(A) Except for emergency terminations pursuant to § 51.43 above, terminations of water service shall not occur on any day which precedes a holiday or weekend, or any other day on which all services necessary to restore service are not available. All terminations of service shall be documented by a written service order recording the date, time, and identity of the utilities department employee effectuating termination; such documentation shall be retained in the business file kept by the city relating to any service address so affected.
(B) Utilities department employees dispatched to terminate service shall not terminate service until they make reasonable efforts to personally contact the occupants, if any, of each service address affected by termination to advise of the termination; and verify the propriety of the termination. Reasonable efforts shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, knocking at the entry to each individual service address, or otherwise attempting to gain the attention of any occupants. If the utilities department employee makes personal contact with the occupants of any such service address, and discovers no information which would create a question as to the propriety of the termination, the utilities department employee shall then deliver to the occupant a turn-off notice which shall clearly and conspicuously advise the occupant of:
(1) The date and time of the termination;
(2) The reason for termination;
(3) If the termination is for non-payment, the amount which must be paid, including any reconnection fee, to have service restored;
(4) The location and hours of the office at which payment can be made to obtain restoration;
(5) The title, address, telephone number, and hours during which the Utility Billing Office may be contacted to discuss restoration of service;
(6) A consumer's ability to obtain utility service in their own account, if service was terminated due to non-payment of utility charges, if the consumer does not owe an outstanding bill to the Utility Billing Office; and
(7) A consumer or customer's right to a hearing to contest termination or a refusal to restore service, although that request will not now postpone termination unless it can be established that prior notice of proposed termination was not given.
(C) If the utilities department employee's efforts to make personal contact with the occupants of any such service address immediately prior to termination are not successful, the utilities department employee shall post the turn-off notice in a prominent place at the entry to each service address affected by termination. The utilities department employee shall document on the service order the efforts made to personally contact the occupants prior to termination and the delivery of the turn-off notice, including the date and time such acts were performed and their identity.
(Ord. 15-99, passed 2-22-99)