(A) Customers will be billed for services on a monthly basis. Meters will be read by utility personnel at the end of each month and said bill shall include the prior month’s usage of water. Bills for water service will be mailed to customers on or about the ninth day of the month following reading of the meter. Payment for said water service is due and payable on or before the twenty-fifth day of the month following issuance of the bill.
(B) (1) Any utility charges remaining unpaid after the twenty-fifth day of the month following issuance of the bill shall be considered delinquent and shall be assessed delinquency charges equal to an additional 10% of the unpaid water charges, excluding any prior delinquent charges and taxes.
(2) An additional reconnection charge of $40 shall be assessed if water service is reconnected or disconnected. All water charges, including past-due and the current month’s charges, any delinquent charges, and any reconnection fee, shall be paid prior to the service being reconnected.
(3) The $40 disconnect or reconnect fee may be waited by town personnel in the event of an emergency or in the event of a homeowner’s extended absence. It shall not be waived for a delinquent account.
(C) In the event of a failure of any meter, the town will bill water usage based on the average of billings for the immediately preceding six months prior to said failure.
(D) In the event of a leak in the customer’s water service line which does not enter the sewer system, the town will adjust the sewer charge for one month’s billing based on an average six months’ billing. In order to obtain the adjustment, it must be verified by town personnel or the property owner may obtain a statement from a plumber licensed in the State of Indiana verifying that the leak did not go through the sewer. Only one adjustment may be given per leak.
(E) In the case of temporary customers such as contractors, carnivals, and street fairs, the Clerk-Treasurer shall be authorized to demand payment in advance for service in an amount for the water estimated to be used thereby.
(F) The Clerk-Treasurer is authorized to proceed and collect any past due water utility bills, including delinquencies, through legal process including filing suit in County Small Claims Court.
(G) In the case of rental property, both the renter and the property owner shall be responsible for any unpaid water utility bills.
(H) There will be a $300 service reconnection charge for reconnection of service meters which shall be paid prior to meter reconnection.
(Ord. 1998-17, passed 1-19-1999; Ord. 2005-2, passed 5-17-2005; Ord. 2010-7, passed 12-21-2010; Ord. 2018-8, passed 9-18-2018)