(a) Establishing Utility Service.
(1) Where service is being established for a new utility user who utilizes water and rubbish service, a deposit of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be collected by the Director of Finance. As an alternative to a deposit, the owner of the property may take responsibility for the City utilities by signing a form prescribed by the City.
(2) Where service is being established for a new utility user who utilizes rubbish only, a deposit equal to a three-month bill shall be estimated and collected by the Director of Finance. The deposit shall be held in trust until such time as the account is finalized.
(Ord. 91-03. Passed 7-14-03.)
(b) Disconnection; Reconnection Charges; Deposits.
(1) Water service shall be discontinued temporarily by order of the Director of Public Service or his authorized agent for failure to pay for water service or for any suspected violation of rules, regulations, rulings or authorizations hereinabove set forth. Council may permanently revoke a water service license, by resolution, upon a showing to its satisfaction that any rule, regulation or order as hereinabove set forth or as may hereafter be adopted has been or is being violated by any person using water service with or without consent of the owner of the real property being served.
(2) Water service disconnections shall be suspended from March 15, 2020 to July 31, 2020 due to economic disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the Governor of the State of Ohio to declare an emergency. Water users will continue to be billed at the normal rate for water usage during the time period named hereinafter, which shall include charges for interest and penalties.
(3) A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be charged to users who have been certified for temporary disconnection.
(4) Where service has been certified for temporary discontinuation on a residential account for failure to pay utility services, a one hundred dollar ($100.00) deposit shall be collected by the Director of Finance before service shall be restored. The deposit shall be held in trust until such time as the discontinued account is finalized.
Where service has been certified for temporary discontinuation on a commercial account for failure to pay for utility services, a deposit equal to a three-month bill shall be estimated and collected by the Director of Finance before service shall be restored. The deposit shall be held in trust until such time as the discontinued account is finalized.
(5) When two or more meters have been provided to a property which has a single service line and one or more of the users has been certified for temporary discontinuation of service, the City shall offer the owner one of the following four options:
A. The landowner may receive the bill for the single service, including the current delinquency, in his or her name.
B. The landowner may provide a service line to each one of the meters at the property, thus providing separate billings and separate collection on each.
C. The landowner may take responsibility for the tenant's bill in the event of nonpayment.
D. The City shall discontinue utility services.
(Ord. 62-20. Passed 3-18-20; Ord. 132-20. Passed 7-13-20.)