A. Fees Established: The fees to be charged by the City for refuse collection service within the City shall be established by resolution of the City Council after a duly noticed public hearing regarding the establishment of said fees.
B. Payment Of Fees; Delinquencies:
1. Billing: All refuse charges shall be collected together with, and not separately from, the charges for any utility service rendered by the City, and all charges shall be billed upon the same bill and collected as one item. All utility service charges shall be payable upon presentation date at the Office of the City Water Collector in the City Hall and shall be delinquent on the twenty fifth day of the calendar month following the date of presentment.
2. Liability: The owner or owners of any parcel of real property, together with any and all occupants of such real property, shall be jointly liable for all charges incurred by reason of the use of said waste and refuse pick-up service by any and all occupants of such real property.
3. Discontinued: In the event a utility bill is not paid on or before the tenth day after the bill becomes delinquent, the refuse service shall be discontinued. On the eleventh day after the bill becomes delinquent the fees of twenty five dollars ($25.00), in addition to the amount of the utility bill, shall be charged.
4. Restoring: If refuse service has been discontinued for failure to pay a utility bill as set forth in subsection B3 of this section, the entire amount of the refuse bill and all fines and penalties provided below shall be paid in full before refuse service is restored.
a. A fee of twenty five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged on all returned items (to include online payments) in payment of utility charges.
5. Disputed Bills: Should the amount of any bill for service be questioned, the customer should promptly request an explanation. If the explanation is not satisfactory or is not understood, the customer must pay the bill under protest to avoid discontinuance of service. Protests will be addressed to the Director of Finance, must be in writing, and must state the reasons why the charges are believed to be incorrect. The Director of Finance will analyze the facts of the case and is authorized to make such adjustments in the charges as may be necessary to effect an equitable settlement. Failure of a customer to pay under protest after initial explanation is offered will result in discontinuance of service without further notice if bill is not paid by the delinquency date.
6. Collections: Accounts shall be subject to collection of any delinquent fees and charges in the following manner:
a. At the time the fees become delinquent and until such time they are fully paid, the delinquent account balance, including late charges, shall constitute an unrecorded lien against the property and, as such, may be identified during a title search. For commercial businesses, delinquent account balances, including late charges, may be considered an unrecorded lien against the business name and/or owner of the business.
b. Once a year there may be prepared a report of delinquent fees including late charges. The City Council shall fix a time, date and place for hearing the report and receive any objections or protests thereto.
c. The City Council shall cause notice of hearing to be mailed to the landowners listed on the report not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the hearing.
d. At the hearing, the City Council shall hear any objections or protests of landowners liable to be assessed for delinquent fees including late charges and administrative fees, as set by resolution of the City Council. The City Council may make revisions or corrections to the report as it deems just, after which, by resolution, the report shall be confirmed.
e. The delinquent fees set forth in the report as confirmed shall constitute special assessments against the respective parcels of land and are a lien on the property for the amount of such delinquent fees, including late charges. A certified copy of the resolution confirming the assessments shall be filed with the County Recorder and the County Auditor- Controller/Tax Collector for the amounts of the assessments against the respective parcels as they appear on the current assessment roll. The lien created attaches upon filing. The assessments shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as other Property Taxes and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for such taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of Property Taxes shall be applicable to such assessments. However, if, for the first year for which the charges are prescribed, the property served by the City has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, and attached thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment of County taxes would become delinquent, the charge will not result in a lien against the real property, but shall become transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.
f. In addition to, or alternatively to, imposing a lien, the City may file an action for the collection of any amounts due and unpaid against the owner, tenant, lessee or other occupants or persons in possession, charge or control of any place in or from which refuse is created, accumulated or produced. In any such action, the delinquent balances may also be processed through a collection agency.
C. Application Of Funds Received: Any payment received for City utility charges in an amount less than the total charge billed shall be treated as a partial payment for each such charge and the amount received allocated to the separate departments in the same ratio as each such charge bears to the whole of the bill.
D. Vacant Premises; Refunds: Whenever the premises for which collection and disposal service is provided is vacant or unused for a period of thirty (30) days or more, the person to whom the collection charge is made may secure a rebate of his refuse collection service charges for said period of vacancy by presenting to the Director of Public Works an affidavit setting forth all the facts of the vacancy under penalty of perjury. If satisfied with the truth of the statements of vacancy, the Director of Public Works shall approve said claim and the Finance Department shall make the appropriate refund of such charges. No charge shall be made for newly constructed premises until the same is occupied; provided, however, that a person shall be conclusively presumed to be using refuse collection and disposal service when the premises is connected to the City water or sewer system. (Ord. 2018-07, 9-18-2018)