CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA PACKET 4-21-26

429628.1 4 5225264.1 10.2. Any Third-Party Investigation under this agreement shall be limited to records directly related to the City’s fee collection and shall not extend to other City utility operations or confidential City information. Zone 7’s third-party investigators shall provide at least 10 business days’ written notice of any inspection and shall conduct investigations during normal business hours in a manner that does not unreasonably disrupt City operations. 10.3. For purposes of this Section, a “significant discrepancy” shall mean either: (a) undercollection affecting more than 10% of the number of transactions (defined as an individual service connection) in any month within a 12-month period, or (b) a cumulative undercollection of more than $50,000.00 during a 12-month period. 11. Dispute Resolution. The parties agree to resolve disputes arising under this agreement as follows: 11.1. Direct Negotiation. Any dispute shall first be addressed through good faith negotiations between the City Manager and Zone 7’s General Manager. Either party may initiate dispute resolution by providing written notice to the other party. The City Manager and Zone 7’s General Manager shall meet within 15 days of such notice and attempt to resolve the dispute through direct negotiation for up to 60 days, unless the parties agree in writing to extend or shorten this period. 11.2. Mediation. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute by Direct Negotiation, either party may initiate mandatory nonbinding mediation by written notice to the other party. The parties agree to participate in mediation in good faith. The parties shall select a mutually acceptable mediator within 15 days of the mediation notice. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator, the mediator will be named by ADR Services, Inc. from among its panel of neutrals. The mediation shall be completed within 60 days of mediator selection. The parties shall share equally in the cost of the mediation. The time periods in this section may be changed by written agreement of the parties. 11.3. Court Proceedings. If mediation is unsuccessful, either party may seek relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. 12. Force Majeure Neither party shall be liable for delays or failures in performance resulting from acts of God, natural disasters, government actions, labor disputes, cyber-attacks, epidemics, or other circumstances beyond its reasonable control. The affected party shall provide prompt written notice to the other of the delay and its cause, and use reasonable efforts to minimize delays. Page 11 of 846