(A) (1) Every customer that is to be billed by the city for sanitation service shall be required to make a deposit with the utility customer service office for the purposes of guaranteeing payment prior to opening a utility account with the city.
(2) The city shall apply any deposit collected from any customer for the provision of water, sewer, or sanitation services toward any and all charges that remain unpaid by the same customer related to any of these services.
(B) Deposits shall be refunded only at the time the customer account is closed except as provided herein. When an account is closed, the deposit, if any, shall be applied toward any remaining final charges. Any remaining portion of the deposit after such application shall be refunded to the customer. Any remaining unpaid charges after such application shall be due and owing by the customer within 20 days of the bill date. After the owner of an owner-occupied single-family, duplex or triplex residence has established a satisfactory payment record and has had continuous service for a period of 23 months, the deposit shall be refunded, provided the owner has not, in the preceding 12 months:
(1) Made more than one late payment of a bill (after the bill has become past due as provided in § 50.09);
(2) Paid with a check refused by a bank; or
(3) Used service in a fraudulent or unauthorized manner.
(C) (1) Delinquent accounts wherein the deposit was previously refunded shall be required to re-establish their deposits in accordance with the established schedule under the following circumstances:
(a) Customer is in arrears 30 days or more twice within the past 12 months;
(b) Customer paid with a check that is refused by a bank twice within the past 12 months; or
(c) Customer used service in a fraudulent or unauthorized manner.
(2) Deposits that are reestablished in accordance with this chapter shall be billed to the customer's account.
(D) Deposits will accrue simple interest at the average annual rate earned by the city on its pooled investments. The interest will be applied to the account for which the deposit is held, at the close of the fiscal year on those accounts having been held for at least one year.
(E) A utility deposit may be transferred from one account to another account of the same customer, provided the deposit is eligible for refund pursuant to division (B) of this section, or provided the account from which the deposit is being transferred is closed and all final charges have been paid or transferred to the new account.
(F) All Environmental Services Division fees, including the rates for deposits, shall be set and amended by resolution of the City Commission.
(‘72 Code, § 13-30) (Am. Ord. O-68-129, passed --; Am. Ord. O-88-46, passed 9-7-88; Am. Ord. O-89-48, passed 8-9-89; Am. Ord. O-90-22, passed 9-5-90; Am. Ord. O-91-50, passed 9-4-91; Am. Ord. O-92-49, passed 10-8-92; Am. Ord. O-94-19, passed 6-1-94; Am. Ord. O-94-49, passed 9-21-94; Am. Ord. O-95-08, passed 2-15-95; Am. Ord. O-95-54, passed 10-11-95; Am. Ord. O-97-01, passed 2-5-97; Am. Ord. O-2006-14, passed 5-3-06)