(A) Solid waste collection and disposal charges and invoices shall be rendered and collected monthly, subject to the following:
(1) The Division of Solid Waste shall make and enforce such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary for the regulation and collection of the user fee prescribed by this chapter.
(2) The Division of Solid Waste upon recommendation from the Clerk-Treasurer may, in its discretion, permit a user fee to be billed to a tenant occupying the residential unit or to a homeowners or other neighborhood association of which the residential unit is a member, unless otherwise instructed in writing by the person who owns the residential unit. Such billings shall in no way relieve the owner of the residential unit of liability for fees in the event payment is not made as herein required.
(3) The user fee for solid waste service shall be due and payable on or before the due dates shown on the bills, any user fee not paid within 15 days following mailing or rendering of a bill by the town (unless a different period is specified by the Division of Solid Waste) shall be considered delinquent. Delinquent user fees, together with costs and other expenses of collection, may be collected by any lawful remedy.
(4) Fees established hereunder are payable by each user/customer of the solid waste services, regardless of whether the town actually removes any solid waste, refuse, garbage, rubbish, and trash from the user/customer’s property.
(5) Failure of a user/customer to make timely payment shall be subject to a penalty or late charge of 10%.
(6) Submission of any delinquent account to any attorney for collection shall entitle the town to recover reasonable attorney’s fees, expenses incurred by the town in the collection process, and court costs, if any.
(7) Delinquent accounts may be collected through a complaint filed by an attorney or a town-appointed employee as allowed by statute.
(8) The town reserves the right always, notwithstanding any waiver, whether expressed or implied, to pursue any and all available actions it deems necessary, as permitted by law, to collect outstanding or delinquent rates, fees, and charges, including but not limited to filing legal actions in a court of competent jurisdiction. The town shall be entitled to recover its costs, including, but not limited to, its attorney’s fees.
(9) The official business record of the Clerk-Treasurer’s office shall constitute prime facie proof of mailing of the utility bills, and if the user/customer claims not to have received a bill, then the late charge will stand as a part of his or her bill if the printout sheet indicates a bill was mailed.
(10) If the town receives a check for payment of an outstanding user fee and said check is returned for insufficient funds, the town may assess an additional fee of $25 in addition to all other applicable charges.
(11) Upon the recommendation of the Clerk-Treasurer, the Division of Solid Waste may, in its discretion, accept payment for any user fee by credit card or any other method authorized under I.C. 36-1-8-11, including check, bank draft, money order, bank card or electronic funds transfer (“authorized payment method”) under and pursuant to the procedures set forth in I.C. 36-1-8-11, as the same may be amended from time to time. If there is a charge to the town for the use of credit card or other authorized payment method to make such payments, the town may collect a sum equal to the amount of the charge from the person, trust, corporation or legal entity using the credit card or other authorized payment method.
(12) Overpayments by the user/ customer will be applied to the user/customer’s account as a credit towards future rates, charges, and fees until such credits are fully depleted.
(13) In the event that the user/customer tenders only partial payment or any amount less than the total amount of all rates, charges, and fees outstanding, including for other utility service such as water and sewer, and notwithstanding any purported directions from the user/customer of which rates, charges, or fees are being paid, payments from the user/customer will be applied in the Clerk-Treasurer’s discretion, generally in the following manner:
(a) First, payments are applied against any and all fees and other nonrecurring charges (such as, late payment charges, capacity fees, subsequent connector fees, reconnection fees and the like), in a manner and order solely the Clerk-Treasurer’s discretion, until all such fees and charges are fully satisfied.
(b) Second, payments remaining after full satisfaction of rates, charges, and fees due and owing under subsection (a) are applied to that portion of the user/customer’s account owed for rates and charges from water service (such as, monthly water rates and the like).
(c) Third, payments remaining after full satisfaction of rates, charges and fees due and owing under subsections (a) and (b) are applied to the remaining portion of the user/customer’s account owed for rates and charges from sewer service (such as, monthly sewer rates and the like).
(d) Fourth, payments remaining after full satisfaction of rates, charges, fees due and owing under subsections (a), (b), or (c) are applied to that portion of the user/customer’s account owed for solid waste services under this chapter (such as, monthly trash rates and the like).
(B) The Town Council may, in its sole and absolute discretion, change the application order of payments. In the event of a dispute as to the classification of a fee, rate, charge, or otherwise under this section, all determinations by the town as to the ultimate allocation of the specific payments shall be final.
(Ord. 2019-06, passed 7-9-2019)