(A) The New Albany Sewer Board is hereby granted authority to consider, determine and resolve disputes regarding the bills sent to the city's sanitary sewer utility customers.
(B) Customers wishing to have a dispute determined shall first contact the billing office staff of the New Albany Sewer Utility to determine whether an administrative or clerical error has been made on the subject bill(s) by IAWC or otherwise. In that event, the billing office staff is authorized to take the actions reasonably necessary to correct the administrative or clerical error.
(C) In the event that the billing office staff determines that the disputed billing is not the result of any clerical or administrative error by IAWC or otherwise, but the customer continues to demand adjustment to the subject bill(s), the billing office staff shall have authority to consider, determine and resolve the dispute as further authorized by the Board pursuant to its adopted rules and procedures; provided, however, that, no adjustment shall be granted by the billing office staff in excess of $200 in the aggregate.
(D) In the event that the customer seeks an adjustment of his or her bill in excess of the aggregate amount set forth in division (C) above for any reason not related to clerical or administrative error, that request shall be forwarded to the New Albany Sewer Board for its consideration. The customer shall be given an opportunity to address the merits of his or her contention at a regular or special meeting of the Board, and the subject billing(s) may be affirmed or modified as determined by majority vote of the Board.
(E) The Board shall within its reasonable discretion be entitled to adopt such rules, regulations and procedures for addressing repeated adjustments to the bills of sanitary sewer customers as it deems appropriate; provided, however, that, no adjustment to a sanitary sewer bill shall be granted on the basis that the water usage used to calculate the bill resulted from water used to operate an irrigation system or swimming pool that was first installed after April 1, 2005, unless the owner of the property on which the irrigation system or swimming pool is installed causes a separate meter to be installed solely for the purpose of measuring the water utilized by the irrigation system or swimming pool. Furthermore, no adjustment shall be granted on the basis that the water usage used to calculate the bill resulted from water used to operate an irrigation system or swimming pool after April 1, 2006, regardless of the date on which the irrigation system or swimming pool was installed. After that date, any property owner seeking relief from its sanitary sewer bill on account of water used by an irrigation system or swimming pool shall obtain the relief solely by installation of a separate meter.
(F) Nothing in this section shall affect the manner in which the Common Council or the New Albany Sewer Board administers any summer watering program by which sanitary sewer use rates or bills may be reduced for residential customers.
(G) The Clerk shall provide an executed copy of Ord. G-05-10 to each of the following:
(1) John E. Eckart, President, Indiana-American Water Company, Inc., P.O. Box 570, Greenwood, Indiana 46142;
(2) The Office of the New Albany Building Commissioner, which office shall take all steps deemed reasonably necessary to advise applicants for building permits of the restriction on sewer bill adjustments set forth in division (E) above;
(3) Silver Creek Water Corporation;
(4) Borden Tri-County Water Corporation;
(5) Edwardsville Water Corporation;
(6) Floyds Knobs Water Company; and
(7) All irrigation and swimming pool companies listed in the yellow pages for New Albany and surrounding areas.
(Ord. G-05-10, passed 3-8-2005)