(a) Billing. The City may render bills for water service on a quarterly basis. Payment of water and sewer bills shall be the responsibility of the property owner.
(1) Billing dates shall be January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1, with rates established by Council.
(2) A penalty of ten percent (10%) will be added if not paid by the third day of the first month after billing date, unless a Hardship Arrangement has been requested by the customer and approved by the Assistant Administrator/Finance Director
(b) Hardship Arrangement. A customer may request a hardship arrangement by completing a Hardship Arrangement application form. The application must be approved by the Assistant Administrator/Finance Director. The following rules apply to the Hardship Arrangement.
(1) The application must be submitted AND approved PRIOR to late bills being mailed.
(2) If approved, the bill in question may be paid in three installments.
(3) If approved, the late fee for the bill in question will be waived.
(4) If the bill in question is not paid in its entirety by the end of the approved hardship period, the late fee for the entire bill will be added to the account.
(5) Only one (1) hardship arrangement can be approved once every four billing cycles.
(6) The arrangement will be nullified if a check is returned for non-sufficient funds. Payment in full will then be required.
(c) Nonpayment Notice. The bill sent to the customer will indicate the date the bill is due. If payment is not received by the date the bill is due, a "door tag" will be placed on the customer's door showing the intent for the City to disconnect service to the Groveport Water System.
(d) Meter Readings. No meter readings shall be combined for billing purposes. All meter readings and billings shall be in units of 1,000 gallons and there shall be no proration of rate blocks or minimum charges. All meters shall be sealed and any evidence of deliberate destruction of service connection shall be a violation of this section. Meter readings shall begin the fifteenth of the month prior to billing date.
(1) All meters shall be read by personnel authorized by the City.
(2) No meter shall be estimated for more than one billing cycle. In this case, provisions must be made by the owner or tenant for meter to be read by authorized personnel. Any denial from consumer to permit authorized person to enter premise for meter reading or repair shall result in service being discontinued until such readings or repairs are made.
Estimated meter reading shall not extend beyond a period of one billing period.
(e) Terms of Payment. Because water to residents of the City of Groveport is supplied by both the City and the City of Columbus and further because billing and collection practices widely differ, terms of payment as contained hereinafter are established for the two municipal practices as they are now established.
(1) Services derived from Groveport's water supply system. The water rates prescribed in Sections 933.03, 933.04 and 933.09 are net. If accounts are not paid within one calendar month from the date of billing, a gross rate, which is the net rate plus ten percent (10%) shall apply unless a Hardship Arrangement has been approved by the Assistant Administrator/Finance Director. The bills on overdue accounts shall be prepared and transmitted to all overdue accounts based on gross rates. If the rebilled gross rate is not paid within fifteen days from the rebilled date, the City shall have the right to shut off water services without notice, and
(2) Services derived from City of Columbus water supply system. Those residents on the City of Columbus water system shall be billed according to the most recent City of Columbus water billing regulations.
(Ord. 16-023. Passed 5-23-16.)