(A) (1) It shall be the duty of the Water Administrator to cause a statement of charges for sewer and water service to be delivered at least once every month to each customer. The owner of the premises, the occupant thereof, and the user of the service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the service on such premises. The service is furnished the premises by the Village only upon the condition that the owner of premises, the occupant and the user of the service are jointly and severally liable therefor.
(2) All bills for service shall be rendered as of the first day of the month succeeding the period for which the service is billed, and except where a timely request for hearing has been filed as set forth in division (H), shall be payable not later than the close of business on the fifteenth day after the date of the bill. If payment of the full amount of the bill is not made within said 15 day period, then a penalty of 10% shall be added thereto. In cases where a request for hearing has been filed as set forth in division (H), a bill shall become payable immediately upon the rendering of a final decision pursuant to division (H), and a penalty of 10% shall be added thereto if not paid within 1 day of such final decision.
(B) In the event the charges for service are not paid within 30 days from the date of the bill for such service, and no timely request for hearing has been filed as set forth in division (H), the charges shall be deemed to be delinquent, and the Village may pursue any of the remedies set forth in divisions (C), (D), (E) and (F) of this section. The amount of any delinquent charges shall be a lien upon the real estate on which the premises to which service was provided are located. In cases where a request for hearing has been filed as set forth in division (H), a bill shall be deemed delinquent if not paid within 1 day of the rendering of a final decision pursuant to division (H).
(C) In the event that charges for service to premises are deemed to be delinquent under division (B) of this section, the Village shall have the right to shut off in whole or in part the water supply to such premises. Prior to disconnection of water service for non-payment of water charges, the Water Administrator shall cause a notice to be sent to the occupants of the premises and to the person to whom the water bill for the premises is sent. Courtesy copies of the notice will also be sent to the owner of record, mortgage company, taxpayer of record and/or management company of the premises where the account is located, if different than the occupants of the premises and/or person to whom the water bill for the premises is sent, based on information ascertained from County records and the Village's account and landlord registration records. Failure to send courtesy copies of the notice or non-receipt of said notice shall not be a defense to the obligation of any responsible party to pay the outstanding charges. The notice shall specify the outstanding overdue balance of charges, and provide options to pay the outstanding balance, to pay a percentage of the outstanding overdue balance of charges and enter into a payment plan with the Village, or to request a hearing to be held by a hearing officer or the Water Administrator or an appointee appointed by the Village Manager, at which hearing said requesting party may show cause as to why the water service to the premises should not be disconnected for non-payment of the delinquent charges. The notice shall be entitled "Notice of Options and Right to Request a Hearing as to Whether Water Service Should be Shut Off for Non-Payment of Bills" and shall be mailed or delivered personally to the various parties. In addition, where the premises are a multi-family dwelling, the notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place upon or near the premises.
Any recipient of such a notice or resident of a multi-family dwelling where such a notice is posted may request a payment plan or a hearing at which they may show cause as to why the water service to the premises should not be disconnected for nonpayment of the delinquent charges. If such notice as is required by this subsection is served by personal delivery, then a request for a payment plan or a hearing must be made to the office of the Water Department on a form to be provided by the Water Department within 72 hours of the date such notice was delivered. If such notice as is required by this subsection is served by mail, then a request for a payment plan or a hearing must be made to the Water Department within 5 days of mailing of such notice. Water service shall not be disconnected to any premises if a payment plan is entered into and its terms followed, or until after any hearing requested under this subsection is held as provided for in this subsection. If no request for a payment plan or a hearing is submitted within the time periods established herein, the Village shall have the right to shut off in whole or in part the water supply to the premises listed in said notices.
(D) If charges for water service have been deemed to be delinquent under division (B) of this section, then the Water Administrator shall be entitled to file a notice with the Recorder of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles of Cook County, stating that the Village has a lien on the premises in the amount of the delinquent charges. Such notice shall be entitled “Notice of Lien” and shall contain a legal description of the real estate on which the premises is located, the amount of the unpaid charges and a statement that the Village claims a lien against the real estate for the amount of the unpaid charges as well as for all charges for water service incurred subsequent to the filing of the Notice of Lien. A copy of the notice of the lien shall be sent to the person to whom the water bill for the premises has been sent. The Corporation Counsel, Prosecuting Attorney or whatever attorney designated by the Village Manager shall file suit to foreclose any lien for which a Notice of Lien has been filed pursuant to this subsection upon the direction of the Water Administrator.
(E) In the event that charges have been deemed to be delinquent under division (B) of this section, then the attorney designated by the Village Manager, at the direction of the Water Administrator or Village Manager, shall file an action in the Circuit Court against the premises to which service was supplied, the occupant of the premises and/or the user of the service to recover the amount of charges due.
(F) In the event that charges have been deemed to be delinquent under division (B) of this section and the shutting off of water service to the delinquent account will interfere with another customer’s service the Water Administrator shall order the joint line service to be separated and the charges for such severance shall be assessed to the delinquent account customer and/or owner and charged as part of the costs of collection.
(G) The remedies set forth in divisions (C), (D), (E) and (F) of this section may be applied severally or cumulatively. In addition to the charges and penalty due, should the Village pursue any of the remedies set forth in divisions (C), (D), (E) and (F) of this section, the Village shall be entitled to collect the costs of filing any Notice of Lien, foreclosing on the lien, separating any service lines and any other costs, including but not limited to attorneys fees, the Village may incur in collecting delinquent charges. The Village shall not be obligated to resume service if service has been shut off, or release any lien, if notice of a lien has been filed, until:
(1) All charges in arrears on the premises have been paid and all expenses incurred by the Village with respect to the collection of delinquent charges at the premises have been paid; and
(2) A fee of $150 has been paid to reimburse the Village for the services of the Village’s Department of Public Works and Water Department in reinstating water service to the premises.
(H) (1) Any person liable for a bill for service hereunder who disputes the accuracy of a particular bill may do so by requesting in writing a hearing before the Finance Director of the Village within 10 days of the date of the bill. A request for hearing shall be made to the Finance Department on a form provided by the Finance Department. On the designated hearing date set by the Finance Director, the petitioning party may present evidence in support of their claim that the bill is inaccurate. The Finance Director will provide written notice to the petitioning party of the hearing date. The Finance Director shall, within 3 days following the hearing, make a written determination as to the accuracy of the bill and is authorized to make adjustments to the bill of up to 20% of the total bill amount. The person disputing the bill may then either accept the decision of the Finance Director, and make payment in full of the bill or adjusted bill amount, or may appeal the decision of the Finance Director to the Finance Committee of the Village Board of Trustees by requesting in writing an appeal within 5 days of the date of decision by the Finance Director. Failure to submit a request for an appeal hearing within the specified time shall cause the decision of the Finance Director to become a final decision. A request for an appeal hearing shall be filed with the Finance Director on a form provided by the Finance Department. On the designated appeal hearing date before the Finance Committee, and after written notice of the date is provided to the petitioning party, the petitioning party may again present evidence concerning the accuracy of the bill and a representative of the Village may present evidence in support of the bill. The Finance Committee, based on the evidence presented, shall render a final decision on the bill amount by either overruling or sustaining the Finance Director’s decision, or the Finance Committee may sustain the decision but make a further adjustment to the bill amount of up to 50% of the total due amount.
(2) No continuances for hearings or appeal hearings shall be granted and a failure to appear shall cause a bill to become immediately due in the originally stated amount, along with a 10% penalty as set forth in division (A) of this section.
(3) A final decision under this division for purposes of calculating the due date, penalty date, and delinquency date as set forth in divisions (A) and (B) of this section shall occur when either the time for appealing the decision of the Finance Director has expired without a request for an appeal hearing having been made, or a final decision has been rendered by the Finance Committee.
(1997 Code, § 8.03) (Ord. 68-13, passed 10-24- 1968; Am. Ord. 86-17A, passed 11-24-1984; Am. Ord. C0-00-25, passed 12-20-1999; Am. Ord. C0-00-10, passed 11-20-2000; Am. Ord. C0-03-14, passed 4-11-2003; Am. Ord. CO-2012-43, passed 11-5-2012; Am. Ord. CO-2016-01, passed 2-2-2016
; Am. Ord. CO-2021-22, passed 8-17-2021
)