HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 92-376 - Adopting a Revenue Protection Policy regarding Meter Tamperingit
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RESOLUTION NO.
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A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING
ADOPTING A REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY REGARDING METER
TAMPERING.
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WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Redding is charged
with the responsibility of establishing municipal policies to
guide the various functions of the City and, where necessary, to
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I� establish procedures by which functions are performed; and
WHEREAS, regulatory policies established by the City Council
are usually adopted by Ordinance and included in the Municipal
Code. However, other policies are also established, which by
'I their nature do not require adoption by Ordinance; these policy
statements, adopted by Resolution of the City Council, need to be
consolidated in a reference document for easy access; and
!I WHEREAS, on August 4, 1987, by Resolution No. 87-261, City
I Council adopted a Council Policy Manual to achieve said
objectives; and
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WHEREAS, City Council wishes to adopt a revenue protection
policy regarding meter tampering;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of
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the City of Redding as follows:
1. That all of the above recitals are true and correct. N
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` 2. That the Policy attached hereto be and hereby is
adopted as the Council Policy revenue protection policy regarding
'j meter tampering.
3 . That said Policy be incorporated in the Council Policy
Manual.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was
introduced and read at a regular meeting of the City Council of
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the City of Redding on the lst day of September , 1992, and was
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duly adopted at said meeting by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Arness, Dahl, Kehoe & Moss
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Anderson
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
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CHARLIE MOSS, Mayor
City of Redding
A EST:
CONNIE STROHMAYER Y
t Clerk
FORM PROVED:
RANDALL A. HAYS, ity Attorney
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CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA
i� COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE
NUMBER NUMBER DATE
REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY
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The City of Redding Revenue Protection Policy outlines the
j procedures employed to recover lost revenue and subsequent
costs associated with the theft of utility services.
The purpose of this policy is to provide uniform and consis-
tent guidelines for detecting, investigating, and recovering
revenue lost from the illegal or unauthorized diversion of
utility services provided by the City of Redding, or as a
result of any deliberate tampering, interference, or damage
to utility meters belonging to the City.
I . Definitions:
For the purpose of this policy, the words and phrases listed
below, when used in this policy, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them as follows:
"City" means the City of Redding.
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Ij "Utility" means any electrical, water, wastewater or
refuse system operated by any public agency as
defined in the Public Utilities Code.
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"Person" means any individual, partnership, associa-
tion, firm, or corporation.
J "Customer" means the person in whose name a utility
service is provided.
j "Utility service" means the provision of electricity,
water, or any other service or commodity furnished by
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the utility for compensati=.
"Energy diversion" means any action affecting the
proper registration of energy.
"Water diversion" means any action affecting the
proper registration of water usage.
it "Tamper" means to rearrange, injure, alter, interfere
with, or otherwise to prevent from performing normal
or customary functions.
!I "Vandalism of meters" means any intentional damage to
meters. Accuracy of energy or water
measurement may be affected by the committed act;
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REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY 2
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however, meters may be vandalized and still maintain
proper registration.
+� II . Detection and Reporting
li 1. Utility field personnel finding evidence of a possi-
ble theft of utility services shall immediately
report the suspected theft to the Customer Service
office by radio. The employee reporting the suspect-
ed theft will maintain surveillance of the area 4nd
continue to wait for a serviceman, route manager,
,j credit supervisor, or the police to arrive.
2. Tips of suspected theft of utility services reported
by another utility customer or provider will be
immediately reported to the credit manager or the
route manager. Information received from an
anony-mous source will be kept confidential if the report-
ing party so desires.
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III . Investigation
1. When a suspected theft of utility services has been
;i. reported to Customer Service, the route manager or
credit manager will dispatch a serviceman to the
location of the suspected theft.
IV. Law Enforcement Interaction
In an investigation of a possible theft of utility
services, law enforcement interaction may be necessary in
the following instances:
1. A City employee is threatened or believed to be in
imminent danger.
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2. Tampering and/or theft has been confirmed in the
i field by a serviceman, the credit supervisor or the
route manager.
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3. Tampering or theft has been confirmed, a witness
!, and/or visual evidence has been obtained, and the
presence of law enforcement is necessary for an
arrest.
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4. A search warrant is needed and can be obtained. The
Director of Customer Service will determine whether
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CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA
COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE
NUMBER NUMBER DATE
REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY- 3
sufficient probable cause to request a search warrant
has been obtained.
V. Collection and Preservation of Evidence
When investigating a suspected theft of utility services,
documentation should include, but is not limited to: the
date the diversion was suspected; the name of the person
who suspected it; the methods of investigation used;
the meter reading when found; the method of diversion;
recorded readings and dates taken; and any reads taken
with a line meter. It is also important to document in
writing any conversations with the customer regarding the
diversion.
Because theft of utility service cases may ultimately be
settled in court, great care must be taken to properly
handle all evidence gathered. For evidence to be admis-
sible in court, strict chain-of-custody procedures must
be followed to insure the integrity or the accumulated
data.
VI . Estimating Lost Revenue
Any utility customer found to be responsible for, or
knowingly benefiting from, illegal or unauthorized
utility theft and/or diversion activities will be charged
for estimated lost revenues and for all City costs
incurred in the detection, investigation, and prosecution
of the incident, as well as all fees or penalties author-
ized by the City Council. The aggregate of such direct
costs, utility charges, fees, and penalties assessed
shall not be less than the current meter tampering fee,
as established by resolution of the City Council.
Court decisions around the nation have established that
utilities may recover lost revenues from customers based
on estimates of diverted or otherwise stolen utilities,
providing the figures are reasonable and based on verifi-
able evidence rather than on speculation.
One or more of the following methods will be used in
calculating the amount of lost revenue to be recovered
from a customer as a result of theft of utility services:
1. Calculate estimated lost revenue based on recorded
historical usage and/or charges at the location over
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.` CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA
COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE
NUMBER NUMBER DATE
REVENUE PROTECTION POLI.CY 4
several years. Determine when the usage or charge
began to decline. Conduct an on-site energy, water,
customer type and use audit. Based on the informa-
tion gathered from the on-site audit, estimate what
the actual utility charges should have been.
2. If the customer has lived at other locations within
the same service area, compare recorded historical
utility usage and/or charges with the current loca-
tions usage and/or charges.
3. If available, evaluate previous access problems,
I! estimations, and the customer' s history of usage and
charges with other utility companies.
'i 4. Replace existing meter( s) with a tested meter(s) and
analyze post-diversion or theft usage and/or charges
to calculate an estimate.
5. In the case of a power diversion, install a line
meter and monitor and record readings for a period
that accurately measures summer/winter electric
usage.
6. In the case of a water diversion, determine the
'j different types of activities in use at the location,
and compare the results with other locations similar
in size engaging in the same types of activities.
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a. Charges for water usage resulting from a hot tap
on a fire hydrant will be levied at four times
the rate of the amount diverted. (Redding
Municipal Code, subsection 14. 08.370A. 5. )
VII . Interview
An interview will be set up with the customer alleged to
j have diverted utility services and a Customer Service
Representative to arrive at the true facts, present the
customer with charges due, to accept full payment for all
utility charges and/or to discuss whether amortization of
! charges will be allowed.
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VIII . Prosecution and/or Revenue Recovery
At the conclusion of the investigation and the interview,
City employees involved will meet with the Director of
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CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA
COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE
NUMBER NUMBER DATE
REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY 5
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Customer Service to review the case and to recommend whether
further further legal action should be pursued.
If further legal action appears justified, a chronological
statement of facts and the documentation of the investigation
and evidence collected will be forwarded to the City Attor-
ney' s office for his/her review and recommendation.
The decision to prosecute a case for theft of utility servic-
es will depend on whether a customer has admitted guilt or
knowledge of the diversion, the strength of the evidence and
facts, and whether the customer has signed a reimbursement
agreement.
If the customer has admitted guilt or knowledge of diversion
and has signed an agreement to pay the charges owed, but
fails to make such payments, the City will pursue civil or
criminal prosecution.
If the City has obtained a written agreement with the custom-
er, the statute of limitations does not apply since the
customer has agreed to reimburse a specific amount of money.
As long as the charges are filed within the statutory t*e
frame, the mandates of the statute of limitations are satis-
fied. City will seek restitution of lost revenue from the
time the theft was suspected to have begun until the date of
discovery.
Criminal prosecution requires an admission of guilt, photo-
graphs of , or a witness to the act of diversion, a witness
willing to testify as to its knowledge of attempts to divert,
tamper with or otherwise steal utility services, or substan-
tial evidence that supports the diversion or theft of utility
services.
A three-year statute of limitations applies to cases prose-
cuted criminally unless one or all of the following occur:
1. Full reimbursement is a part of the plea bargain.
Plea bargained agreements require concurrence of the
Director of Customer Service, the City Attorney, and
li the City Manager.
2. Full reimbursement is written into and is a part of
probation.
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REVENUE PROTECTION POLICY 6
3 . To support a felony charge, the City must have proof
that the theft resulted in a revenue loss of four
hundred dollars ( $400) , or more.
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