(A) Reconnection fee. The utility will charge a reconnection fee as shown in the rate ordinance.
(B) Time to reconnect service. The utility will reconnect the service to the customer when reasonably possible within one working day after the utility has been requested to do so; provided, however, that the utility shall not be required to reconnect the service until:
(1) The conditions, circumstances, or practices which caused the disconnection have been corrected; and
(2) Payment of all outstanding charges, including, but not limited to, any reconnect or returned check fees, owed the utility by the customer, and any deposit has been made.
(C) Damages after reconnection of service. The utility is not responsible for any damages once service is reconnected.
(D) Improper termination of service. If the utility terminates service in violation of these rules, the service shall be restored as soon as possible at no charge to the customer.
(E) Reconnection of discontinued or unused water service. Any water service that has been discontinued or unused for a period of one year or more will be required to apply for new water service. If, in the opinion of the utility, a new service line and/or a new meter setup are required, these costs will be the reasonability of the customer.
(F) Timing of disconnection. The city may not disconnect service unless it is done between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., prevailing local time. Disconnections under § 50.15 are not subject to this limitation. The city may not disconnect service for non-payment on any day on which the city’s offices are closed to the public, or after noon the day immediately preceding any day on which the city’s offices are not open to the public.
(G) Notice. Notice is mailed the day after the due date normally the sixteenth of the month.
(1) (a) Service to any customer shall not be disconnected for a violation of any rule or regulation of the city’s municipal water utility or for the non-payment of a bill, except after seven days prior written notice to the customer by either:
1. Mailing the notice to the residential customer at the address shown on the records of the utility; or
2. Personal delivery of the notice to the residential customer or a responsible member of his or her household at the address shown on the records of the utility.
(b) No disconnect notice for nonpayment may be rendered prior to the date on which the account becomes delinquent.
(2) The notice must be in language that is clear, concise, and easily understandable to a layperson and shall state the following in separately numbered large type or printed paragraphs:
(a) The date of proposed disconnection;
(b) The specific actual basis and reason for the proposed disconnection;
(c) The telephone number of the city’s municipal water utility office at which the customer may call during regular business hours in order to question the proposed disconnection or seek information concerning his or her rights; and
(d) A reference to the pamphlet or the copy of the rules or information furnished to the customer about his or her rights with respect to the city’s municipal utility service.
(Ord. 1-2022, passed 3-8-2022)