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Where charges against any premises appear on the books of the department for devices of a transitory or of a portable nature, including hose, hydraulic motors for washing machines, etc., where it may be possible to conceal such devices if inspection is anticipated, such charge may be cancelled upon presentation of an affidavit by the owner, agent or occupant of such premises, such affidavit to be in the form prescribed by the commissioner. The chief water assessor shall then cause an inspection of said premises to be made, and where the result of such inspection verifies the claim made in such affidavit the charge for such hose or device so decreased upon affidavit shall remain cancelled.
In case the result of such inspection indicates that the affidavit was made in an endeavor to escape the payment of water rates or charges which according to the provisions of this chapter should have been paid, then the charge which has been so decreased shall be immediately restored, and a penalty equal to the amount of such charge may be collected. These charges shall become immediately due and payable.
(Prior code § 185-39; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12)
No deduction shall be made or rebate allowed to any consumer of water under meter control by or on account of any leakage or alleged leakage in any water pipe, tank or other apparatus or device. The amount of water registered by any meter controlling the water supply to any building, structure or premises, shall be charged and paid for in full, irrespective of whether such water, after having been registered, was lost by leakage, accident or otherwise, except registration of fire meters occasioned by a fire or by evaporation as hereinbefore provided.
(Prior code § 185-42)
(a) Title. This section shall be known and cited as the Leak Relief Pilot Program.
(b) Purpose. The Leak Relief Pilot Program is intended to address unexpected City water and sewer bills for customers whose properties experience underground water leaks on their metered water service line.
(c) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
“Basis period” means either the 12-month period before the leak started or the 6-month period after the leak was repaired. If these time periods are not representative of the average amount of water supplied to the property for which relief is sought, then the basis period will be timeframe determined by the Department of Finance after review of the account and any relevant documentation.
“Comptroller” means the Comptroller of the City of Chicago, or the Comptroller’s designee.
“Eligible leak” means a leak on a property owner’s water service line where:
(1) the water service line is controlled by a meter located outside of the property; and
(2) the leak is located on the water service line underground between the meter and the property; and
(3) the leak impacted the property owner’s utility bill; and
(4) the Department of Water Management has confirmed the location of the leak; and
(5) the leak was repaired on or after January 1, 2023.
“Eligible leak period” means the period when the Eligible Leak impacted the property owner’s utility bill as determined by the Department of Finance.
“LRP” means the Leak Relief Pilot Program created by this section.
“Participant” means a participant in the LRP.
“Property owner” means the owner of a single family, two-unit, or three-unit residence, or a commercial property with a water service line of 1 inch in size or less, located in the City of Chicago.
(d) Eligibility. A property owner may become a participant in the LRP if:
(1) the property owner applies to the Comptroller to become a participant; and
(2) the water service line serving the property has experienced an eligible leak; and
(3) a property owner has never been granted relief under the LRP for the property in question.
The Comptroller may require the property owner to provide all documents which may be reasonably needed to support a property owner’s eligibility for the LRP as a part of the application for relief.
(e) Determination of relief. After acceptance and enrollment in the LRP, the Department of Finance shall:
(1) review the billing history of the participant;
(2) review the history of water passing through the meter at the participant’s property, and any other relevant information, to determine which service periods were likely impacted by the eligible leak;
(3) calculate the average amount of water passing through the meter during the basis period;
(4) provide a credit adjustment to reduce the amount of the charges for service during the eligible leak period to an estimated amount based on the average amount of water passing through the meter during the basis period. If the basis period average is higher than the eligible leak period average, then no adjustment shall be applied.
(f) Rules. The Comptroller is authorized to adopt such rules as the Comptroller may deem necessary for the proper implementation, administration, and enforcement of this section.
(g) Property interest. The LRP is created in the City’s sole discretion, and participation in the program and any benefits that result from the program are not intended to create a property interest in any participant or in any individual eligible for the program.
(h) Expiration. This section shall expire and be repealed of its own accord, without further action by the City Council, on December 31, 2026.
(Added Coun. J. 5-22-24, p. 11628, § 1)
Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3, repealed former § 11-12-470, which pertained to cash refunds. Coun. J. 11-16-16, p. 37901, Art. IV, § 4, reaffirmed the repeal of this section. For the original repeal, see Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 5, § 5.
Whenever a payment is made for charges on a unified statement of charges and such payment does not cover the full amount of the current charges or any unpaid charges from a prior unified statement of charges, any amount paid shall be allocated pro-rata among the unpaid charges, including any associated penalties, oldest statements first. For purposes of this Section 11-12-480, the term "charges" shall include the Chicago Water and Sewer Tax imposed by Chapter 3-80 of this Code.
(Prior code § 185-44; Amend Coun. J. 3-28-01, p. 55444, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 5-2-01, p. 57409, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-16-16, p. 19439, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-16, p. 29720, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-22, p. 50569, § 4)
(a) Upon the Department's termination of nonmetered water service to any building, structure, or premises, the charges for water service shall be prorated through the date of such termination, and no new charges for water service shall be assessed unless and until water service is restored. A temporary disconnection, such as a disconnection in order to perform necessary repairs or maintenance of water mains or other infrastructure, or in an emergency to allow the property owner to make repairs to the property's plumbing infrastructure, shall not be considered a termination of nonmetered water service.
(b) Assessment of charges shall resume on the date of the restoration of service.
(c) When water service has been restored without authorization of the Commissioner, and no date of restoration can be determined, charges for water service shall resume and shall be charged back to the date of shut-off.
(d) This section shall not be construed to suspend any penalties or fines on any past due amounts.
(Added Coun. J. 11-26-19, p. 11514, Art. V, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-24-20, p. 24619, Art. IV, Ch. 1, § 1)
Editor’s note – Pursuant to Coun. J. 11-26-19, p. 11514, Art. XV, this section shall take effect on January 1, 2021.
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