(a) The Safety Service Director and/or his/her designee is hereby granted authority to offer and accept payment plans to Galion utility customers for delinquent accounts under the following conditions:
(1) No payment plans shall be extended to persons who have previously defaulted on a payment plan or have attempted to commit fraud against the City Utility Department.
(2) Under no circumstances will payment arrangements be made extending beyond a six (6) month period.
(3) There will be three types of "Utility Payment Extension / Arrangements" that the Safety - Service Director and/or his/her designee can consider and approve if sufficient grounds exist:
A. The "medical payment extension" may be an extension of up to thirty (30) calendar days after the due date without late fees being assessed on the customer account. Proof of the medical condition, on the form provided, is required from a medical doctor or health care provider stating why said medical condition warrants extension of payment due.
B. The "financial hardship" agreement may extend the time to pay without late fees for up to one hundred eighty (180) calendar days with one-sixth (1/6) of the delinquent balance plus the current bill being paid by the current month's due date. Proof of financial hardship must be presented to the Safety-Service Director.
C. The "monthly check" arrangement is to assist customers dependent on monthly checks. The purpose of this agreement is to bring customer accounts to a current status. To extend the payment due date until the 1st, 2nd or 3rd day of the next month, the customer must agree to pay the delinquent month's balance and one-half (1/2) of the current month's bill on the agreed date. The customer must agree to pay the second half (1/2) of the outstanding bill plus the next month's entire bill during the following month.
(b) The following procedures will be followed when extending a "Utility Payment Extension / Arrangement:"
(1) Customer is allowed one agreement in a 12-month period.
(2) The one agreement is allowed per customer- not per service location.
(3) Customer should be made aware that there will be no further deferment or extension on the agreed payment date.
(4) Receipt of an NSF payment on an arrangement, missing a payment date or paying less than the arrangement agreement amount is considered a "broken" arrangement, and service will be disconnected without further notification.
(5) In considering the feasibility of a payment arrangement, the Safety - Service Director and/or his/her designee will analyze the customer's history and amount of past payments to see if extension is a rational solution.
(Ord. 2020-23. Passed 4-14-20.)