A. Rates And Charges Established: Rates for water service subsequent to September 30, 2013, shall be as follows:
1. Service Rates: There shall be a quarterly minimum charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) against all connections for each three (3) month period, or any part thereof, in which the village water supply has not been shut off or disconnected by the water department, which twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be the flat rate for the use of six thousand (6,000) gallons or less per quarter. For each one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof in excess of six thousand (6,000) gallons per quarter, there shall be an additional charge of:
a. Three dollars ($3.00) commencing October 1, 2013.
b. Three dollars twenty five cents ($3.25) commencing October 1, 2014.
c. Three dollars fifty cents ($3.50) commencing October 1, 2015.
2. Late Charge: In addition to the above charges, a late charge shall be added to all bills not paid within fifteen (15) days of date of billing. The late charge shall be the greater of one and one-half percent (11/2%) per quarter of the amount due or twenty five dollars ($25.00) per quarter.
3. Additional Charges: In addition to the above charges, costs incurred by the village in attempting to collect overdue water bills, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney fees and recording fees, shall be added to all bills not paid within fifteen (15) days of the date of billing. (Ord. 03-13, 8-6-2013, eff. 10-1-2013)
B. Liability For Rates And Charges: The owner of the premises, the occupant and the user of the water service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the service to such premises, and the service to the premises is provided by the village only upon the condition that the owner of the premises, the occupant and the user of the water service are jointly and severally liable therefor to the village. (Ord. 2-98, 4-7-1998)
C. Bills For Service; Delinquencies:
1. Rendition Of Bills; Payments Due: Bills for water used shall be sent out by the village treasurer and are due February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1 of each year, and must be paid on or before the fifteenth of the month in which they were rendered. (1966 Code § 16.306; amd. 2003 Code)
2. Shut Off For Nonpayment: The water supply may be shut off from any premises for which the bill, or any part thereof, remains unpaid at the end of the quarter after it is rendered. When shut off, such service shall not be renewed except upon payment of a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for turning off and turning on the water again plus the balance of the bill owing.
No water service will be turned off by the village until notice is given in writing to the owner and, if there is an occupant or occupants or other user, to such occupant or occupants or user of the property served by the water service. The notice shall be given at least forty eight (48) hours before the water service is to be shut off and shall notify the owner, occupant, or user that the water will be shut off unless the owner, occupant or user requests a conference. A request for a conference must be in writing. At the conference, a person requesting the conference may show cause why the water should not be turned off. The notice shall be delivered to the owner, occupant or user at least forty eight (48) hours before the time set out in the notice, or mailed to the last known address of the owner, occupant, or user at least ninety six (96) hours before the time set out in the notice. If the owner, occupant, or user cannot be found, notice shall be posted on the property served by the service line at least forty eight (48) hours before the time set out in the notice. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:
VILLAGE OF LELAND
LELAND, ILLINOIS
NOTICE OF INTENT TO SHUT OFF WATER
To:
Please take notice that the water service serving the following described premises:
(Address or legal description)
is in violation of the municipal ordinance and will be shut off on or after , 2012 at o'clock unless you request a conference on the matter before that time. You may request a conference by notifying the Village Administrator in writing that you want a conference. Your conference will be with the Village Administrator. At the conference you must show cause why the water service should not be shut off or else the water service will be shut off. If no request for a conference is made, the water may be shut off at or after the time stated in the Notice.
(Ord. 07-12, 7-3-2012)
3. Costs A Lien; Notice Of Delinquency:
a. Whenever a bill for water service remains unpaid sixty (60) days after it has been rendered, the village clerk shall file with the county recorder of deeds a statement of lien claim. This statement 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 subsequent to the period covered by the bill.
b. If the consumer of water whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises, and the village clerk has notice of this, notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises, if his address be known to the clerk, whenever such bill remains unpaid for a period of sixty (60) days after it has been rendered.
c. The failure of the village clerk to record such lien claim or to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice, shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid water bills as mentioned in subsection C3b of this section. (1966 Code § 16.309)
4. Foreclosure Of Lien: Property subject to a lien for unpaid water charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of the sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill in equity authorized and directed to institute such proceedings in the name of the village in any court having jurisdiction over such matters, against any property for which the bill for water has remained unpaid sixty (60) days after it has been rendered. (1966 Code § 16.310)
D. Review Of Rates: The adequacy of the water service charge shall be reviewed, not less often than annually, by the commissioner of public property. The water service charge shall be revised periodically to reflect a change in local capital costs or operation, maintenance and replacement costs.
E. Consumer Requests; Appeals: The method for computation of rates and service charges established for user charges in this section shall be made available to a user within fourteen (14) days of receipt of a written request for such. Any disagreement over the method used and any computations thereof shall be remedied by the village council within forty five (45) days after notification of a formal written appeal outlining the discrepancies.
F. Revenues: All revenues and monies derived from the operation of the water system shall be deposited in the water account of the water fund. All such revenues and money shall be held by the village treasurer separate and apart from any private funds and separate and apart from all other funds of the village and deposited not more than ten (10) days after the receipt of the same, or at such more frequent intervals as may from time to time be directed by the mayor and council of the village. The village treasurer shall receive all such revenues from the water system and all other funds and monies incident to the operation of said system as the same may be delivered and deposit the same in the account of the fund designated as the "water fund of the village of Leland". The treasurer shall administer such funds in every respect in the manner provided by the Illinois municipal code.
G. Accounts: The village treasurer shall establish a proper system of accounts and shall keep proper books, records, and accounts in which complete and correct entries shall be made of all transactions relative to the water system and, at regular annual intervals, shall cause to be made an audit by an independent auditing concern of the books to show the true receipts and disbursements of the water system. In addition to the customary operating statements, the annual audit reports shall also reflect the revenues and operating expenses of the water facilities including a replacement cost. The financial information to be shown in the audit report shall include the following:
1. Flow data showing total gallons received at the water plant for the current fiscal year.
2. Billing data to show total number of gallons billed per fiscal year.
3. Debt service for the next succeeding fiscal year.
4. Number of users connected to the system.
5. Number of nonmetered users.
H. Access To Records: The Illinois environmental protection agency or its authorized representative shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the village which are applicable to the village system of user charges for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts and transcriptions thereof to ensure compliance with the terms of any loan agreement and rules for any state loan and any special and general conditions to any state grant. (Ord. 11-99, 8-7-1999)