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No connection or provision of sewer service shall be made until an applicant therefor shall complete and sign an application form, which form shall include an agreement that all charges for services shall be promptly paid when billed. The application shall contain the name and address of both the consumer of the service and the owner of the premises to be connected, and such other information as the City Manager or Council shall require. In addition to completing an application, the consumer shall make an account deposit as determined by resolution of the Council. The city may require an increase in the initial deposit if the account holder develops a record of delinquent payments after the account has been opened. A new utility account shall not be opened, nor shall any utility services be provided to a person or other legal entity, until all prior unpaid utility charges, interest, penalties, and collection fees owed to the city by that person or legal entity have been paid in full. The account application shall also state that the applicant consents to allow access to city meters at reasonable times by city employees for inspection, maintenance, reading, and calibration.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)
Rates to be charged for sewer service furnished by the system are listed in the Council approved city fee schedule. These rates are estimated to be sufficient to provide for the payment of the expenses of administration and operation of the system and such expenses of maintenance of the system as are necessary to preserve the same in good repair and working order, and to provide for such other expenditures and funds for said system as this chapter may require.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)
Cycle billing shall be made for all consumers of wastewater services. All water meters shall be read or estimated within two days before or after the first day of the month, and bills will be generated on a monthly basis thereafter, payable without penalty before or by the billing statement due date thereon. Payment received after such period shall be considered delinquent and bear a penalty as listed in the Council approved city fee schedule.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)
Charges for sewerage service shall constitute a lien on the property or premises served, and liens for delinquent charges may be recorded against the property with the office of the county’s Register of Deeds. If payment is not made within six months of the beginning of the delinquency, the same shall be certified to Council at the regular November meeting of the Council, and the amounts so certified and approved by Council shall be spread upon the December tax roll for collection. This procedure shall not apply if a lease has been legally executed, containing a provision that the lessor shall not be liable for payment of water or sewage bills accruing subsequent to the filing of the written notice and a copy of the signed lease provided by this chapter. A written notice with respect to the execution of a lease containing this provision shall be filed with the Board, Commission, or other official in charge of the water works system or the sewerage system, or both, and 20-day notice shall be given by the lessor of any cancellation of, change in, or termination of the lease. The written notice shall contain a notation of the expiration date of the lease.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)
(A) An account that has not been paid in full by the billing statement due date shall be considered delinquent and shall have added to it a penalty in the amount identified in the Council approved city fee schedule. Such charges and penalties may be recovered by the city by court action. Once the account is delinquent, the city shall mail a notice of delinquency and shut-off, on a form approved by Council, to the consumer and to the owner of the premises, as indicated on the account application, if different from the consumer. The notice shall indicate that the account is delinquent and that services shall be terminated as of the date reflected on said notice, unless the delinquent portion of the account is paid in full. Before the wastewater services are again turned on after such discontinuance, a reconnection fee established in the Council-approved city fee schedule shall be paid, and an agreement acceptable to the city, shall be made to pay the account in full.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)
(B) (1) It is the policy of the city to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of non- payment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The city’s form for application for utility service and all bills shall contain, in addition to the title, address, room number, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect:
(a) That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill;
(b) That, if any bill is not paid by or before that date, a second bill will be mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within ten days of the mailing of the second bill, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and
(c) That any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to be heard at which time he or she may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing and may present orally or in writing his or her complaint and contentions to the city official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint.
(2) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been unpaid for at least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the city to discontinue utility service to a customer for non- payment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, along with connection charge in an amount established in our city fee schedule.
In addition to the penalty provided in § 10.99, any water meter found to have been tampered with or bypassed, having the capability of being circumvented or with an illegal cross-connection present, shall be presumed conclusively to have been in such condition for six months prior to its discovery by the city. The owner of the premises serviced by a meter which has been bypassed or circumvented, or having the capability of being circumvented, shall be assessed and charged an amount double the sewer usage of any comparable premises in six months. This charge shall be billed subsequent to discovery of the bypass or circumvention and shall also be recorded as a lien against the premises and certified and spread on the tax rolls. For the purpose of this chapter, a comparable premises in the case of a dwelling house shall be one with an equal number of adults and children, if said information is available; otherwise the average usage for a similar size dwelling should be used. For other types of premises, a comparable premises shall be a similar establishment, i.e. a church, office, store, and the like. Any residence or structure found in violation of this chapter shall be subject to immediate utility disconnect and shall not be reconnected to the utility supply until all bills, penalties, reconnection charges, and deposits have been paid.
(Ord. passed 4-11-2019)