A. Rendition Of Bills: Bills for water and sewer service shall be dated and sent out at such times as may be directed by the Mayor and board of trustees.
B. Delayed Payment Charge; Returned Checks:
1. An additional charge amounting to ten percent (10%) of the bill will be added to the bill for water and/or sewer service if not paid on or before the due date of the bill.
2. If any check deposited with the village for payment of the water and/or sewer bill is returned unpaid from the bank on which it is drawn, an additional fee shall be charged equal to the current fee assessed for returned checks by the village's depository bank. This fee shall change in accordance with future returned check fees charged by the bank.
C. Nonpayment Of Charges; Termination Of Service: If any water and/or sewer bill remains unpaid after the due date, the finance department shall initiate an administrative process to collect all unpaid amounts, which process includes the shutting off of the water supply for nonpayment. Once the process has commenced, an administrative fee shall be assessed as well as such other charges or deposits as are required by the provisions of this chapter. If the water supply is shut off, water shall not be turned on again except upon the payment of the seventy five dollar ($75.00) administrative fee. If the water supply is not shut off, due to the customer making payment of the past due bill, the administrative fee shall be added thereto.
D. Lien For Charges: Charges for water shall be a lien upon the premises as provided by statute. Whenever a bill for water or sewer service remains unpaid sixty (60) days after it has been rendered, the clerk may file with the recorder of Cook or DuPage County a statement of lien claim.
This statement shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill and a notice that the village claims a lien for this amount as well as for all charges for water served subsequent to the period covered by the bill. If the consumer of water and sewer whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the clerk has notice of this, then notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises, if his address is known to the clerk, whenever such bills remain unpaid for a period of sixty (60) days after it has been rendered. The failure of the clerk to record such lien claim or to mail such notice or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid water and sewer bills as mentioned in subsection E of this section.
E. Foreclosure Of Lien: Property subject to a lien for unpaid water and sewer charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill in equity in the name of the village. The village attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute such proceedings, in the name of the village, in any court having jurisdiction over such matters against any property for which water and sewer bills remained unpaid sixty (60) days after being rendered.
(Ord. 268, 1-24-1963; amd. Ord. 1350, 1-8-1980; Ord. 2178, 8-13-1991; Ord. 3212, 9-22-2009)