(a) All water service shall be charged for on the basis of water consumed as determined by the water meter installed in or near the premises of a user and shall include a readiness to serve charge. No free water service shall be furnished to any person or premises.
(b) Charges for all water service shall be billed by the Finance Department and collected monthly by the City Treasurer. All water meters shall be read at least every second month and bills shall be rendered within fourteen days following the meter readings. All bills shall be payable when rendered and shall be deemed delinquent if not paid on or before the due date shown on the bill. A late charge of ten percent of the unpaid bill shall be assessed on all bills paid more than thirty days after the due date.
(c) The Office of the City Manager is hereby authorized to enforce the payment of charges for water service to any premises by discontinuing the water service to such premises and an action of assumpsit may be instituted by the City against the customer. The charges for water service which, under the provisions of Public Act 94 of 1933, as amended; (“Act 94”) are made a lien on the premises to which such service is furnished, are hereby recognized to constitute such lien. The Director of Revenue Services shall, on June 30 and January 1, certify all unpaid charges for such service furnished to any premises which, as of these dates, have remained unpaid for a period of six months, to the City Assessor who shall place the same on a special assessment roll of the City. Such charges so assessed shall be collected in the same manner as general City taxes. If the City is properly notified, in accordance with Act 94, that a tenant is responsible for water service charges, no such service shall be commenced or continued to such premises until there has been deposited with the City Treasurer a sum sufficient to cover three times the average monthly or bimonthly bill for such premises, as estimated by the Director of Revenue Services. Such deposit shall be prescribed in the schedule provided for in Section 802.24
. Where the meter service to any premises is turned off to enforce the payment of water service charges, the water service shall not be reconnected until all delinquent charges have been paid and a deposit, as in the case of tenants, is made. In addition, there shall be a water turn-on charge as prescribed in the schedule provided for in Section 802.24
. In any other case where, at the discretion of the Revenue Services Director, the collection of charges for water service may be difficult or uncertain, the Director may require a similar deposit. Such deposits may be applied against any delinquent water service charges and the application thereof shall not affect the right of the City to turn off the water service to any premises for a delinquency thereby satisfied. No such deposit shall bear interest. Such deposits, or any remaining balance thereof, shall be returned to the customer making the same when the water service is discontinued or, except as to tenants as to whom notice of responsibility for such charges has been filed with the City, when any eight successive monthly or bimonthly bills have been paid by such customer with no delinquency.
(d) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to alter or repeal any of the provisions of ordinances providing for the issuance of water supply system revenue bonds, with respect to the obligations of the City and the security of the bondholders thereunder. This chapter is intended to conform with such ordinances and if there is any conflict whereby the security of the bondholders or the obligations of such bonds are impaired, then, with respect to such conflict, the provisions of such ordinances shall prevail, so long as any water bonds issued under such ordinances are outstanding and unredeemed.
(e) The rates and charges established by the City for water service shall be as set forth in a schedule which shall be enacted by the City Commission from time to time by resolution.
(Ord. 14-01. Passed 10-16-01; Ord. 11-2015. Passed 1-5-16; Ord. 07-2023. Passed 8-1-23.)