(A) (1) There is hereby created a Division of Sanitation within the City of Mt. Vernon under the supervision of the City Manager and consisting of such employees as may be necessary for the operation of the Division, provided that the maximum number shall be authorized by the Annual Budget Ordinance.
(2) The City will regularly collect and dispose of garbage and refuse of residential dwelling units within the City; provided that the City shall not collect garbage at any place which is not within the City limits; shall not collect garbage at any dwelling unit which is located above business establishments which are located in the downtown area; shall not collect garbage from any school, commercial, or industrial establishment; and shall not collect garbage from any dwelling having five or more apartments or units.
(3) A monthly service charge shall be collected from each residential dwelling unit receiving City garbage and refuse collection; for purposes of assessing this fee, each single family residence, each apartment, each mobile home, or each other living unit shall constitute a “dwelling unit”. The service charge shall be in addition to any tax or other fee imposed or received by the City for garbage and refuse collection and may be reviewed annually at the beginning of each fiscal year. Effective May 1, 2023, the service charge shall be $23.00 per dwelling unit per month. The charge for garbage and refuse collection service shall be made monthly and shall be made payable 16 days after rendition. The applicant for service, the occupants of the dwelling unit served, and the user of the garbage and refuse collection service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay the service charge set forth for service to a dwelling unit. The City shall be under no obligation to furnish garbage and refuse collection to any person who is in default as to any garbage and refuse collection charges or to any dwelling unit occupied by a person who is in default as to any garbage and refuse collection charges; and the City at any time after a charge becomes delinquent shall have the full power and authority to terminate garbage and refuse collection service; upon any charge for garbage collection service becoming delinquent or upon a service being terminated, all delinquent charges for garbage collection services, water services, and sewer services must be paid in full before garbage collection service is continued or resumed. No garbage and refuse collection service shall be provided to any dwelling unit upon application of any person who is in default as to any garbage and refuse collection charges due the City, no matter at which dwelling unit said default occurred until such person has paid all delinquent charges in full. No garbage and collection service shall be provided to any dwelling unit occupied by any person who is in default as to any garbage and refuse collection charges, no matter at which dwelling unit said default occurred and no matter whether the said person is the applicant until such person has paid all delinquent charges in full. The garbage and refuse collection service fee shall be billable with water and sewer charges; and in the event any person shall be otherwise entitled to a refund of a water or sewer deposit or shall have a delinquent or billed garbage collection service charge, said charge shall be deducted from the refund before payment of any refund or credit to said person.
(4) The garbage and refuse collection service fee shall be billable with water and sewer charges; and in the event any person shall be otherwise entitled to a refund of a water or sewer deposit or shall have a delinquent or billed garbage collection service charge, said charge shall be deducted from the refund before payment of any refund or credit to said person.
(5) The owner or operator of each trailer park receiving garbage service for multiple dwelling units but receiving a single billing shall on December 1, March 1, June 1 and September 1 submit a report to the City Manager as to the total number of occupied units and total number of vacant units within the trailer park as of the reporting date so that the City can determine the appropriate number of dwelling units to bill effective January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, respectively. In addition, upon request by the City Manager or his designee or agent, each owner for operator shall submit within 10 days thereafter business records and other information as may be required to document any report of dwelling units submitted. In the event any owner or operator refuses or fails to file the required report on the above due date or fails or refuses to submit documentation requested within 10 days, then a monthly service charge shall be imposed based upon the total number of dwelling units (occupied and vacant) described within the most recent report on file or upon such number of units as determined by the City if greater than the number described within the most recent report.
(6) (a) In the event charges, including penalty charges, for garbage service are not paid on or before the due date of the bill for such services, such charges shall be deemed and are hereby declared to be delinquent. Thereafter, such delinquent charges shall constitute a lien upon the real estate for which such garbage services are supplied, regardless of whether such service has been supplied upon the application of an owner, an occupant or other user; provided, however, that the owner of the real estate shall have no personal liability for the delinquent charges unless said owner was also the applicant for or user of the services giving rise to the charges. The City Manager or the Finance Director or a designee of either is hereby authorized and directed to file a sworn statement showing such delinquencies and claiming such in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Jefferson County, Illinois, after first giving seven (7) day notice by regular mail of such delinquency to the owner of said real estate. This statement shall contain a description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, and a notice that the City claims a lien for the unpaid amount as well as for all charges for garbage service subsequent to the period covered by the bill. The lien for garbage services may be enforced and foreclosed against the premises by suit in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Illinois according to the rules and practices of said Court.
(b) The City shall recover all costs, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred by the City in preparing, filing, and foreclosing the lien. The lien may also be enforced and foreclosed by intervention in any suit already commenced in said Court or any other Court whenever said intervention is proper under the law. In addition, whenever the City is made a defendant in any suit on account of any lien, it shall have for the furnishing of garbage service full power to enforce its said lien in said proceedings. The method herein provided for enforcing and foreclosing a lien shall not be considered as excluding any other remedy or any other method of collecting unpaid garbage service charges but shall be concurrent with all other remedies and methods. The City shall recover all costs, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred by the City in effecting collection for garbage services or incurred by the City in effecting or defending any remedy.
(B) Garbage, when used herein, shall be held to include any refuse, accumulation of animal, fruit or vegetable matter that attends the preparation, use, cooking, or dealing in of meat, fish, fowl, fruit, vegetables, or other things used for food preparation.
(C) Garbage and refuse collection shall be subject to the provisions of § 130.21 of the Revised Code of Ordinances.
(D) It shall be unlawful to place ashes, chemicals, drugs, poisons, or hazardous materials in receptacles provided for garbage or other refuse.
(E) All vehicles used in the collection or hauling of garbage or other waste or refuse shall be so constructed as to prevent leakage or spillage and fit with a cover to reduce odor and to prevent garbage, waste, and other refuse from being deposited on public or private places within the corporate limits or upon roadways.
(F) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to permit the accumulation of garbage, waste or other refuse upon premises owned or occupied by him or to allow garbage, waste, or refuse to be carried or deposited upon any private property or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, or other public places within the City.
(Prior Code, Art. 2, § 2.6) (Ord. 2023-20, passed 4-17-2023)