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§ 53.32 OWNERS AND OCCUPANTS JOINTLY LIABLE.
   The rates and charges aforesaid shall be billed to the owners or occupants of the premises, and if the occupant of any premises is not also the owner, both the owner and the occupant shall be responsible for the payment of the natural gas bill, which, if unpaid, shall constitute a lien upon the premises.
(2002 Code, § 53.17) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999)
§ 53.33 BILLING; DELINQUENCY.
   The rates and charges for natural gas service shall be billed in the aggregate amount monthly and all bills for the services shall be due when rendered. If any bill is not paid by the sixteenth day of the month, a delinquency penalty of 10% of the amount of the bill shall attach and be payable in addition to the amount of the bill. In addition, if not paid by the twentieth day of the month, the charges shall be deemed delinquent. The city shall serve a customer written notice of his or her delinquency and of the fact the customer is entitled, upon written request, to a hearing on the question of termination of service as set forth in § 53.34 below.
(2002 Code, § 53.18) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999; Ord. 2023-6, passed 10-10-2023)
§ 53.34 CUSTOMER-DISPUTE BILLING.
   (A)   A utility customer may dispute the correctness of all or part of the monthly billing charged for gas utility service, in accordance with the procedure set forth in this section. The utility customer aggrieved by an error in the monthly billing shall notify the City Clerk/Treasurer/Tax Collector within the time permitted; otherwise, the right to dispute the billing shall be deemed waived. A utility customer who has disputed all, or part of a monthly billing, pursuant to this section, shall not be entitled to dispute these amounts when carried forward as a part of a subsequent billing.
   (B)   The procedure to resolve disputed billing charges shall be as follows:
      (1)   A customer aggrieved by a monthly billing shall notify the City Clerk/Treasurer/Tax Collector in writing, within ten calendar days from the date the billing was issued. The notice shall state the portion of the billing amount which is in dispute, and set forth the reasons the customer believes he or she is not obligated to pay as billed.
      (2)   If the City Clerk/Treasurer/Tax Collector determines that the dispute is timely filed, and is not an attempt to rechallenge amounts disputed under a previous billing, the City Clerk/Treasurer/Tax Collector shall schedule a formal hearing before the City Council. The customer shall be given notice of the time and place of the hearing and advised to bring all information relevant to the dispute.
      (3)   At the hearing, the utility and the customer shall be entitled to present all evidence that is, in the City Council’s view, relevant and material to the dispute, and to examine and cross examine witnesses. A written record of the hearing shall be maintained.
      (4)   Based on the record established at the hearing, the City Council, within five days of the completion of the hearing, shall issue its written decision formally resolving the dispute. This decision shall be final and binding on the utility and the customer.
   (C)   Until the date of the City Council’s decision, the utility shall not terminate the customer’s utility service, and shall not issue a notice of termination solely for nonpayment of the disputed amounts.
   (D)   (1)   Utilization of this dispute procedure shall not relieve the utility customer of his or her obligation to timely and completely pay all other undisputed utility billing charges or installments and surcharges, and the undisputed portions of billings which are the subject of the present dispute.
      (2)   Failure by the customer to timely and completely pay all the undisputed amounts shall subject the customer to termination of utility service in accordance with the provisions of § 53.35.
(2002 Code, § 53.19) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999)
§ 53.35 TERMINATION OF UTILITY SERVICE.
   (A)   When a utility customer has not timely challenged all, or part of a monthly billing pursuant to § 53.34, and the customer has become delinquent in the payment of the account, the utility shall initiate the termination of utility service by mailing to the customer a notice of termination.
   (B)    Where a utility customer has challenged a billing pursuant to § 53.34 and the matter has been finally resolved by City Council, the utility shall, within five days after the final decision is issued, mail to the customer a notice of termination.
   (C)   The notice of termination shall contain the following information:
      (1)   The amount to be paid;
      (2)   The date the notice of termination was issued;
      (3)   The date on which a termination of utility service shall occur. The date of termination shall be seven calendar days after the date on which the notice of termination was issued;
      (4)   A statement that, unless the utility receives full payment of the amount shown on the notice of termination prior to the date of termination, utility service will be terminated; and
      (5)   The telephone number of the utility and the name of a person to contact regarding the billing charge.
   (D)   If, prior to the date of termination, the utility has not received complete payment of the amount shown on the notice of termination, then the utility shall terminate utility service provided to the customer on the date of termination.
   (E)   If the utility receives payment of the entire amount shown on the notice prior to the date of termination, the payment shall be considered timely and shall halt the termination process.
(2002 Code, § 53.20) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999)
§ 53.36 SUMMARY TURN OFF; TERMINATION.
   (A)   It is the policy of city utilities to notify customers prior to termination of service. In certain circumstances, delivery of written notice may be impossible or impractical when balanced against the need to protect the system against waste of gas, leaks, contamination or other hazard.
   (B)   The utility may direct the temporary turn off of service to one or more customers where the following conditions exist:
      (1)   Leaks, breaks or failure in the mains, services, pumping machinery or other equipment require a partial or total discontinuation in service;
      (2)   Instances where contaminates dangerous to health have entered the natural gas system, necessitating a total or partial discontinuance of service; and/or
      (3)   In the event service is interrupted for one of these reasons, the utility shall provide affected customers with notice of the reason for turn off, and the expected duration of the interruption of service by the most practical medium.
(2002 Code, § 53.21) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999)
§ 53.37 REINSTATEMENT OF UTILITY SERVICE.
   When a customer has been terminated for a default in payment, and the customer has completely paid all arrearages due on the account, including fees associated with the restoration of service, the utility shall reinstate utility service to the customer as soon as it is practical.
(2002 Code, § 53.22) (Ord. 1999 NG-1, passed 5-20-1999)