(A) The owner(s) of each property receiving water supply service and/or sewage disposal service shall request the village to provide such service on a form provided by the village for such purpose. A new application for service shall be made to the village upon any change in ownership of the property or when the owner desires to make the tenant responsible for the payment of the service and follows the procedure identified in § 51.15. Once the application for service is submitted and signed by the village, the owner or tenant are bound by the terms and conditions under which water supply service and/or sewage disposal service are furnished to the premises.
(B) (1) Charges for water supply service and/or sewage disposal service shall be billed and collected monthly. A bill shall become due and payable on the final Tuesday of the month billed as specified on such bill and, if not paid by the final Wednesday of the month billed, shall be subject to a 10% penalty which shall be added thereto as an additional charge for that month’s bill. If there are previous monthly bills yet unpaid, this new billing, plus the 10% penalty for that month, will be added to the prior bill and constitute the total arrearage. In the event that the charges for such services furnished to any premises are not paid within ten days after the due date thereof, then all services furnished to such premises may be discontinued. No further notifications will be mailed, regarding shut off status.
(2) (a) 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 form for application for utility service and all bills 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:
1. That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill; and
2. That if any bill is not paid by or before that date, a shutoff notice will be mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within ten days of the mailing of the shutoff notice, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
3. 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.
(b) 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 unpaid balance is $250 or more, and that amount is due and unpaid for 30 days.
(c) 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 in an amount to be set by the Village Council through resolution.
(C) Once water supply services or sewage disposal services to any premises have been discontinued, those services may be restored under the following conditions:
(1) Payment of all sums due and owing, including penalties and interest;
(2) Correction of any noted conditions leading to the discontinuance; and
(3) Payment of a shut off charge of $20 and a turn on charge of $20 per service used.
(D) When there is a change in occupancy or tenancy, in those instances where the tenant pays for the service used, the owner(s) or tenant, or his, her, or their agent shall notify the village at least 24 hours in advance of the change in order to provide the village with sufficient time to obtain a final reading and billing. In no case shall the village change a billing account until a new application for service is processed. Any dispute over service used as a result of failing to change accounts becomes a charge against the property, or to the last tenant if the landlord used the procedure identified in § 51.14.
(E) When a new application for service is processed as identified in this section, the village shall charge a fee of $15 per service furnished to the outgoing customer and the same amount to the incoming customer in order to cover the costs for obtaining a final reading and billing and processing the new account. Upon written notification to the Village Office, the outgoing customer will be given final billing based on estimated prior monthly usage with the payment due at the time of the change. If not paid within ten days from the billing date, a penalty of 10% and interest of 1.5% per month would apply.
(F) Public works employees will, under no circumstances, be permitted to receive payments for water/sewer services.
(1984 Code, § 7-01-02-140) (Ord. 277, passed 6-10-1997; Ord. passed 6-15-2008; Ord. 392, passed 6-15-2008; Ord. 394, passed 8-17-2008; Ord. 405, passed 1-17-2010)