(A) Customer accepts service. The rates, rules and regulations contained in this subchapter shall constitute and be considered a part of the contract with every person, company or corporation who is supplied with water service from the waterworks system and every person, company or corporation, hereinafter called a “customer” who accepts and uses village water service shall be held to have consented to be bound thereby.
(B) Not liable for interrupted service. The Department shall endeavor, at all times, to provide a regular and uninterrupted supply of service, however, in case the supply of service shall be interrupted or irregular or defective or fail from causes beyond its control or through ordinary negligence of employees, servants or agents, the Departments shall not be liable therefor.
(C) Using services without paying. Any person using water service from the village without paying therefor, or who shall be found guilty of breaking the seal of any meter or appurtenances, or bypassing any meter, shall be guilty of violating this code, and upon conviction, shall be fined a sum as provided in § 10.99 of this code of ordinances.
(D) Destroying property. Any person found guilty of defacing, tampering, injuring or destroying or, in any manner, limiting the use or availability of any meter or any property of the waterworks system, or erecting signs on the property of the Department without permission shall, upon conviction of such act, be fined as provided in § 10.99 of this code of ordinances.
(E) Service obtained by fraud. All contracts for water service shall be made in the name of the head of the household, firm or corporation using the established spelling of that person’s or firm’s name. Attempts to obtain service by the use of other names, different spellings or by substituting other persons or firms shall be considered a subterfuge and service shall be denied. If service has been discontinued because of non-payment of bills, or any unpaid obligation and service has again been obtained through subterfuge, misrepresentation or fraud, that service shall be promptly disconnected and the whole or such part of the advanced payment as may be necessary to satisfy the unpaid obligation shall be retained by the village and credited to the appropriate account.
(F) Failure to receive bill. Failure to receive a bill shall not excuse a customer from his or her obligation to pay within the time specified. Should the Department be unable to bill a customer for services used during any month, the following billing shall include the charges for services used during the unbilled month.
(G) Request to discontinue service. Services shall have been deemed to have been supplied to any property connected to the water system during a month unless the customer notifies the village prior to the first day of the new billing month in which the services are to be discontinued.
(H) Disconnection for late payment.
(1) It is the policy of the village to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The village’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 a hearing 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 village 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 due and unpaid for at least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the village to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, along with a turn-on charge in the sum of $50.
(I) Lien notice.
(1) Whenever a bill for water service remains unpaid for 60 days after it has been rendered, the Clerk shall file with the county’s Recorder of Deeds a statement of lien claim. This statement shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, and a notice that the municipality claims a lien for this amount to the period covered by the bill.
(2) If the consumer of water service whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the Treasurer has notice of this, then notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises if his or her address is known to the Clerk whenever such bill remains unpaid for a period of 30 days after it has been rendered.
(3) The failure of the Clerk to record such lien or to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid water bill as mentioned herein.
(J) Foreclosure of lien.
(1) Property subject to a lien for unpaid water charges may be sold for non-payment of the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill-in-equity in the name of the village.
(2) The Village Attorney is hereby authorized to institute such proceedings in the name of the village in any court having jurisdiction over such matters against any property for which the bill for water service has remained unpaid 90 days after it has been rendered.
(2007 Code, § 38-2-1)