(A) All bills for respective utility services shall be due and payable on the fourteenth day after the date of mailing of the billing. Immediately thereafter, a notice of delinquency shall be mailed to each delinquent customer as of the sixteenth day after the date of mailing of the billing, notifying the customer that unless the delinquent bill, plus penalty, is satisfied in full within 14 days, the respective services for which the delinquency is applicable shall be disconnected, and shall not be reconnected until the delinquent bill, plus penalty, reconnection fee as provided under § 50.25, and meter deposit for each utility, has been paid in full.
(B) Prior to the disconnection of any utility for the nonpayment of a utility bill, the affected customer shall have 14 days within which to dispute the correctness of the billing by presenting his or her complaint or contention in person, by representative, in writing, or by telephone to the Clerk-Treasurer, or his or her designee, who shall investigate the billing to determine its correctness. The affected customer’s utilities shall not be disconnected if it is determined that the utility billing overstates the amount due. In the event the customer’s dispute is not resolved to the satisfaction of the customer, the customer shall pay all undisputed amounts and may request a hearing before the Utility Board regarding the disputed amounts within three business days of notification of the decision by the Clerk-Treasurer or his or her designee. Such request shall be made to the Clerk-Treasurer’s office in person, in writing, or by telephone. The utilities for which the customer disputes the billing shall not be disconnected pending the hearing by the Utility Board, if requested by the customer. Notice of the right to dispute the correctness of the billing shall appear on the notice of disconnection.
(C) In the event nonpayment of a utility bill is due to a financial or other hardship, the customer may be eligible to avoid disconnection of utilities by entering into a written agreement for the payment of the delinquent amounts in installments over a period not to exceed three months, and agreeing to pay all undisputed future bills for utility service as they come due, provided that the customer has not breached a similar agreement with the city within the past 12 months. Application for a delinquent utility account agreement must be made within 14 days after the date of the delinquency and disconnection notice.
(`90 Code, § 13.02.070) (Ord. 88-36, passed - -; Am. Ord. 97-24, passed - -; Am. Ord. 2013-05, passed 1-24-2013; Am. Ord. 2013-28, passed 7-25-2013)