(a) Water service charges shall be billed for any building, enterprise or residence to which water service is provided, either directly or indirectly.
(b) A uniform water usage rate as provided in the General Fee Schedule shall be charged to residents of the Municipality. Users outside the Municipality shall be charged an additional surcharge and/or by a separate water rate as established in the General Fee Schedule.
(c) The water usage shall be based upon the flow as measured by the metered consumption. If it is not possible to obtain a reading, an estimate of water consumed for the period may be billed by the Municipality.
(d) A minimum monthly charge as established in the General Fee Schedule shall be paid to the Municipality by every property whose premises are served by a connection to the Municipal Water System, either directly or indirectly.
(e) Temporary Exemption of Water Charges. Residential properties shall, temporarily, have charges for water service waived based upon the following provisions:
(1) The account shall be in good standing and without delinquencies; and
(2) The residents are absent from the property for a period of three (3) consecutive months or more; and
(3) The residents notify the utility department of the dates of property absence; and
(4) Water service is turned off for a period of three (3) consecutive months or more by the Department of Service.
(5) The Utility Department will produce a final reading and process a bill with the next regular billing cycle. Under no circumstances shall the closing statement be less than the minimum charge prorated for the usage period.
(6) Should water service be reinstated at any time during the initial three (3) consecutive months, all waived fees and charges plus applicable penalty and interest will be retro-actively billed to the account back to the date of initial termination.
(f) Vacant Property Exemption. Vacant properties may be eligible for a temporary exemption of water charges based upon the following provisions:
(1) The account shall be in good standing and without delinquencies; and
(2) The property is registered with the Municipality as a vacant property; and
(3) Water service is turned off by the Department of Service.
(4) Misrepresentation of information may result in retro-active billing of waived fees plus applicable penalty and interest.
(Ord. 15-13. Passed 10-22-13.)