(A) All users shall be billed monthly. Billings for any particular month shall be made no later than 15 days after the end of that month. Any payment for prior billings not received by that time shall result in the associated account being considered delinquent.
(B) Within a reasonable time after a determination that an account is delinquent, a billing statement shall be sent notifying the user that their account is past due.
(C) If an account remains unpaid after 30 days have passed from the end of the month for which the charges were incurred, additional action will be taken as follows:
(1) A late payment fee of 10% will be imposed for each such delinquent payment.
(D) If an account remains unpaid after 60 days have passed from the end of the month for which the charges were incurred, additional action will be taken as follows:
(1) A late payment fee of 10% will be imposed for each such delinquent payment.
(2) Notice shall be sent to the obligated party regarding the outstanding payment as well as the penalty described above, and that additional action may be taken to collect the amount owed, including that a lien may be recorded; that legal action may be filed against them to foreclose such lien or prosecute any other available manner to collect the amount owed; that all such actions would include a request for costs, including reasonable attorney fees.
(3) The obligated party may contact the town utility office to establish a payment plan that, if approved, will eliminate the delinquent amount while including monthly billings occurring during the period of the payment plan. The payment plan will be documented in the town sewer utility computer program. If the payment plan requirements are not met, the actions in (E) below will be followed.
(E) If an account remains unpaid after 90 days have passed from the end of the month for which the charges were incurred, additional action will be taken as follows:
(1) A late payment fee of 10% will be imposed for each such delinquent payment.
(2) A lien will be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Morgan County, Indiana, on the real property associated with the delinquent account, in accordance with I.C. 36-9-23 and this section, for the full amount in fees and penalties owed at that time, along with any cost incurred in preparing and recording the lien.
(F) A lien may be released by full payment or by a negotiated payment as authorized by the Council.
(G) If a lien has been recorded and amount remains due and owing, the Council may instruct its attorney to proceed with foreclosure on the lien, in their discretion and in accordance with statute.
(Ord. 11-1999, passed 9-27-1999; Am. Ord. passed 8-25-2005; Am. Ord. passed 9-12-2005; Am. Ord. 2021-01, passed 5-24-2021)