expenses of any bond insurance policy and debt service surety bond securing payment thereof); and

6. For establishing and maintaining a reserve fund to insure the payment at maturity of the principal and interest on all Obligations.

7. Such transfers to the City General Fund (or other City special fund) as shall be approved from time to time by the City.

(Ord. 5320, 2004)