(A) The water rents or rates are hereby established by the Village Board and shall be collected for all water consumption and water service rendered by the village.
(B) Water service shall be by meter registration; provided, however, there shall be a monthly minimum charge made against all connections per month or any part thereof, where the village water supply has not been shut off or discontinued by the Water Department as assessed by the Board of Trustees.
(C) All bills for the payment of water shall be due and payable on or before the fifteenth day of the month when said bill is rendered and any and all bills not paid by the fifteenth of said month shall be deemed delinquent.
(D) (1) It is the policy of the village to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The village’s discontinuance notice form shall contain, in addition to the title, address, room number, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect:
(a) That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill;
(b) That if any bill is not paid by or before the date specified in the disconnection notice, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
(c) That any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing and may present orally or in writing his or her complaint and contentions to the village official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint.
(2) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due and unpaid for at least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the village to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, along with a turn-on charge as assessed by the Board of Trustees.
(E) A service charge is hereby imposed upon delinquent water accounts as assessed by the Board of Trustees.
(Ord. 2016-09, passed 8-23-2016) Penalty, see § 50.99
Cross-reference:
Fee schedule, see § 33.32