(A) Any customer whose bill remains unpaid at 5:00 p.m. on the 15th day of the month after the billing date shall be considered delinquent. Any customer who is delinquent may be contacted by the town in an attempt to collect payment for the delinquent bill.
(B) After the 25th day of the month, the town may refer any delinquent customers to a collection agency or attorney for collection. Delinquent accounts are also subject to the filing of liens in accordance with the town's billing procedure.
(C) Delinquent accounts that have been filed as liens can no longer be paid in the normal manner, but must be paid to the county in the manner prescribed by the county for lien payments. Lien filings will include reasonable collection and attorney fees.
(D) In the case of a non-owner occupied property, the deeded owner will be notified of any utility bills related to their property that remain outstanding beyond the 25th day of the month that the bill is due.
(E) The Town Council hereby grants authority to the Clerk-Treasurer to offer to delinquent customers one bill workout plan not more often than once each 12 month period (beginning on a month that the customer is current on all of its town utility bills). This bill workout procedure will be that the customer must pay monthly a payment consisting of two parts. The first part is the entire balance of the current monthly bill after the workout plan begins. The second part is one-third of the amount that was due before the bill workout plan began. This workout procedure is intended to allow the delinquent customer to become current within a three month period. No additional late fees will accrue to the delinquent portion of the bill starting with the date the workout is approved and continuing during the three month period of the workout. If the delinquent customer defaults on this agreement by paying less than the calculated amount due, the bill workout agreement terminates immediately, and without further notice, and the town's normal and customary bill collection procedures begin. This would include water service disconnection, sewage and stormwater lien filing, and other bill collection procedures.
(F) After a bill workout plan terminates, the Clerk-Treasurer cannot offer another bill workout plan to that customer for 12 months from the last current payment.
(G) The above described bill workout procedure in no way limits the powers or the authority of the Town Council to modify or adjust a bill, or offer a different or additional workout procedure for delinquent customers.
(Ord. 2020-01-01, passed 1-14-2020)