For the purpose of this Article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(a)   City means the City of Park City, Kansas.

(b)   Customer means the person in whose name a Utility Service is provided.

(c)   Divert means to change the intended course or path of electricity, natural gas, water, cable television, telephone, or other Utility Service without the authorization or consent of the Utility Company.

(d)   Person means any individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation.

(e)   Reconnection means the commencement of Utility Service, other than by a Utility Company, to a Customer or other person after Utility Service has been discontinued by the Utility Company.

(f)    Tamper means to rearrange, damage, injure, destroy, alter, interfere with, or otherwise prevent from performing normal or customary function.

(g)   Telecommunications Service means any telephone service or the transmission of a message, signal, or other communication by telephone or telegraph, or other telephone or telegraph facilities.

(h)   Utility Company means any entity including, but not limited to the City, that provides Utility Service to Customers within the corporate limits of the City, when such Utility Service is delivered through City rights-of-way.

(i)    Utility Service means the providing of electricity, natural gas, water, telecommunications, cable television or any other service or commodity furnished by a Utility Company for compensation.

It shall be unlawful for any person to commit, authorize, solicit, aid, abet, or attempt any of the following acts:

(a)   Divert, or cause to be diverted, Utility Service by any means whatsoever;

(b)   Make, or cause to be made, any connection or Reconnection with property owned or used by the Utility Company to provide Utility Service without the authorization or consent of the Utility Company;

(c)   Prevent any Utility Company meter, or other device used in determining the charge for Utility Services, from accurately performing its measuring function by tampering or other means;

(d)   Tamper with any property owned or used by the Utility Company to provide Utility Services;

(e)   Using or receiving the direct benefit of all or a portion of Utility Service, with knowledge of or reason to believe that a diversion, prior tampering, or unauthorized connection existed at the time of the use, or that the use or receipt was without the authorization or consent of the Utility Company;

(f)    Advertise, manufacture, distribute, sell, use, rent, or offer for sale, use, or rental, any device or any description, or any plan or any kit, designed to obtain Utility Service in violation of this Chapter;

(g)   Obtain Utility Service by means of false representation, or fraudulent or deceptive action, designed to avoid the payment of any outstanding lawful charge for any Utility Service;

(h)   Using any fraudulent or deceptive scheme, device, means or method to avoid the lawful charge, in whole or in part, for any Utility Service.

It shall not be unlawful to turn off Utility Service in case of an emergency, provided that such emergency or emergency situation is reported to either the City or the Utility Company as soon as possible after the Utility Service is turned off.

There is a rebuttable presumption that a person has violated this Article if, on the premises controlled by the Customer or by the person using or receiving the direct benefit of the Utility Service, there is either, or both, of the following:

(a)   Any instrument, apparatus, or device primarily designed to be used to obtain Utility Service without paying the full lawful charges thereof;

(b)   Any Utility Company equipment that has been altered, tampered with, or bypassed so as to cause no measurement, inaccurate measurement, or to permit receipt of Utility Service without paying the full lawful charge therefor.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this Article shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each offense; and not more than one (1) year in jail, or both said fine and imprisonment. Each day a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.