(A) All bills for sewage usage shall be paid in the office of the town’s Clerk-Treasurer on or before the fifteenth of each month, and any bill not paid by the fifteenth of the month shall be assessed a penalty of 10% of the amount of the sewage bill.
(B) (1) A sewer bill not paid within 30 days after the due date shall be considered delinquent. The customer may cure the delinquency by paying the delinquent fees together with the penalty. Delinquent customers and penalties may be collected through the small claims proceedings.
(2) If the delinquency is not cured within 30 days after becoming delinquent, the town may terminate water service to the customer if the municipality owns the water utility serving that customer.
(C) If the delinquent bill is for a property that is occupied by someone other than the owner, and if the owner of the property has requested in writing to be notified of any delinquencies on the property and provides an address to which the notifications are to be mailed, the town shall send notice within 20 days after the bill became 60 days delinquent to the owner.
(D) If an account is delinquent for 90 days, the town shall record a lien against the property. Twice each year, the Clerk-Treasurer shall prepare a list of all accounts which are at least 90 days delinquent and record that list with the County Recorder. This list must include:
(1) The delinquent fees;
(2) The penalty;
(3) The service charge;
(4) An amount to reimburse the municipality for recording the lien; and
(5) An amount to reimburse the municipality for releasing the lien.
(E) In addition to all delinquent fees and penalties, the town may recover the recording and release fee paid to the County Recorder and a service charge, amount to coincide with fee schedule. The town shall mail a notice to the owner of each property that a lien has been recorded against the property. Liens recorded after March 31 of each year will not be enforced until the next calendar year. The town shall release the lien when the town has been reimbursed for its cost and the County Recorder has been paid for the recording of the release of lien.
(F) Prior to June 1 of each year, the town shall certify to the County Auditor all recorded liens that remain unpaid. This certification shall include those unpaid liens recorded between April 1 of the preceding year and April 1 of the current year. After certification to the County Auditor, the town may not accept payment of any fee, charges, or penalties. The collection shall be solely through the office of the County Treasurer. Upon certification, the County Auditor shall add a certification fee; amount coincides with current fee schedule, in addition to the fees and charges already assessed. The total amount due, together with the certification fee, shall be added to the owner’s property tax statement for November of that year. Upon collection by the county, the County Treasurer shall retain the certification fee and the service charge and all remaining fees and penalties shall be paid to the town at each semi-annual tax settlement.
(Ord. 2009-09, passed 11-16-2009)