A. Rendition Of Bills; Payment: Bills for sewer and water services shall be sent to the owner or owners of premises served. Service shall be furnished to the premises by the Village only subject to the condition that there is joint and several liability among the owner of the premises and all occupants and users of the service. All bills for service shall be rendered monthly succeeding the period for which the service is billed, unless otherwise determined by the Village. All bills shall be payable at the Village office not later than the close of business on the fifteenth day after the billing date. The gross amount shall be assessed on all bills paid after fifteen (15) days of date of billing. When the fifteenth day of any month is on a weekend or a legal holiday, then such bills for service shall be payable no later than the next succeeding business day. (Ord. 2001-07-112, 7-16-2001)
B. Delinquent Bills; Lien:
1. Notice And Hearing On Delinquencies; Water Shut Off: All delinquent service charges shall be subject to notice and hearing requirements as provided by law. Upon completion of such requirements, the water supply to any premises for which a service charge remains unpaid may be shut off. As part of such notice and hearing requirements, the Village, prior to shutting off a water supply for delinquent service charges, shall cause a final notice to be displayed on the premises and the Village's Billing Department shall notify, in writing, the owner of the premises (if known), the occupant of the premises, and the user of the service that such delinquency exists and that service will be discontinued without further notice. No water supply shall be restored until every other applicable charge has been satisfied, including a charge pursuant to title 13, chapter 1, "Fee Schedule", of this Code for administrative costs and expenses related to final notice, which charge shall be added to the next bill for water service. (Ord. 2004-07-301, 7-19-2004; amd. Ord. 2018-12-279, 12-3-2018)
2. Meter Access: Refusal to allow access to water meters by Village personnel shall constitute sufficient basis for denial of water service, after notice and hearing, in the same manner as is provided for refusal to pay a water bill.
3. Lien Procedure: Charges for water may be a lien on the premises as provided by statute. Whenever a bill for water service remains unpaid thirty (30) days after it has been rendered, such charges shall be deemed and are hereby declared to be delinquent, and the Village Clerk may file with the Recorder of Lake County a statement of lien claim. If a lien is filed, the following procedure shall be followed: The statement of lien shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, and a notice that the Village claims a lien for this amount as well as for all charges for water served subsequent to the period covered by the bill. The Village Clerk shall mail a notice to the owner of the premises stating failure of the Village Clerk to record such lien or to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the validity of the lien or the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid water bills as provided in this subsection.
4. Property Sold For Nonpayment: Property subject to a lien for unpaid water charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting the costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. The Village Attorney shall be authorized to institute such proceedings in the name of the Village in any court having jurisdiction over such matters, against any property for which the water bill has remained unpaid thirty (30) days after it has been rendered.
5. Village Right; Collect Delinquent Service Charges: The Village shall have the right to pursue any and all legal means of collecting delinquent service charges, whether by collection service or other method, regardless of whether a lien for such charges has been filed. (Ord. 2001-07-112, 7-16-2001)