Subd. 1. Application, connection and sale of service. Application for municipal utility services shall be made upon forms supplied by Austin Utilities or the city, and strictly in accordance therewith. No connection shall be made until consent has been received from Austin Utilities or the city to make the same. All municipal utilities shall be sold and delivered to consumers under the then applicable rates applied to the amount of the utilities taken as metered or ascertained in connection with the rates.
Subd. 2. 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 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;
C. There is fraud or misrepresentation by the owner or occupant in connection with any application for service or delivery or charges therefor; or
D. A duly authorized employee of Austin Utilities or the city has been denied access to the premises for meter reading, inspection or repair.
Subd. 3. Right of entry. Employees of the city and Austin Utilities, and their designees, have the right to enter in and upon private property, including buildings and dwelling houses, in or upon which is installed a municipal utility or connection therewith, at all times reasonable under the circumstances, for the purpose of reading utility meters, for the purpose of inspection and repair of meters or a utility system or any part thereof, and for the purpose of connecting and disconnecting service, and to confirm there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge from said property into the city sanitary sewer system. The right of entry is a condition to furnishing utility service. If entry is refused, an employee may obtain an administrative search warrant to gain entry. The owner of any such property may meet the requirements of this section by contracting with a licensed plumber who is authorized to do business in the city to perform such inspection. Such plumber shall inspect the owner’s property and shall complete, sign, and return an inspection form to the city, documenting the results of the inspection. The inspection form shall be furnished to the property owner or licensed plumber upon request. All costs associated with an inspection by a licensed plumber retained by the property owner under this section shall be the responsibility of the property owner. If the property is leased by owner, the tenant in possession has a duty to authorize and cooperate with the inspection. Owners must notify their tenants of owner’s obligation under this chapter to grant access to the city, utilities or their designees, for purposes of performing the inspection and any deadlines by which the inspections must be completed.
Subd. 4. 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 or Austin Utilities, as the case may be.
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 or Austin Utilities for non-payment of a bill, or for any other reason, without first having obtained a permit to do so from Austin Utilities or the city, as the case may be.
D. It is unlawful for any person to “jumper” or by any means or device fully or partially circumvent a municipal utility meter, or 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.
E. It is unlawful for any person to intentionally prevent, hinder or delay an employee of Austin Utilities or the city, acting in the performance of his or her duties, from reading a utility meter, inspecting or repairing a utility system or a connection therewith or connecting or disconnecting a utility service.
Subd. 5. Municipal utility charges a lien.
A. Payment for service and charges provided for herein shall be the primary responsibility of the owner of the premises served and shall be billed to him or her unless otherwise authorized in writing by the tenant and owner and consented to by the city or Austin Utilities, as the case may be. Austin Utilities or the city, as the case may be, may collect the same in a civil action or, in the alternative and at the option of it, as otherwise provided in this subdivision.
B. Each charge is hereby made a lien upon the premises served. All charges which are on August 31 of each year, more than 30 days past due, shall be certified by the City Administrator to the County Auditor between October 1 and October 10 of each year, and the City Administrator, in so certifying the charges to the County Auditor, shall specify the amount thereof, the description of the premises served and the name of the owner thereof. Prior to the City Administrator certifying the charges to the County Auditor, a notice of intent to certify, in a form to be determined by the City Council, shall be delivered by United States Mail to the owner of the subject property, providing at least ten days notice of a hearing before the City Council approving that certificate and authorizing the City Administrator to so certify the charges. The owner of the premises shall be permitted, at the time and place of the hearing, to appear and show cause as to why the charges should not be certified. The amount so certified shall be extended by the Auditor on the tax rolls against the premises in the same manner as other taxes and collected by the County Treasurer and paid to the city along with other taxes.
(Ord. 603, passed 9-16-13; Am. Ord. 657, passed --) Penalty, see § 1.99