(A) Enforcement Officer. All sections of this subchapter shall be enforced by the Director of the Lake County Public Works Department, or his or her designees.
(B) Liability. The owner of the premises, the occupant thereof, or the user of the service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for all service to such premises, and service is furnished to the premises by the county only upon the condition that the owner of the premises, occupant, or user of any service are jointly and severally liable therefor to the County of Lake.
(C) Liability for undercharges and overcharges. In the event that there is an undercharge for service by reason of either an error involving billing procedures or metering equipment discrepancies, such undercharge shall be billed to the user, owner or occupant and collected by the county, provided, however, that the period of undercharge accumulation shall not exceed 12 months. In the event that there is an overcharge for service by reason of either an error involving billing procedures or metering equipment discrepancies, such overcharge shall be credited to the user, owner or occupant by the county, provided, however, that the period of overcharge accumulation shall not exceed 12 months.
(D) Late payments, penalty. If payment of the entire amount of a bill for sewer and/or water service is not received by the County of Lake on or before the twentieth day after the billing date, then a late payment penalty of 10% of the unpaid balance of the bill shall be added thereto and become due and payable.
(E) Delinquency. In the event the sewer and/or water service charges including any penalty then due are not paid within 60 days after the date of billing, such charges and penalty shall be deemed and are hereby declared to be delinquent. Such delinquency shall be a violation of this subchapter and subject to enforcement and imposition of fines. Pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/5-43035, the county has the authority to charge a late fee to cover any fees or costs incurred by the county for carrying and collecting delinquent payments, with respect to attorneys or private collection agents retained by the county. A cost of collections fee of 35% of the unpaid balance due shall be applied to the unpaid balance of the bill and become immediately due and payable.
(F) Shut off. If sewer and/or water service charges are determined to be delinquent or an unauthorized connection is made, the water or sewer service may be shut off by the Director of the Lake County Department of Public Works. Water and/or sewer service will not be turned on until all payment, penalties and fees have been paid.
(G) Warning of Ordinance Violation. If any charges and/or penalties are declared to be delinquent, the Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to issue a Warning of Ordinance Violation. The Warning shall, at a minimum, identify the violation for which it is being issued, shall include the address at which the violation has occurred, shall allow the respondent to elect to pay all outstanding charges and/or penalties to abate the violation(s) within a reasonable time, and shall state that a Notice of Ordinance Violation may be issued if the warning is not adhered to as specified.
(H) Notice of Ordinance Violation; Administrative Adjudication. If an individual has previously been issued a Warning of Ordinance Violation or is in violation of § 51.21 and the individual fails to pay all outstanding charges and/or penalties by the date specified in the warning, the Enforcement Officer shall have authority to issue a Notice of Ordinance Violation. If Administrative Adjudication is found to be the appropriate remedy to resolve the violation, the notice must be served in accordance with and shall contain all information specified and required in §§ 94.50 through 94.66 (Lake County Administrative Adjudication Ordinance). Prior to the hearing date documented on the Notice of Ordinance Violation, the respondent may elect to pay all outstanding charges and/or penalties deemed delinquent, pay the fine listed on the Notice of Ordinance Violation, and not participate in the hearing.
(I) Liens.
(1) In the event the sewer and/or water service charges, including any penalty, are declared to be delinquent, the County of Lake shall commence with proceedings to create a lien upon the real estate to which water or sewerage service is supplied through the delinquent account in accordance with the county’s authority pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/5-15021. To create this lien, the county shall send to the delinquent owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer’s property identification number:
(a) A copy of each delinquency notice sent to the person who is delinquent in paying the charges or other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners of record; and
(b) A notice that unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on the real estate pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/5-15021.
(2) In addition, the County shall file a notice of such lien in the office of the Lake County Recorder of Deeds. This notice shall consist of a statement sworn to by an authorized officer or employee of Lake County setting out:
(a) A description of such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof;
(b) The amount of money due for such water or sewerage service; and
(c) The date when such amount became delinquent.
(3) The county shall also send a copy of the notice of lien to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer’s property identification number. If all of the above requirements are met, the county shall have the power to foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.
(1977 Code, §§ 4:2-9, 4:2-9A3) (Ord. 10-0784, passed 8-19-2010; Ord. 11-0425, passed 5-10- 2011; Ord. 12-0232, passed 3-13-2012; Ord. 12-0856, passed 8-14-2012; Ord. 13-0739, passed 7-9-2013; Ord. 13-0850, passed 8-13-2013; Ord. 13-1341, passed 12-10-2013; Ord. 14-0392, passed 5-13-2014; Ord. 14-0581, passed 6-10-2014; Ord. 18-0871, passed 8-14-2018; Ord. 18-1102, passed 10-9-2018; Ord. 19-1311, passed 8-13-2019; Ord. 23-0906, passed 7-11-2023)