(A) Failure to pay bill; service disconnection.
(1) The Water and Service Department shall disconnect the water service and/or the sewer service of any person failing to pay for its water and sewer services, as billed, by the fifteenth day of the succeeding month after said statement has been mailed to the customer, for nonpayment.
(2) All bills for utility services shall be due and payable upon presentation and if a bill is not paid within 15 days, a penalty equal to 20% of the amount due on said bill shall be added thereto. This penalty shall be in addition to the charges heretofore established for the utility services.
(B) Reconnection and notice delivery charges.
(1) Reconnection. In the event water service to any water user of the village is disconnected for nonpayment of municipal water service charges by the village, there shall be assessed by the village to the water user a charge of $100 as a reconnection fee. No reconnection shall be made until all delinquent water and sewer charges, if any such charges are due, are paid to the village by the user and/or owner of the property.
(2) Delivery of notice. In the event the municipal employees are required to personally deliver a notice (red tag) to any water user of the village with regard to delinquent payment of water and/or sewer charges, there shall be assessed and charged to said water and/or sewer user a fee of $35. The charge for the personal delivery of the delinquent notice shall appear on the following month’s bill mailed to the user as a part of said bill and shall be payable at the same time as payment of the water and/or sewer charges billed in that month.
(C) Disconnection for late payment.
(1) Any customer who fails to pay the utility bills within 25 days of presentation shall have the utility services disconnected after a written notice by the Village Clerk has been mailed by first-class mail to the customer, affording the customer an opportunity for a hearing. The foresaid notice shall be mailed to the customer 16 days after billing, or in the event the sixteenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day following the sixteenth day, specifically advising the customer of the following:
(a) Name and address of the customer and amount due for services, including late penalties;
(b) The date, time, and location of the hearing to be held;
(c) That the customer has a right to be heard and to present evidence in the user’s behalf if the user does not agree with the bill;
(d) That if the customer fails to appear at the hearing, the user’s utility service shall be terminated without further proceedings; and
(e) That date of termination.
(2) It is the policy of the village to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The village’s form for application for utility service and all bills shall contain, in addition to the title, address, room number, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect that:
(a) All bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill;
(b) If any bill is not paid by or before that date, a second bill will be mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within ten days of the mailing of the second bill, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
(c) Any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing and may present orally or in writing his or her complaint and contentions to the village official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint.
(3) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due and unpaid for at least 30 days.
(4) Upon utility services being disconnected, services shall not be reconnected or used until all delinquent accounts and bills of service are paid in full. A reconnection fee of $100 is hereby established. Reconnection of services shall be 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
(Prior Code, § 8-1-11) (Ord. 440, passed 6-20-1983; Ord. 721, passed 4-2-2012; Ord. 755, passed 7-7-2014; Ord. 2023-11, passed 10-2-2023) Penalty, see § 50.99