1. In the event that a user disputes all or part of his bill, he shall file a written notice of such with the Borough within 10 days of the termination of service notice but no later than 24 hours before service is scheduled for termination. A user whose account is delinquent may settle the account with the Borough before or after termination of service by payment to the Borough collection agent. The user must request settlement in person. If service is terminated, service may be restored pursuant to the general procedures of this Part; provided, however, that prior to the restoration of service, the user must pay all amounts then due and owing under this Part, including without limitation any amounts which are not yet delinquent. In addition, any user determined by Borough Council to be an habitual offender, as hereinafter defined, shall be required to deposit with the Borough, prior to the restoration of service, a sum (the “security deposit”) equal to that amount of sewer rentals under this Part, plus that amount of refuse collection fees under the General Trash Collection Ordinance (Ord. 74-2, as amended) [Chapter 20, Part 1], which would, as reasonably determined by the Borough Treasurer, be payable by the user during a typical 6-month period. The security deposit may, at any time, be used by the Borough to pay any amounts due from the habitual offender under this Part, or under the General Trash Collection Ordinance [Chapter 20, Part 1], which remain unpaid 30 days beyond their due date(s). The Borough shall be under no obligation, however, to so apply the security deposit. Immediately upon any such application of the security deposit by the Borough, the habitual offender shall be required to restore the security deposit to the original required amount. If the habitual offender fails to restore the security deposit to the required level within 5 days of receipt of notice from the Borough, the Borough may institute service termination proceedings against the habitual offender. Except as set forth above, the security deposit shall be held by the Borough in an escrow account, and interest shall be paid thereon to the extent required by law. The Borough shall return the remaining balance of the security deposit, less any handling fee allowed by law, to the habitual offender at such time as the habitual offender no longer requires water service at the location for which the security deposit was required, or, if earlier, such time as Borough Council, in its sole discretion, determines that the retention of the security deposit is no longer required to ensure the timely payment by the habitual offender of sewer rentals and refuse collection fees. An “habitual offender” is any user who has been designated as such by Borough Council. Borough Council shall designate a user an habitual offender only after (A) the Borough Treasurer shall have notified Borough Council that a user has been delinquent in the payment of sewer rentals and/or refuse collection fees four times or more during a 2-year period, (B) the delinquent user has received at least 15 days written notice that Borough Council will consider, at its next regularly scheduled meeting, whether to designate the user an habitual offender, and (C) the Borough Council determines, at that next regularly scheduled meeting, that designation of the user as an habitual offender is appropriate under the circumstances. In determining whether designation as an habitual offender is appropriate, Borough Council may properly consider, among other things, the delinquent user’s payment history, the amount of arrearages likely to accrue, and any explanation offered by the user. For the purposes of this Section, a user shall be deemed “delinquent” for any month in which a penalty is imposed pursuant to §18- 122 of this Part or pursuant to §20-106 of the General Trash Collection Ordinance [Chapter 20, Part 1]. [Ord. 2012-03]
2. The water utility shall contact the Borough immediately prior to terminating a user’s service to ensure that the outstanding bill remains unpaid, or was otherwise settled.
3. Where a user has notified the Borough that an occupant of a dwelling subject to service termination is seriously ill, certification as required by §18-134 of this Part may be written or oral, subject to the right of the Borough to verify the certification by contacting the physician or require written confirmation within 7 days.
4. Users shall be responsible for all costs and charges imposed by the utility company upon the Borough, together with all other costs and charges (including legal) incurred from whatever source. [Ord. 2012-03]
(Ord. 91-4, 10/8/1991, §3.08; as amended by Ord. 92-2, 10/6/1992, §§1 and 2; and by Ord. 2012-03, 12/4/2012)