(A) Connection; new customers. New customers to the water and/or sewer system(s) will be charged a connection fee and any deposit which is required of all customers in accordance with those then in effect.
(B) Connection; customers changing location. Customers moving from one location to another within the water system shall be charged a connection fee in accordance with the amount then in effect.
(C) Penalties and payments. All water meters shall be read monthly, and bills shall be mailed on a cycle basis. The volume of water consumed, as registered by the water meters, shall be the basis of charging for water and sewer. Where separate meters are installed for swimming pools, sprinklers and the like, and there is no return to the sewer system, the user will be charged only for the volume of water used.
(1) Every bill shall be due when mailed to a customer at the last address provided by the customer; a bill shall be delinquent if not paid before the fifteenth of the month following the billing date shown on the bill.
(2) A late payment penalty in an amount set by the Board of Aldermen from time to time may be imposed upon the unpaid balance of any delinquent bill.
(3) A second notice is sent out on the sixteenth.
(4) If payment is not made by the twentieth of the month from the billing date shown on the bill, service may be discontinued. Once service has been discontinued, a reconnection fee of the amount then in effect will be charged, for restoration of service.
(5) A customer whose service is disconnected for nonpayment may have service restored during regular working hours upon payment of the bill in full plus the reconnection fee. If a customer requests that services be reconnected after regular working hours, the reconnection fee will be one and one-half times the reconnection fee then in effect.
(6) The customer shall pay all billed utility charges before transferring service from one location to another. The final bill shall be mailed to the customer’s new billing address. If a customer fails to pay his or her utility bills for any account where he or she is listed as the customer and the account becomes delinquent, the town may transfer the amount owed it to any other account where the customer is a primary recipient of utilities and cut off utilities to the account for nonpayment. The town may also refuse to transfer an account to a new customer’s name or connect services to a new account where the delinquent customer will be a primary recipient of utilities. A customer is a primary recipient of utilities wherever he or she is listed as a customer, resides as a head of household or conducts a trade or business. The town’s determination that a customer is a primary recipient of utilities shall be effective until the customer proves otherwise.
(7) Any customer who has a check or draft returned from any financial institution because of insufficient funds or a closed account shall be charged a service charge fee in the amount then in effect.
(D) Water and sewer deposits.
(1) Residential:
(a) Any person or entity applying for water and/or sewer to be furnished to residential premises shall make deposits according to the following schedule: See current user charge system.
(b) The deposit requirement may be satisfied as follows:
1. A cash deposit, which shall be refunded by credit to the customer’s account on the last bill rendered for service; or
2. Proof that the deposit requirement of division (D)(1) above, have been met at another location for which the customer is responsible.
(2) Commercial:
(a) Any person or entity applying for water and/or sewer to be furnished to commercial premises shall make a deposit according to the following schedule: commercial customers: two-twelfths of annual charges. The initial deposit(s) shall be based upon the town’s estimate of customer’s usage. After six billing periods following the initial deposit, the customer’s actual usage will be reviewed, and the deposit adjusted to reflect the actual usage. If the amount of the required deposit is decreased, the difference shall be credited to the customer’s account; if the amount of the required deposit is increased, the difference shall be billed to the customer.
(b) The deposit(s) requirement may be satisfied as follows:
1. A cash deposit, which shall be refunded by credit to the customer’s account on the last bill rendered for service; or
2. Proof that the deposit requirements of division (D)(1) above, have been met at another location within the town’s system for which the customer is responsible.
(c) The deposit may be increased, in the town’s discretion, upon the customer’s third failure to pay a bill in a timely manner, having service terminated for nonpayment or having a check or draft returned because of insufficient funds or a closed account. This increase shall be an amount equal to initial deposit for residential premises or two-twelfths of the estimated annual charges for commercial premises.
(d) When service is disconnected at the customer’s request, the deposit shall be credited to customer’s final bill. If any deposit remains, the town will hold the final bill and mail it along with a town check, to the customer at the address given by the customer. If the departing customer does not leave a valid forwarding address with the town, and remaining refund will be held for 30 days at Town Hall before being placed into an inactive status file. Deposit returns apply only to customers who are moving off of the town’s system and not to those customers who are transferring service from one location to another within the system. When a customer is transferring service within the town’s system, the deposit shall be transferred with the service.
(e) Each customer must appear personally to apply for or terminate water and sewer service with the Town Clerk.
(E) Protested bills; meter testing. If a user has an excessive bill and thinks that it is caused by a faulty meter, he or she may, by making a deposit, in an amount as set by the Board from time to time, with the town, request that the meter be removed and checked. If the meter is found to be in error, the deposit, in an amount as set by the Board from time to time, will be refunded and the bill adjusted for the three preceding months. The adjustment will be based in the percentage of error in the meter. If the meter is found to be accurate, the deposit, in an amount as set by the Board from time to time, will be retained by the town.
(F) Adjustment of water and sewer bills.
(1) If the town determines that it has overcharged or undercharged a customer on account of its error, the town shall refund or recover the difference subject to the following:
(a) The adjustment period shall be limited to the lesser of the actual period during which the error occurred or 12 months;
(b) The amount of adjustment shall be determined by the Town Board of Aldermen based upon evidence as it deems appropriate; and
(c) Any overcharge may be either refunded or credited to the customer and any undercharge shall be billed to the customer.
(2) If the town determines that it has undercharged a customer on account of any unlawful or materially misleading act of the customer, the undercharge shall be determined and collected as set out above except the adjustment period shall be greater of the actual period during which the error occurred (up to 36 months) or 12 months, if the adjustment period cannot be determined. The town shall, in addition to collecting the undercharge, have the right to take other action against the customer as is permitted by law.
(G) Water rates and bills. See current user charge system.
(H) Sewer rates and bills. See current user charge system.
(Ord. passed 5-9-2000)