What a great call today!  Thank you.  I've sent an eblast to members
alerting to the meeting at the Seminar and to this great group.
Hopefully, we'll see some results.  If you weren't on the call today,
the meeting is on Sunday April 22 at 10:30 AM at the Seminar in DC.
Rooms are going quickly, so register with IMLA and with the Hotel as
quickly as possible.  In looking at my calendar, I'm pretty booked
throughout June and wondered if we could schedule the next call for May
30, it is the last Wednesday in May.  High Noon?  If I don't get a host
of objections, I'll schedule the call for then.  Best wishes, Chuck

Charles W. Thompson, Jr.

Executive Director, General Counsel

International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA)

7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 1440

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

direct: 202-742-1016

202.466.5424 x 7110

Cell:  240.876.6790

cthompson@imla.org mailto:cthompson@imla.org

IMLA 2012 Seminar - Wash. DC April 22-24, 2012

IMLA 2012- Austin October 21-24, 2012

As the operator of a public water supply system, we are obligated by
state law to do an annual inspection of all backflow prevention devices
on our customers' premises.  Our customers include the public schools as
well as one big university.  The schools are now claiming we don't have
authority to charge them for the inspections.  We hear the university
may soon be taking that same position.

The sate agrees with our position that we are mandated to do these
inspections and only we can do them.

Our position is that we treat all customers equally and cannot pass on
to other customers the costs/fees/charges that are unique to only
certain customers.  We have a special rate for inspections for customers
with multiple devices at a single location (hourly rather than a per
device charge), so we aren't making $ on this.  If we don't collect our
costs from the schools and university, we would have to pass on that
cost to the other customers - some of whom pay inspection fees for their
backflow prevention devises, and the rest who don't have such devices or
inspections.

Abigail Elias, Chief Assistant City Attorney | City of Ann Arbor,
Michigan | mailto:aelias@a2gov.org mailto:aelias@a2gov.org  |
Telephone numbers: Office: (734) 794-6170 (+ Ext. 41888 for me) |
Direct: (734) 794-6188 | Internal extension: 41888 | Fax: (734) 994-4954
| Non-City Cell: (734) 320-7953 | address: 301 E. Huron Street, Ann
Arbor, MI 48104 | mail address: P.O. Box 8647, Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8647.
The entrance to City Hall is now Huron Street, near Fifth Avenue. An
entrance off Ann Street is now open and limited metered parking is
available on Fifth Avenue north of Ann Street, on Ann Street and in the
parking lot off Ann Street adjacent to the building.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  The information in this transaction is intended
only for the individual or entity named above.  It may be legally
privileged and confidential.  If you have received this information in
error, please notify me immediately and delete this transmission and any
other documents, files and information transmitted herewith.  If the
reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of
this communication or its contents is strictly prohibited.

A mind once expanded by a new idea never returns to its original
dimensions. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

First of all, welcome to all our new list members!  Glad to have you aboard.  It sounds like all of you have a great breadth of experience to contribute to our group!  Things are always interesting in cities that are home to universities, aren't they?!!!

Abigail -

In response to your question on the inspection fees, no, we are not having this problem.  Can you take another tact and tell them that you are required through the State to do the inspections, as a part of the EPA's requirements placed on the State through the Clean Water Act?  (I am just speculating here, but suspect that is where your State is forcing this requirement on you.)  Have you tried talking with the attorney for your public schools?  I know many times schools don't  deal with Federal environmental requirements like cities do on a daily basis, but most attorneys do appreciate the authority of the EPA and State environmental agencies - and related penalties they can assess.  If the entities are balking because they claim some exemption from City ordinance, are there State regulations that you can cite for the requirement to test and authority to assess costs (showing more than just City ordinance authority)?  If there aren't, could you get your State environmental agency to put that in writing?  Not sure these are helpful, but what thoughts I have to offer . . .

Marianne

Marianne Landers Banks
Assistant City Attorney
City of Springfield Law Department
840 Boonville Ave.
Springfield, MO 65801
417-864-1123 - office
417-773-3207 - mobile
417-864-1705 - fax
mbanks@springfieldmo.govmailto:mbanks@springfieldmo.gov

Note:  This may be a privileged and confidential communication and attorney-client privileged.  Attorney are required to notify all recipients of e-mail that (1) e-mail communication is not a secure method of communication, (2) any e-mail that is sent to you or by you may be copied and held by various computers it passes through as it goes from me to you or vice versa,  (3) persons not participating in our communication may intercept our communications by improperly accessing your computer or even some computer unconnected to either of us which the e-mail passes through.  I am communicating to you via e-mail because you have consented to receive communications via this medium.  If you want future communications to be sent in a different fashion, or if you receive this message in error please let me know AT ONCE by calling 417-864-1645 or emailing mbanks@springfieldmo.govmailto:mbanks@springfieldmo.gov .

From: universitycities-bounces@lists.imla.org [mailto:universitycities-bounces@lists.imla.org] On Behalf Of Elias, Abigail
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 2:40 PM
To: Chuck Thompson; universitycities@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Universitycities] Is your public University refusing to pay inspection fees?

As the operator of a public water supply system, we are obligated by state law to do an annual inspection of all backflow prevention devices on our customers' premises.  Our customers include the public schools as well as one big university.  The schools are now claiming we don't have authority to charge them for the inspections.  We hear the university may soon be taking that same position.

The sate agrees with our position that we are mandated to do these inspections and only we can do them.

Our position is that we treat all customers equally and cannot pass on to other customers the costs/fees/charges that are unique to only certain customers.  We have a special rate for inspections for customers with multiple devices at a single location (hourly rather than a per device charge), so we aren't making $ on this.  If we don't collect our costs from the schools and university, we would have to pass on that cost to the other customers - some of whom pay inspection fees for their backflow prevention devises, and the rest who don't have such devices or inspections.

Abigail Elias, Chief Assistant City Attorney | City of Ann Arbor, Michigan | mailto:aelias@a2gov.org | Telephone numbers: Office: (734) 794-6170 (+ Ext. 41888 for me) | Direct: (734) 794-6188 | Internal extension: 41888 | Fax: (734) 994-4954 | Non-City Cell: (734) 320-7953 | address: 301 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | mail address: P.O. Box 8647, Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8647. The entrance to City Hall is now Huron Street, near Fifth Avenue. An entrance off Ann Street is now open and limited metered parking is available on Fifth Avenue north of Ann Street, on Ann Street and in the parking lot off Ann Street adjacent to the building.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  The information in this transaction is intended only for the individual or entity named above.  It may be legally privileged and confidential.  If you have received this information in error, please notify me immediately and delete this transmission and any other documents, files and information transmitted herewith.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication or its contents is strictly prohibited.

A mind once expanded by a new idea never returns to its original dimensions. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.