All water customers of the City shall have individual water service shut-off valves located conveniently upon the property and accessible to Water Department employees of the City. The installation and maintenance of this valve shall be the responsibility of the property owner. If this section is not complied with by the property owner, the City shall, at its discretion, install such valve and bill the property owner for the labor and material. The City may install such water valve if the property owner fails to do so after a notice in writing has been mailed by certified mail to the property owner giving him or her sixty days in which to install the same. If the City installs the valve and the property owner fails to pay the bill for installation within thirty days after receiving the bill from the City, a notice of lien for the costs and expenses thereof incurred by the City shall be recorded in the following manner:
(a) The City shall file a notice of lien in the office of the County Clerk.
(b) The notice of lien shall consist of a sworn statement setting out:
(1) A description of the real estate involved which is sufficient for identification thereof;
(2) The amount of money representing the costs and expenses incurred which are payable for such service; and
(3) The date when such costs and expenses were incurred by the City.
(c) Such notice shall be filed within sixty days after such costs and expenses have been incurred and shall become a lien upon the real estate of the property owner.
The term "water customer, " as used in this section, refers to any water service to a residence, including a home, trailer, apartment, mobile home or any other abode of an individual or family.
Provided, however, that a landlord engaged in the rental of multiple units on one tract of real estate may elect to have one meter service all units on said tract of real estate. In such case, the City shall install and pay for the water meter. The landlord shall be charged at the commercial water rate for the City for all water supplied to the multiple units. The City shall charge the landlord the flat rate for water service for a three-month period after installment of the meter to enable the landlord to compute the rate of water usage. At the conclusion of the three-month period, the landlord shall be billed at the regular commercial water rate for water furnished to said premises. Landlord shall have the responsibility to notify the City whether they desire to have a single commercial meter to supply all multiple units or to treat each unit separately and install their own meter and shut-off valve. The rental property owner shall be responsible for payment of the water bill when he elects to have a single water meter supply all units in multiple unit premises.
(Ord. 570. Passed 11-14-88; Ord. 801. Passed 1-12-04.)