(A) The owners or occupants of all homes or buildings of whatsoever kind, or the owners of existing buildings who connect said structures, or restore the service, to the water system of the village shall be required to have a village approved water meter by January 1, 2015. The location of each meter shall be approved by the public works department.
(B) There shall be a water meter service charge equal to the actual cost of the meter and remote device. Alternatively, a meter payment program is hereby established where a user, other than a rental property or business which are not eligible for the program, may enroll to pay the actual cost of the meter and remote device payable in equal monthly installments over the course of thirty six (36) months as payment for the meter. Installation of meter shall be the responsibility of the homeowner in accordance with specifications supplied by the public works department. In those cases where payment of those charges would work an undue hardship on the user, payment arrangements may be made at the discretion of the public works department. After installation in the system, the meter shall be inspected by a representative of the public works department for approval. If installation does not meet specifications, a fifteen dollar ($15.00) charge will be made for each additional trip to inspect meter installation. When meter installation is approved, the meter and readout device shall become the property of the village. Larger sized meters will be charged according to costs of materials.
(C) Existing users of the village water which do not have meters at this time may request that a water meter and remote readout device be installed on their building as outlined in this section. Once a meter is installed, however, it must remain in service thereafter. No later than January 1, 2015, every existing user of the village water must have installed and in operation a water meter as outlined in this section, and no “grandfathering” of lesser requirements will exist. If the user has not purchased a water meter as of January 1, 2015, they will automatically be enrolled in the meter payment program at that time.
(D) Businesses, industrial and commercial users, schools, churches, restaurants, hotels, motels, and nightclubs without usable water meters must install meters acceptable to the public works department by November 30, 1994. All village water users must have water meters purchased and installed by January 1, 2015, or the user will be charged a twenty five dollar ($25.00) monthly noncompliance fee until the meter is installed and the department has inspected and approved the installation.
(E) Any owner or occupant of premises using the water service of the village shall permit entrance and access to said premises by the public works department for the purpose of inspection of the water meter, replacement, or installation thereof upon said premises. If it is necessary to repair or replace the meter due to normal use, wear and tear, the user shall reimburse the village for the actual cost of repair or replacement less a credit for the amount paid for the original meter installation. If it is necessary to repair or replace the meter due to damage to the seal or meter from any tampering or vandalism, the user shall pay all of the costs of a new meter, installation or repair and shall receive no credit for the original meter installation.
(F) Any village water meter shall be taken out and tested upon complaint of the user. If upon testing, the meter is not within three percent (3%) of being accurate, it shall be repaired or replaced as determined by the supervisor of the public works department. The user shall reimburse the village for the actual cost of testing, repair or replacement of the water meter.
(G) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to use any type of jumper, either metallic or nonmetallic, or any other common device or to in any way alter the operation of any water meter. Nor shall the user allow any tampering or vandalism of the meter or seal by any persons.
(H) Any person violating any provisions of this section, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than twenty five dollars ($25.00) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) for each such violation, provided that the penalty provided herein shall not apply to persons in violation of the provisions of this section, but in lieu thereof, any person in violation of this section who, after receiving written notice thereof from the public works department, does not comply within one week after receipt of such written notice, shall have water service terminated until such time as said violation has been corrected.
(Ord. 767, 7-23-2014; amd. Ord. 767D, 5-22-2024)