(a) Rates Established by Ordinance. Water rates shall be established by Municipal ordinance.
(b) Reading Meters. Meters shall be read monthly. When a meter reading cannot be obtained, the Department of Public Service reserves the right to estimate and bill for the water consumed based on the preceding month.
(c) Due Dates for Bills.
(1) Water bills are due on receipt.
(2) Bills not paid on or before the fifteenth of the billing month shall be charged a ten percent penalty charge.
(3) Water bills not paid in full by the final payment date shall result in the service being shut off without further notice unless a payment agreement has been made with the Utility Department.
(4) Payment agreements can be executed at any time before the final payment date.
(5) When the final payment date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the final payment date shall be the next regular working day.
(6) Users may elect to pay charges in advance at any time; any remaining credit will be reflected on monthly bills. The amount paid in advance shall not exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00) and any refund request must be approved by the City Manager.
(d) Charges for Water as Liens. All charges for unpaid water and sewer bills are assessed against the property to which the service is rendered and are a lien against the property, collectable in the same manner as other taxes and assessments. A person who purchases property shall ascertain if any water bill assessed to such property is unpaid and shall assume the responsibility of such delinquent charges.
(e) Occupancy by Tenant.
(1) All residential property accounts must be in the property owner's name.
A. All residential accounts, as of the effective date of this chapter, shall be transferred from the tenant to the property owner at the next lease renewal or when the property owner executes a new lease with a different tenant.
B. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to inform the City of all changes to property leases that will impact the account. All residential accounts must be paid in full prior to the transfer of account ownership
(2) All accounts involving a commercial property where one outside shut-off controls more than one rental unit shall be in the property owner's name. Any account involving a commercial rental property where there is an individual outside shut-off per unit may be placed in the tenant's name at the property owner's request. All commercial accounts shall be paid in full prior to the transfer of account ownership.
(f) Delivery of Bills.
(1) Third-party vendors may undertake the delivery of bills for water, also referred to as "utility bills", by depositing the same in the post office only as a matter of convenience to the owner or consumer.
(2) The failure of a person to receive a bill shall not relieve him or her from his or her obligations to pay the bill.
(3) In utilizing the U.S. Postal Service for delivery of their payment of a water service charge, users assume the responsibility for any failure of the U.S. Postal Service to timely deliver the payment to the Authority, also known as the City of New Carlisle.
(4) Accordingly, the Authority shall not waive payment penalties for any person claiming the U.S. Postal Service failed to timely deliver a bill or payment.
(5) If the user elects for paperless billing, the user shall receive no paper bill but will still be responsible for the payment of services rendered on the appropriate due date.
(g) Unpaid Bills for Customers Connected to Municipal Water and Sewer Supply.
(1) Service disconnection for unpaid bills. Service may be disconnected for non-payment of a monthly bill as described in the current administrative policy developed by the City Manager or for non-payment of a payment agreement wherein the customer fails to pay under the terms and conditions of the agreement.
(2) Non-pay fee. A fifty dollar ($50.00) non-pay fee will be applied to unpaid accounts on the day service is disconnected and shall be receipted in the financial books of the City with forty dollars ($40.00) deposited into the Water Enterprise Fund account and ten dollars ($10.00) deposited into the Wastewater Enterprise Fund account. However, the non-pay fee for water only accounts shall be forty dollars ($40.00) instead, all of which shall be deposited into the Water Enterprise Account.
(3) When the water is turned off because of an unpaid bill, the water shall not be turned on again until the bill, plus penalty and the applicable non-pay fee, has been paid.
(4) Reconnection of service. If payment is received in our offices by 3:00 p.m. on the day of disconnection, we will attempt to reconnect service on the same day, however reconnection of services on the same day of payment is not guaranteed.
A. Service fee for outside normal business hours. Any turn-ons and turn-offs requested outside normal business hours will be charged an additional one hundred dollars ($100.00) per turn-on and/or turn-off.
B. The Director of Public Service or the City Manager will be the only people permitted to determine if a fee will be waived for an emergency shut-off.
(5) Utility billing rules and regulations. The City Manager or his or her designee will establish an office policy to direct personnel and enforce codified ordinances concerning utility billing and regulations and update as needed.
(h) Unrepaired Leaks. When a consumer has been notified of a leak and such leak is not repaired within ten days of such notice, the service may be shut off without further notice.
(i) Insufficient Funds.
(1) If a bank should return a check from a user for insufficient funds, the account will be subject to an insufficient funds charge of thirty-five dollars ($35.00).
(2) Upon the claim of an account holder that the return of a check for insufficient funds was a bank error, the Authority shall waive the insufficient funds charge if the bank supplies adequate documentation of its error.
(3) If an account holder has two checks returned for insufficient funds, the Authority shall require all future payments from that account holder be made in cash or by money order.
(4) Water will be disconnected immediately when a check is returned for insufficient funds and not reconnected until the amount of the bill, plus any additional applicable charges, are paid in full.
(5) If a user elects to pay his or her water bill online and the credit card used is declined, the user is still responsible for making the payment to avoid disconnection for non-payment.
(6) In the instance where the user's credit card was utilized without his or her permission to make the online water payment, the user is still responsible for payment to avoid disconnection.
(j) Final Bills. The landlord of the property is responsible for all final bills. All final bills must be paid within thirty days or a penalty charge of ten percent will be added for each month the bill is past due.
(k) Fees for Online Utility Payments.
(1) There will be a fee to use a credit card and/or debit card online and at the City Building to make utility payments.
(2) The fee shall be one dollar and ninety-five cents ($1.95) per one hundred dollar ($100.00) increment.
(Ord. 02-28. Passed 7-15-02; Ord. 03-07. Passed 4-9-03; Ord. 03-24. Passed 9-2-03; Ord. 03-47. Passed 1-5-04; Ord. 08-30. Passed 6-16-08; Ord. 08-51. Passed 10-6-08; Ord. 13-06. Passed 2-19-13; Ord. 15-55. Passed 12-7-15; Ord. 17-30. Passed 9-18-17; Ord. 2020-03. Passed 2-18-20; Ord. 2022-15. Passed 5-16-22.)