(A) Authority of City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer. A customer who disputes the amount of a utility bill, or who is unable to pay all or part of the bill, may on or before the deadline for the filing of a notice of appeal, contact the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer, who shall be authorized to make adjustments for errors in bills or to make alternate payment arrangements, such as a Budget Payment Plan, if appropriate, pursuant to the guidelines set forth in § 53.07(E) hereof. If adjustments or payment arrangements are agreed to by the customer and the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer, the customer's utility services shall not be shut-off on the proposed date; provided, that if payments are not made in accordance with the agreed payment schedule, the customer's utilities may be shut-off upon 48 hours written notice to the customer. Such notice shall be sent by first-class mail, and the 48 hour notice period shall be deemed to begin at noon on the business day following the mailing of the notice.
(B) Notice of appeal. Whether or not the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer is contacted pursuant to § 53.07(A) hereof, a customer who disputes the amount of a utility bill, or who is unable to pay all or part of the bill, may appeal the proposed shut-off of utilities to the City Council by delivering written notice of appeal to the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer prior to the close of business on the date in which utility services are to be shut-off. The notice of appeal may be made on a form provided by the city, and in any event shall be dated and signed by the customer, and shall contain the following information:
(1) Name, address, and phone number of customer;
(2) Utility account number;
(3) Date of bill and date of proposed shut-off;
(4) Amount of bill;
(5) If amount of bill is in dispute, the reasons for customer’s belief that the bill is in error, and proposed adjustment; and
(6) If customer is unable to pay part or all of bill by shut-off date, reasons for inability to pay and proposed payment arrangements.
(C) Hearing on appeal. Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer shall schedule a hearing before the City Council. The hearing shall be scheduled as soon as practicable, and no later than 14 days after the date of the notice of appeal. The customer's utilities shall not be shut-off pending the appeal hearing. The customer shall be promptly notified of the date, time, and place of the hearing by telephone, first-class mail, or any other reasonable means. At the hearing, the customer may present any testimony and evidence relevant to the appeal, and the members of the Council and/or their designee may question the customer or other persons about any matter relevant to the appeal. The City Council shall inform the customer of its decision prior to the conclusion of the hearing. If requested by the customer, the City Council shall provide a written summary of its findings and decision within a reasonable time period. The City Council shall in any event maintain such a summary for its own records.
(D) Decision of City Council. The City Council may make any of the following decisions, based upon the facts and circumstances of the case:
(1) That the appeal is without merit and that the customer’s utilities will be shut-off if full payment of the utility bill is not made within 48 hours after the conclusion of the hearing.
(2) In cases involving a dispute in the amount of the bill, that an adjustment will be made to the bill and that the customer’s utility services will be continued unless the customer fails to pay the corrected amount of the bill within 48 hours after the conclusion of the hearing.
(3) In cases involving the customer's ability to pay, that payment shall be deferred to a specified date or that a specific payment schedule shall be followed, and that the customer's utility service shall be continued unless the customer fails to make a payment in accordance with the specified arrangements; and that, in the event of such failure, the customer's utilities may be shut-off upon 48 hours written notice to the customer, such notice to be sent by first-class mail and the 48 hour notice period to begin at noon on the business day following the mailing of the notice.
(E) Guidelines of decision on appeal. In appeals based on the customer’s inability to pay a utility bill, the City Council shall consider the following criteria to determine whether it is appropriate to allow deferred payment as an alternative to shutting off the customer’s utility service:
(1) The customer’s history of payment of utility bills;
(2) The nature and severity of the financial difficulties of the customer;
(3) The assets of the customer available for payment of the utility bill;
(4) The likelihood of ability to make deferred payment(s) as scheduled; and
(5) The efforts made by the customer to obtain public assistance, energy assistance, or other available resources for payment.
(F) Forgiveness of utility bills. Except in cases in which it is determines that an error has been made in the customer’s utility bill, the City Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer and the City Council shall have no authority to permanently forgive any portion of the customer’s utility bill.
(Ord. passed 8-4-08)