(A) Issuance and payment. All water service bills shall be billed in accord with rates established from time to time by the City Council of the City of LaSalle, by ordinance. All water service bills shall be payable to the office of the Comptroller of the City of LaSalle, Illinois, 15 days subsequent of the date of billing.
(B) Computation.
(1) All water service bills shall be calculated by measure of cubic feet based on the existing water rate unless other arrangements are made and approval obtained by the Comptroller’s office for alternate methods of measure.
(2) All water service bills shall state the preceding water meter reading and the present readings. The differential between these 2 readings shall be cubic feet of water consumed and the figure shall be the basis of determining the amount due.
(C) Payment date. All water service bills shall be considered past due the day following the due date, which due date as set forth in division (A) above is 15 days subsequent to the date of billing. Further, in the event that the bill is not paid within the 15 days subsequent to billing, there shall be automatically assessed on the sixteenth day, a 5% penalty charge on the delinquency remaining after 15 days.
(D) Further delinquency notice. The day following the due date, a delinquency notice (pink slip) is to be sent in the mail providing a 5-day period within which to pay the total amount of the remaining bill, plus the 5% penalty, which notice shall be sent to the owner of the premises in care of the address concerning which the general real estate tax bill is sent in reference to the premises, and additionally to the tenant if the tenant has been established as a party to receive the water bill as provided herein. The notice shall provide, amongst other things, that the bill regarding water charges has become delinquent, that a 5% penalty has already been assessed, that unpaid charges may create a lien on the real estate under Illinois Compiled Statutes, including ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 11-139-8, and that continued delinquency, subsequent to the expiration of the 5-day period, shall result in shut off of water service as provided in division (E) below.
(E) Delinquencies. Upon the expiration of the 5 day period referenced in division (D) of this section, the following rules and regulations shall apply:
(1) On the second day following the expiration of the 5-day period referenced in division (D) of this section, the comptroller of the city shall issue a work order to the Water Department to immediately shut off the water service of the delinquent account.
(2) When water is shut off at any building for which the water bill remains unpaid, the water shall not be turned on until the entire water bill is paid. Additionally, a $40 turn on fee shall be assessed if water is restored during the City of LaSalle Water Department business hours. After regular business hours the water consumer must go to the Police Department and pay the entire bill. Additionally, an $80 turn on fee shall be assessed at which time the Water Department will be called out to turn on the water.
(3) Additionally, following water shut off, in the event water service is not restored to the premises within 60 days of shut off, then prior to restoring service, in addition to the other costs and service fees provided for herein, any and all other sums due the city regarding lawn maintenance, garbage, and court assessed fines due the city are required to be either paid in full and/or to have other arrangements made regarding payment in full in a manner satisfactory to the Finance Director/ Comptroller of the City of LaSalle.
(F) Method of adjustment. For any defective water meter, an adjustment shall be made by the Comptroller, as follows: The present statement shall be estimated on the same month of the previous year as recorded in the Comptroller’s office.
(G) Special billings. In the sole discretion of the Comptroller, the Comptroller’s office shall be vested with all rights to issue a special billing when a case shall warrant such action.
(H) Provisions regarding tenant’s vacation of premises. It is further provided that upon the tenant’s vacation of the premises in circumstances wherein the water service bill had been pursuant to the provisions of this chapter placed in the tenant’s name, the water service bill upon the tenant’s vacation of the premises shall be transferred into the property owner’s name unless arrangements are made at that time by the property owner and a new tenant to transfer the billing into the new tenant’s name, and in that regard, to comply with the provisions herein in reference to the water meter deposit as set forth above.
(I) Lien. Charges for water service shall be a lien upon the premises as provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes, specifically included to automatically becoming a lien as provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes, including, but not being limited to, ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 11-139-8. Additionally, whenever a bill for water service remains unpaid after the water service has been rendered and the 5-day grace period has expired in reference to any billing, the City of LaSalle, through the Comptroller or other appropriate agent may file with the Recorder of Deeds of LaSalle County a formal statement of lien claim. This notice and statement of lien shall consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of the real estate sufficient for the identification thereof, (2) the amount of money due for such service, (3) the date when the amount became delinquent. The municipality shall send a copy of the formal notice of lien to the owner or owners of record of the real estate as referenced by the taxpayers identification number and the notice may also state, amongst other things, that the city may claim a lien for any charges for water consumed on the premises subsequent to the period covered by the billing and delinquency notice. The notice of lien shall also be sent to any tenant in whose name the bill has been placed. Additionally, the failure of the City of LaSalle, through its Comptroller or other appropriate agent to record such lien, or to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right of the City of LaSalle to foreclose the lien for unpaid bills as provided within this chapter and/or as otherwise provided within the Illinois Compiled Statutes of the State of Illinois.
(J) Foreclosure of lien. The City of LaSalle has the power to foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.
(K) Additional remedies. The City of LaSalle also has the power, from time to time, to sue the occupant or user or the owner of the real estate in a civil action to recover the money due for services rendered, plus reasonable attorney fee and costs in connection with the proceeding, to be fixed by the court. The provisions of this section of this chapter shall also be exercised in a manner consistent with the Illinois Compiled Statutes as the same may be from time to time amended, specifically including, but not being limited to, ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 11-139-8.
(Ord. 2237, passed 7-26-2010; Am. Ord. 2494, passed 7-1-2014; Am. Ord. 2582, passed 6-22-2015) Penalty, see § 50.99