(a) Termination of water service. The village may terminate water and/or sewer services to any person or real estate using the village water and/or sewer system for the failure to pay any account or for a violation of any ordinance or rule and regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Notice of termination. In the event that a customer fails to pay a utility bill by the fifteenth (15th) day of the month, the billing clerk shall send notice to the account holder of such delinquency with the next utility bill and shall inform such account holder that the village shall terminate supply of the public utility if the account remains delinquent and the entire balance due is not received by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month at the village offices located at 9 Belishazzer in the Village of Commercial Point, Ohio. The notice shall indicate the basis upon which service is being terminated and date after which service will be terminated if the violations are not corrected, or applicable payment or payment agreements are not received by the village. The notice shall also indicate the hearing rights afforded to any person affected by the termination notice by which the person may contest the water and/or sewer service termination. The notice shall be mailed or hand delivered to the address of the customer of record and to the service address.
(c) Hearing procedures. Any affected person (an owner, occupant, resident or tenant of the affected property) desiring a hearing concerning a termination of water and/or sewer service under this section may request an informal hearing with the Mayor or official designated by the Mayor by submitting a written and signed request to the Fiscal Officer no later than five days after receipt of a termination notice. Failure of an affected person to file a request for hearing within the allotted five day period shall constitute a waiver by that person of their right to a hearing under this section. The Mayor or the official designated by the Mayor shall convene a hearing on the matter within ten days of receiving the request for hearing. If a hearing cannot be scheduled within this ten-day period, then the water service termination shall be automatically stayed, pending the holding of a hearing on this matter. The hearing procedure herein does not apply to those customers receiving notice of termination under division (e).
(d) Termination of services. If the account holder fails to pay the entire balance due by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month at the village offices in accordance with division (b) hereinabove, the Mayor, or his or her designee, shall cause the termination of the supply of the public utility to the delinquent account.
(e) Payment agreements.
(1) Pre-termination payment agreement. The Mayor and the billing clerk are hereby authorized to enter into a pre-termination payment agreement for the repayment of delinquent utility bills prior to termination of the municipal utility service. The Mayor or the billing clerk shall reduce such agreement to writing, in the form attached to Ordinance 2007-28 as Exhibit 1, and incorporated herein. The maximum duration of a payment agreement under this division is a six-month period after the date of execution. The Mayor or the billing clerk are hereby authorized to terminate utility service within ten days of customer default on such payment agreement. Written notice of termination shall be mailed to customer.
(2) Post-termination payment agreement. The Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into a payment agreement for the repayment of delinquent utility bills after termination of the municipal utility service. The Mayor shall reduce such agreement to writing, in the form attached to Ord. 2007-28 as Exhibit 2, and incorporated herein. The customer shall pay a reinstatement fee when entering into a payment agreement herein, in addition to any delinquent amount on the account and any current utility bills which may be accumulated after reinstatement of the municipal utility service. Upon execution of a post-termination payment agreement, the Mayor or his or her designee shall cause the reinstatement of the customer's account and supply of the municipal utility service. The maximum duration of a payment agreement under this section is a six-month period after the date of execution. The Mayor, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to terminate utility service within ten days of customer default on such payment agreement without additional notice to such customer. Written notice of termination shall be mailed to customer.
(f) Reinstatement. Upon payment of the delinquency and the entire balance due, or the execution of a payment agreement as provided for in division (e)(2), the Mayor, or his or her designee, may reinstate the account and supply of the public utility. The customer shall pay a reinstatement fee for water service of one hundred dollars ($100.00) and for sewer service shall pay the actual cost incurred to disconnect and reinstate service or five-hundred dollars ($500.00), whichever is more.
(g) Miscellaneous fees and charges.
(1) Water meter replacement charge. The water meter replacement charge shall be sixty dollars ($60.00).
(2) Relocate water meter/remote. The charge to relocate the meter and/or remote due to obstruction of the meter and/or remote at the request of a customer shall be sixty dollars ($60.00).
(3) Inspection/installation fee. The service charge to install or inspect a meter shall be sixty dollars ($60.00).
(4) Unauthorized use. There shall be a service charge to investigate, notify or discontinue water service as a result of fraud, illegal diversion of water or unauthorized commencement of services. The village shall levy a charge of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first offense and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the second offense, plus a charge for the water utilized.
(5) Testing of meter. There shall be a forty dollar ($40.00) charge for meter testing at the customer's request when the meter tests between 97% and 103% accuracy. There shall not be a charge if the meter does not test between 97% and 103% accuracy.
(6) Replacement/repair. There shall be a charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) for replacing water box lids, thirty dollars ($30.00) for replacing the top section of the water box and forty-five dollars ($45.00) for replacing the entire water box, plus the cost of excavation.
(7) Returned check charge. The returned check charge shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(h) This section does not apply to a termination or disruption of water and/or sewer service due to routine or scheduled maintenance of the water and/or sewer system or to emergency circumstances.
(Ord. 2006-18, passed 11-6-2006; Am. Ord. 2007-28, passed 8-6-2007)