In the event any customer fails to pay all charges billed for water, solid waste and sewer services, and any late charges assessed, on or before the due date of the statement, the customer shall be subject to the following disconnect procedures:
(A) Disconnect notice.
(1) When a customer's bill becomes delinquent, the next monthly bill shall include a notice that utility services will be subject to disconnection if delinquent amounts are not paid. If after the first notice the bill remains delinquent, a second notice shall be mailed to the customer's last known address at least 7 days prior to the last day of the month, stating that the customer's utility services may be disconnected if all delinquent charges billed for water, solid waste, sewer services and all related late charges are not paid by 12:00 p.m. of the last business day of the month. The customer shall be informed in the disconnect notice that it is the final notice prior to utility service being disconnected. The customer shall also be informed in that notice that the customer may request a hearing no later than 2 days prior to the last business day of the month to challenge the correctness of charges.
(2) During the winter months a good faith effort will be made to notify (by phone or written notice left at the residence) the customer or an adult member of the household, at least 48 hours prior to the disconnect.
(B) Contest of charges. In the event that a customer contests the charges as incorrect, he or she may request a hearing. The customer's requests for a hearing must be in writing and received by the utility office no later than 2 days prior to the last business day of the month. The written request must include the customer's name, contact information, account number and a brief description of the request being made.
(C) Hearing.
(1) The Utility Business Manager is hereby appointed as Utility Hearing Officer, and he or she may appoint one or more of the staff to assist him or her. The Utility Hearing Officer shall hold an informal hearing with the customer to determine if the charges are correct. In the event the bill is in error, the Utility Hearing Officer shall have the authority to correct the bill for the customer. In the event the bill is determined to be accurate, the customer shall be held responsible for payment of the charges as billed. The Utility Hearing Officer shall not have any authority to consider questions of hardship or inability to pay.
(2) The hearing may be continued for up to 30 days by either the Utility Hearing Officer or by written request from the customer in order to assemble evidence. The determination of the Utility Hearing Officer shall be communicated to the customer either at the hearing, the continued hearing, or within 15 business days.. The customer may make a written appeal to the Utility Board within 5 days of the determination. The determination of the Utility Board shall be final.
(D) Disconnects.
(1) If all delinquent charges for water, solid waste and sewer services and all related late charges are not paid by 12:00 p.m. of the last business day of the month that the disconnect notice was given and a hearing determination is not pending, the utility services for the customer may be disconnected. Utility meters may be removed from the premises as part of the disconnection process. Unauthorized connection/reconnection to the utility system will be considered theft of service and will be prosecuted according to law.
(2) The utility services will not be disconnected for an additional 30 days if the customer has an inability to pay and provides medical documentation from a licensed physician that disconnecting utilities would be life threatening to the customer or a permanent resident residing on the customer's premises due to life support equipment used in the home that is dependent on utility service for operation.
(3) The utility services will not be disconnected for an additional 10 days if the customer has an inability to pay and provides written documentation that disconnection would be especially dangerous to the health of ill, elderly or handicapped persons due to weather below 32° or above 99°. A customer making a request as outlined above may be required to enter into a deferred payment agreement within 10 days after the scheduled termination date.
(4) Utility services may be disconnected without advance written notice when there exists an safety or health hazard, evidence of meter tampering or fraud, or failure to comply with conservation measures imposed during extreme shortages.
(E) Reconnects. The services may only be reconnected for the customer if the following are paid:
(1) All delinquent charges for utility services;
(2) All outstanding late or penalty charges for utility services; and
(3) Reconnect charges as established by resolution.
(F) Deposit watch. When a service is disconnected for nonpayment and the deposit for that customer does not equal the last 2 months utility usage, the customer will be placed on "deposit watch" during which time $100 will be assessed per month until the deposit is large enough to cover 2 months utility usage. The deposit shall be pro-rated among all utility services; i.e. water, sewer, gas and solid waste.
(Ord. 23, passed 4-15-1996; Am. Ord. 2014-01, passed 11-14-2014; Am. Ord. 2015-02, passed 3-16-2015)