(A) Any bill or invoice for the fee imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be considered delinquent upon the expiration of the time allowed for payment.
(B) Any person liable for public safety pension fee who fails to pay such fee when due, or any portion thereof, shall pay to the City a penalty of $5 per month up to the first six (6) months or part of a month within which a delinquency remains. If the fee, or any portion thereof, remains delinquent beyond six (6) months, any person liable for the fee shall pay to the City a penalty of $20 per month for every month thereafter within which a delinquency remains.
(C) Upon the occurrence of a delinquency, the City shall send to the owner or owners the following: a copy of each delinquency notice sent to the person who had been paying the charges or some other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners that the charges have become delinquent; and, a notice that the unpaid charges may create a lien on the premises receiving or benefitting from the service for the amount of the delinquency and any and all charges which subsequently become delinquent.
(D) The fee imposed by this chapter is a lien upon the real estate benefitting from the provision of fire and police services by the city, whenever the fee or any portion thereof becomes delinquent. The City has no preference over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee, creditor, or other lien-holder arising prior to the filing of the notice of such lien in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Vermilion County, Illinois. This notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting forth: a description of the real estate sufficient for the identification thereof; the amount of the delinquency; and, the date upon which such amount became delinquent. Any costs incurred by the City in preparing, filing and recording the notice of lien shall be included in the amount of the lien. These costs may include, but not necessarily be limited to, attorney’s fees and filing and recording charges. A copy of the notice of lien shall be sent to the owner or owners of record at the last known address. The city shall have the power to foreclose the lien created by this section in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.
(E) The city shall also have the power, from time to time, to file suit against the owner of the real estate in a civil action to recover amounts due pursuant to this chapter plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of suit.
(F) The city shall add interest at a rate of 6% per annum on all liens filed against property owners for delinquent solid waste collection bills.
(Ord. 8970, passed 12-2-14; Am. Ord. 9139, passed 2-20-18)