Policies

1.        The property owner must have corner stakes marked on their property to ensure front, back, and side setback requirements are met.

2.        The City of Victor needs to have the location of driveway marked on the property to ensure the driveway does not cross over water meter pits or sewer lids. There will be an extra expense for you later if you do not take it into consideration now.

3.        The contractor needs to contact Dig Line before any excavation begins. No excavation or building permit will be issued unless this requirement is met. The phone number is 1-800-342-1585. The City will not locate any water or sewer lines on private property.

4.        City policy states there will be no sewer, water, or meter pit excavation in City easements between October 15th and April 15th. Water meters shall not be installed during this same period unless written permission from the Public Works Department is granted with possible conditions included. If you know you will be receiving a Certificate of Occupancy between October 15th and April 15th, you need to have your water meter installed BEFORE the 15th of October.

5.        The City needs 48 hours prior notice for any hook-up for water and sewer lines.

6.        The City needs to inspect all water and sewer hook-ups in City easements. The State of Idaho needs to inspect all water and sewer hook-ups from City easement into and on private property.

7.        There will be no excavation around city culinary or irrigation water and sewer lines after 3:00 pm,

Monday through Thursday. No excavation of any sort will be allowed on weekends due to the unavailability to purchase replacement parts on weekends.

8.        When landscaping around meter pits, you need approval from the Public Works; they may be contacted through the City Offices.

9.        Landscaping in the city easement and sprinkler system torn out by snowplows is the responsibility of the homeowner to replace. All large trees should be set at the property line, not in the city easement. Mailboxes shall be placed at least three feet (3’) back from the edge of pavement.

10.     The City will plow into easements to remove snow. Please do not mark edge of asphalt with pipe or rebar as it is hazardous to traffic and pedestrians. You may mark edge of asphalt with a fiberglass flag. You are allowed to place snow on city easements only within 15 feet of roadways. You are not allowed to push snow across City streets and store in City easements.

11.     Tampering: It shall be unlawful for any person not authorized by the city to tamper with, enter, alter, or injure any part of the city waterworks or water supply system. Any damage to City water system infrastructure (i.e., damage to valves by unauthorized use, damage to pipe by excavation, damage to meter boxes by automotive vehicles, etc.) incurring cost to the city, shall be charged to the water user or persons responsible for the damage.

12.     If an irrigation system is operated using both culinary and irrigation waters, all State laws must be observed, and the irrigation system must be inspected annually for backflow by a certified State Plumbing Inspector. An inspector certified copy of the backflow inspection must be submitted to the City annually.

Unit II- Public Works Requirements and Checklists City of Victor - 2022 Section 200

Public Works Standard Specifications and Drawings

WATER ADJUSTMENT POLICY

Introduction: The purpose of this policy is to assist customers with unexpected water bill increases caused by residential water leaks, tampering, theft, billing errors, or other special circumstances as deemed necessary by the City of Victor ("City").

Statement of Responsibility: It is the customer's responsibility to avoid, identify, and repair all water leaks on or within their property. The City is not liable for increased costs or damages caused by a leak on the customer's property. The City grants bill adjustments based on merit and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or place of origin.

Timely Protest: Meter readings and charges for water service will be considered accurate unless protest is made to the utility billing department within thirty (30) days from billing. Protest is made when the customer submits a completed and signed Water Adjustment Request Form to the Public Works Administrative Assistant or the Director of Public Works.

Reasons for Water Bill Adjustments:

Water Leaks: A source of excess water use must be identified for a customer to qualify for a water bill adjustment. Excess water use can be identified in the following ways:

1. Customer identifies a significant increase in water bill over a two-month period; and

2. Customer has knowledge of leak on the service side of the meter AND notifies the City within a two-month period; or

3. City identifies leak during regular meter check and contacts customer by phone, mail, or email. If a leak is identified by the City, the customer has 30 days from the last notice to have the leak repaired. The City will grant a one-month payment extension to the customer if necessary. Extensions beyond one month require approval by the City Administrator.

Billing Errors: Billing errors qualify for a water bill adjustment. Usage fees arising from meter tampering or water theft where the customer is not at fault may qualify for Adjustment and will be treated as Billing Errors for purposes of this policy.

Eligibility for a Water Bill Adjustment: To qualify for a city water bill adjustment, customers must meet the following qualifications:

For Leak Adjustments, the customer must show:

1. Physical damage to a facility or equipment supplying water to the premises, and the damage is: o not detectable in the customer's premises except upon metering, excavation, or some other disturbance of the property; and o not the result of an act of the customer or any agent or contractor hired by the customer; AND

2. the fees associated with the leak are at least 2 times the Average Monthly Water Bill, measured at the service address during the previous six-month period; and

a. repair of the leak within 30 days after acknowledging the leak; and

b. provide proof of repair (e.g., plumber certification, receipts, etc.) or any other relevant documentation requested by the City.

3. The above conditions notwithstanding, the Public Works Director has the latitude to consider the circumstances not considered by this policy and make or recommend adjustments based on rational factors.

For Billing Error Adjustments, one or more of the following conditions must be true:

1. City identifies a slow or fast meter during a routine test; or

2. City identifies non-working meter; or

3. City identifies a non-working radio read or non-functional radio; or

4. Customer appeals to City within 30 days from billing, and City identifies billing error/meter malfunction/meter tampering/water theft.

Calculating Adjustments,

Leak Adjustment Formula: For qualifying leaks, the following calculation shall be used to make a bill adjustment:

Adjustment = Avg Monthly Water Bill + 50% of Usage Fees

If no previous usage history is available, consumption may be estimated by comparing usage levels of similar customers and under similar conditions. To encourage prompt repairs and minimize losses to the customer and the City, only the water bill immediately before the repair and immediately after the repair will be considered for Adjustment.

Limitations: Customers are eligible for one Leak Adjustment in a 24-month period, provided their protest and request for relief satisfy the conditions of this policy. If a customer receives a Leak Adjustment and within 24 months incurs a second abnormally high water bill due to a leak, the customer may appeal to the City Council for additional relief.

Billing Error Adjustments: If city staff resolve the billing error in a timely manner, the corrected amount will be due at the end of the next billing cycle. If city staff cannot resolve the billing error in a timely manner, the monthly water bill will be calculated as follows:

Adjustment = 12-Month Average Usage

Exclusions: Abnormally high water bills due to circumstances other than an undetected leak or billing error are not eligible for Adjustment. Such causes include, but are not limited to:

• leaks that should reasonably have been discovered by the customer or property owner;
• high usage caused by negligence or failure to properly maintain pools or spas;
• water using/consuming devices (including but not limited to such items as water softeners, autofill devices, irrigation control systems, etc.) that may be malfunctioning;
• leaks caused by a third party from whom the customer can recover their costs will not be considered for a leak adjustment.
• Examples of Exclusions include but are not limited to:

vandalism, negligence and construction damage, and unoccupied or vacant properties; or leaks caused by anyone other than a city employee accessing or otherwise tampering with the meter.

Additional Conditions: A customer otherwise qualified to receive an Adjustment may be denied such Adjustment based on the following conditions:

• a customer may not receive a Leak Adjustment unless the customer has paid all outstanding debts owed to the City incurred prior to the bill in question; or
• if the customer's property is required to have a backflow prevention device, no Adjustment will be granted until the backflow prevention device used for such system has been installed, inspected, tested, and all required documentation related to the device is filed with the Director of Public Works.

Authority to Grant Adjustments: The Director of Public Works may grant Leak Adjustments forgiving less than $2,500 in total. The City Council must approve Leak Adjustments forgiving more than $2,500 in total. The Director of Public Works is not required to seek City Council approval for Billing Error Adjustments unless the Billing Error is due to water theft or meter tampering, in which case the City Council must approve the Adjustment.

Application for Adjustment: The customer must submit a completed and signed Water Adjustment Request Form to the City's Public Works Department. If a licensed contractor performs the repair, an itemized invoice relating to the leak in question must be attached to the form. If the property owner performs the repair, a receipt showing the parts purchased for the repair must be included.

Plowing Generally:

The City’s Public Works Department is responsible for snow removal on public streets. Public Works monitors weather forecasts closely to schedule crews in advance of winter weather to ensure the highest possible level of response for safe travel during the event.

The City has established specific criteria for when and where to plow.  Factors ranging from predicted storm totals, traffic conditions, and local weather patterns, such as wind, will affect the City’s decision to start snow removal operations. Typically, to mitigate conflicts between people and plow vehicles, plowing occurs between 2:00 am, and 8:00 am.

Street Plowing:

When two inches of snow accumulates by 2:00 am, the City  will plow snow even when it is still snowing.  The City typically ceases street plowing operations by mid-morning.

Sidewalk Plowing:

Generally, whenever one inch or more of snow accumulates on downtown sidewalks, the City will begin operations.

Maintaining a Snow Floor:

A snow floor is a smooth and compact layer of snow. Establishing and maintaining a snow floor protects City equipment and delays the costly replacement of plow blades. As long as streets are drivable for smaller cars, the City will delay plowing operations until enough early season snow accumulates to form a snow floor. Therefore, at the start of the winter season, residents should expect higher snow accumulation in the streets than is customary later in the season. Likewise, the City will avoid plowing in early spring to preserve the snow floor.   

Windrows and Snowbanks:

Windrows are the banks of plowed snow that form along the sides of the road and across driveways.  Where possible, the City plows in a direction and manner to minimize the size of windrows across driveways.  Residents are responsible for removing windrows from their driveways. 

Snow Stakes:

Residents may choose to mark the edge of their properties with snow stakes made from a flexible material such as fiberglass. Snow stakes must be at least 2 feet from the edge of the roadway. Stakes adjacent to the street are in the public right-away and will likely interfere with snow removal. Please do not use steel stakes because they can puncture the tires of snow removal equipment, causing plowing delays and costly repairs. Residents that place snow stakes in the right-of-way are liable for injuries and damages.

Seasonal Parking Restrictions

From November 15th until April 1st, on-street parking, alleyway parking, and parking in the public right-of-way are prohibited between 2:00 am and 8:00 am.

Business Areas:

From November 15th until April 1st, on-street parking, alleyway parking, and parking in the public right-of-way are prohibited between 2:00 am and 6:00 am.

Towed Vehicles:

Vehicles violating Victor’s seasonal parking restrictions may be towed at the owner’s expense. If your vehicle has been towed, please contact the City’s authorized towing service: Auto Wranglers LLC, 1978 N. 4000 W., Tetonia, ID. 83452. Phone. (208) 351-7741. Please note: Auto Wranglers is an Independent Contractor, and any vehicles towed by Auto Wranglers will be impounded at their storage facility.

For additional information, please contact the City of Victor at 208-274-7082 or submit a comment on our General Contact Form.

The City of Victor establishing policies for equivalent principal residential units and accessory dwellings sharing water and service lines.

RESOLUTION NO. R579 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VICTOR ESTABLISHING POLICIES FOR EQUIVALENT RESIDENTIAL UNIT (ERU) ASSESSMENT FOR PROPERTIES WITH ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS SHARING MUNICIPAL WATER SERVICE WITH PRINCIPAL RESIDENCES WHEREAS, the City of Victor ("City") operates a municipal water system serving residential and commercial properties; and WHEREAS, the City utilizes an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) methodology to assess water service charges; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish clear policies regarding ERU assessment for properties with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that share water service with their principal residences; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds it in the public interest to provide a mechanism for adjusting ERU assessments based on actual water consumption patterns; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Victor as follows:

Section 1. ERU Assessment for Properties with ADUs

A. Properties with one or more Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) sharing water service with a principal residence shall be assessed one (1) additional ERU for each ADU, in accordance with the City's established ERU Schedule.

B. The ERU assessment described in subsection A shall be in addition to any ERUs assessed to the principal residence.

Section 2. ERU Adjustment Process

A. The owner of a property with an ADU may apply to the Public Works Director for an adjustment to the total number of ERUs assessed to the property.

B. The Public Works Director may adjust the total number of ERUs assessed to a property with an ADU to less than two (2) ERUs but no less than one (1) ERU if the following criterion is met:

1. The total water consumption for the property, as measured at the water meter over the prior twelve (12) months, is equal to or less than the water usage of an average household as determined by the City's most recent ERU study.

C. The Public Works Director shall document any ERU adjustment determination in writing, including the basis for such determination.

D. If after adjusting the total number of ERUs assessed to a property with an ADU to less than two (2), total water consumption for the property, as measured at the meter over the prior twelve (12) months, exceeds the average usage of an average household , the Public Works Director shall reassess additional ERUs according to the City's established ERU Schedule.

Section 3. Review and Documentation

A. The Public Works Director shall maintain records of all ERU adjustments granted under this Resolution.

B. The effectiveness of this policy shall be reviewed annually as part of the City's regular water utility rate review process.

Section 4. Effective Date

This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Victor, this 22 day of January 2025.

Recorded Resolution