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§ 50.16 APPLICATION, CONNECTION AND SALE OF SERVICE.
   Application for municipal utility services shall be made upon forms supplied by the city and strictly in accordance therewith. No connection shall be made until consent has been received from the city to make the same. All municipal utilities shall be sold and delivered to consumers under the then applicable rate applied to the amount of the utilities taken as metered or ascertained in connection with the rates.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 2)
§ 50.17 DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE.
   All municipal utilities may be shut off or discontinued whenever it is found that:
   (A)   The owner or occupant of the premises served, or any person working on any connection with the municipal utility systems, has violated any requirement of the city code relative thereto, or any connection therewith;
   (B)   Any federal, state or county fee imposed on the city but which is to be paid by the owner or occupant of the premises served is unpaid after due notice thereof;
   (C)   Any charge for a municipal utility service, or any other financial obligation imposed on the present owner or occupant of the premises served, is unpaid after due notice thereof; or
   (D)   There is fraud or misrepresentation by the owner or occupant in connection with any application for service or delivery or charges therefor.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 3) (Ord. 8, 2nd Ser., eff. 12-2-1994)
§ 50.18 OWNERSHIP OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES.
   Ownership of all municipal utilities, plants, lines, mains, extensions and appurtenances thereto shall be and remain in the city, and no person shall own any part or portion thereof; provided, however, that private facilities and appurtenances constructed on private property are not intended to be included in municipal ownership.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 4)
§ 50.19 RIGHT OF ENTRY.
   By applying for or receiving a municipal utility service, a customer irrevocably consents and agrees that any city employee acting within the course and scope of his or her employment may enter into and upon the private property of the customer, including dwellings and other buildings, in accordance with § 10.20, at all reasonable times under those circumstances in or upon which private property a municipal utility, or connection therewith, is installed, for the purpose of inspecting, repairing, connecting or disconnecting the municipal utility service.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 5)
§ 50.20 UNLAWFUL ACTS.
   (A)   It is unlawful for any person to willfully or carelessly break, injure, mar, deface, disturb or in any way interfere with any buildings, attachments, machinery, apparatus, equipment, fixture or appurtenance of any municipal utility or municipal utility system, or commit any act tending to obstruct or impair the use of any municipal utility.
   (B)   It is unlawful for any person to make any connection with, opening into, use or alter in any way any municipal utility system without first having applied for and received written permission to do so from the city.
   (C)   It is unlawful for any person to turn on or connect a utility when the same has been turned off or disconnected by the city for non-payment of a bill or for any other reason, without first having obtained a permit to do so from the city.
   (D)   It is unlawful for any person to “jumper” or by any means or device fully or partially circumvent a municipal utility meter, to knowingly use or consume unmetered utilities or use the services of any utility system, the use of which the proper billing authorities have no knowledge.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 6) Penalty, see § 50.99
§ 50.21 MUNICIPAL UTILITY SERVICES AND CHARGES A LIEN.
   (A)   Payment for all municipal utility (as that term is defined in § 50.01) service and charges shall be the primary responsibility of the fee owner of the premises served and shall be billed to the owner unless otherwise contracted for and authorized in writing by the fee owner and any other person (such as a tenant, contract purchaser, manager and the like), as agent for the fee owner, and consented to by this city. If the utility service and charges are for a single-metered, multi-unit rental residential building, the owner of the building shall be the customer of record and this responsibility shall not be waived by contract or otherwise. The city may collect the same in a civil action or, in the alternative and at the option of the city, as otherwise provided in this subchapter.
   (B)   Except as to the furnishing of retail natural, manufactured or mixed gas or electric service to or for the public, and to the extent otherwise authorized by state law, each account is hereby made a lien upon the premises served. All accounts which are more than 45 days delinquent may, when authorized by resolution of the Council, be certified by the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer to the County Auditor, and the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer in so certifying shall specify the amount thereof, the description of the premises served and the name of the owner thereof. The amount so certified shall be extended by the Auditor on the tax rolls against the premises in the same manner as other taxes, collected by the County Treasurer and paid to the city along with other taxes.
   (C)   As to the furnishing of retail natural, manufactured or mixed gas or electric service to or for the public, and to the extent otherwise authorized by state law, the city shall not:
      (1)   Recover or attempt to recover payment for a tenant’s outstanding bill or charge from a landlord, property owner or manager, manufactured home park owner or manufactured home dealer who has not contracted for the service;
      (2)   Condition service on payment of an outstanding bill or other charge for utility service due upon the outstanding account of a previous customer or customers when all of the previous customers have vacated the property; or
      (3)   Place a lien on the landlord’s or owner’s property for a tenant’s outstanding bill or charge.
(1989 Code, § 3.04, Subd. 7) (Ord. 27, 2nd Ser., eff. 5-7-1999)
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