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Any other developed user may request an adjustment of the storm water utility service charge.
1. The request for adjustment shall be submitted to the City in writing on forms provided by the City requesting an adjustment of the applicable number of equivalent residential units.
2. The request for adjustment shall be submitted within ninety (90) days of the receipt of the first billing of the storm water utility service charge to that user.
3. Any request for adjustment shall include sufficient documentation to allow the City to determine from the documentation provided the total surface area.
4. Within twenty (20) days after receipt of the request for adjustment, the City shall review the adjustment. If the City determines the total area is different than the area used for the basis of charge, the parcel shall be recharged at the revised rate. The City shall adjust for any previous payments. If the City determines there is insufficient information to complete the evaluation, the City shall notify the applicant and request additional information.
5. If the City requests additional information, the applicant shall submit additional information within twenty (20) days after the determination by the City. If additional information is not submitted within twenty (20) days, the request for the adjustment shall be considered to have been withdrawn.
1. The City shall send a bill for the amount due by regular mail to every user in the City. Mailing to the user of record as shown in the City water billing records shall satisfy this requirement. The billing period shall be the same as for water usage.
2. The recipient has twenty (20) days from the billing date to file a notice of non-occupancy. The notice shall indicate the relationship of the recipient to the property (e.g. owner, lessor, mortgagee), whether on the imposition date the property was occupied, and if so, by whom.
3. Upon receipt of the notice, the City shall determine who is obligated for payment. Based on this determination, the City shall:
A. Issue a new bill to the occupant if the property was occupied by someone other than the original recipient;
B. Reissue the bill to the recipient if it is found that the person was the occupant;
C. Issue a bill to the owner as the user, if the property was not occupied.
The City may take into account any reasonably reliable information available to it, including utility records.
4. Failure to file the notice so that it is actually received by the City within the twenty (20) days of the mailing date of the bill shall conclusively establish that the original addressee was the user on the imposition date.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any person may agree in writing to be responsible for payment of the charge. Upon filing of such a writing with the City, subsequent bills shall be sent to that person, and that person shall be deemed to be the user.
6. It is a violation of this chapter to knowingly provide false information to the City regarding any fact related to billing of a storm water utility service charge or other charge of the City.
1. Charges imposed under this chapter are deemed delinquent when not paid in full by the due date provided in a billing for the charge.
2. It is unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to discharge wastewater into the City's storm water utility system. It is also unlawful and a violation of this chapter to maintain a connection to or use the City's storm water utility system without paying the appropriate charges and fees established in this section or any rule adopted pursuant hereto. Even if no billing is received, such charges shall be due and owing and the user is obligated to pay any charges in a timely fashion.
3. Delinquent charges may be collected pursuant to the same procedure as with delinquent water bills by the City, with the assistance of City legal counsel, without further action or authorization by the Council.
4. Delinquent charges may be recovered by the City in the same manner as provided in the water billing procedure.
5. In addition to remedies provided for collection of a debt, the City may seek a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting continued occupancy of premises, requiring disconnection of the premises from the public storm water utility system, and termination of water and sewer service to the user's premises.
6. The Council may prescribe, by resolution and order, a schedule of interest and penalty charges to be imposed upon delinquent charges.
7. In a collection action under this chapter, the City shall be entitled to its costs and reasonable attorney fees, including at trial and on appeal, if it is the prevailing party.
8. In addition to the right of the City to bring a civil action to collect any delinquent charges or enforce any provision of this chapter, the City may take any of the following actions to secure payment:
A. The City may refuse to issue any permit to any person who is delinquent in any payment due under this chapter.
B. The City may terminate provision of storm and surface water service to premises used by the user.
C. The City may terminate sanitary sewer service to premises used by the user.
D. The City may terminate water service to the premises used by the user.
If the City terminates service as provided in this subsection, the cost of such disconnection shall be added to the amount of any other delinquent charges and shall be recoverable in the same manner as are such charges.
9. Where a lien against property can be imposed when the owner is liable, it shall exist from the date the bill was last brought current in the same manner as with a lien for water service.
1. The opening of a water billing account shall be deemed to be a specific request for provision of storm and surface water service to that property.
2. Any user of the public storm water utility system may disconnect property served by the system from service and terminate further user charges by terminating an active water billing account to the property.
1. Adoption of Rules.
A. The Council may, by resolution and order, promulgate rules pertaining to matters within the scope of this chapter.
B. Any rule adopted pursuant to this section shall require a public hearing. Not less than four (4) or more than twenty (20) days before such hearing, public notice of such hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the City. Such notice shall include the place, time and purpose of the hearing and the location at which copies of the full text of the proposed rules may be obtained.
C. At the public hearing, the Council shall hear testimony concerning the proposed rules. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Council shall either adopt the proposal, modify or reject it. If a modification is made, an additional public hearing shall be held but no additional notice shall be required if such additional hearing is announced at the meeting at which the modification is made. All rules shall be effective upon adoption by the Council and shall be filed in the office of the City.
D. Notwithstanding paragraphs B and C of this subsection, a rule maybe adopted without prior notice upon a finding that failure of the Council to act promptly will result in serious prejudice to the public interest or the interest of the affected parties, including the specified reasons for such prejudice.
2. Appeals.
A. The following may be appealed to the Council:
(1) A determination that the person is obligated to pay the service charge imposed herein.
(2) A dispute as to the proper calculation of the amount due from the person. This does not include, however, an objection to the overall establishment of the storm water utility charge or the amount per ERU established by the Council.
(3) A discretionary decision implementing a rule adopted by the Council if an appeal is provided in the order adopting the rule.
B. The appeal shall be filed in writing and must be actually received by the City no later than the thirtieth (30th) day after the action appealed. The thirty (30) days shall be calculated from the due date of the original or reissued bill in response to a notice of non-occupancy, whichever is later.
C. The appeal shall be heard by the City Engineer and City Administrator in an informal proceeding. The appellant shall be provided a reasonable opportunity to submit written and oral support for the appellant's position. The City Engineer and City Administrator shall issue a written decision within ten (10) days of the proceeding. The written decision of the City Engineer and City Administrator may be appealed to the Council. Failure to properly exhaust the administrative remedy provided for herein shall constitute a bar to judicial relief.
D. The appeal from the City Engineer and City Administrator shall be heard by the Council in an informal proceeding. The appellant shall be provided a reasonable opportunity to submit written and oral support for the appellant's position. The Council shall issue a written decision within thirty (30) days of the proceeding. The written decision of the Council may be appealed to the Circuit Court of Linn County by writ of review. Failure to properly exhaust the administrative remedy provided for herein shall constitute a bar to judicial relief.