(A) The charges which shall be paid for water and/or sewer service, including the penalty for late payment of bills, and the interest thereon, shall be as established by resolution.
(B) Water and/or sewer bills shall be due on the first day of each month.
(C) (1) All new customers and new accounts will be subject to a utilities deposit in an amount established by resolution.
(2) If the account is at least one year old, and the service has not been disconnected for non-payment in the past year, the deposit will be credited to the account.
(3) (a) If an account does not have a deposit in place and service is discontinued for nonpayment, a deposit, in an amount established by resolution, shall be placed with the city.
(b) This deposit can be credited as stated in division (C)(2) above.
(4) The crediting of the deposits will be done in the month following the close of each quarter: April, July, October, January.
(5) The deposits, when refunded, will be credited to the water bills.
(D) When the first meter read date is ten days or less from the cut on date, a water bill will not be sent for the first billing period, but the consumption will be added to the next bill.
(E) Penalties and reconnect fees for late payment of water and sewer accounts shall be the following for residential consumers:
(1) Residential customers only shall be billed between the fourteenth and eighteenth of the month.
(2) Bills for usage are due by the tenth of the following month. (Customers have between 22 and 26 days to pay depending upon the date when the bill is mailed.)
(3) Accounts not paid by the twelfth of the month for service billed the previous month will be assessed a penalty of $10 late fee or 1½% interest, whichever is greater, for late payment. (This allows two-days' grace period for those payments paid on the tenth.)
(4) Bills and penalty not paid by the twenty-first day will be on the cut-off list and shall be disconnected on the twenty-second unless this date falls on a Friday or Monday. Then in that case, they will be cut-off on the next working day which would normally be Tuesday unless this day is a holiday, then cut-off would be the next working day following the holiday.
(5) A fee of $25 is to be charged for water and sewer service that appears on the cut-off list because of non-payment. All past due amounts including late penalty and reconnect list fee must be paid. Also a deposit must be made if no deposit is on record.
(6) The meter shall be rechecked within five days after the disconnect and if water has been used, the meter is to be locked and the customer is charged an additional $10 lock fee.
(F) Penalties and reconnect fees for late payment of water and sewer accounts for non-residential consumers shall be the same as residential consumers except a deposit equal to last month's water bill and sewer statement must be made unless they have a deposit on record with the city.
(G) If water is turned on illegally by a customer after being turned off for non-payment, the city shall padlock the water meter. When the padlock is cut off by the customer, the city shall remove the water meter. There is a $75 fee for removal of a water meter due to non-payment of water.
(H) Any person who shall turn on the water from the city water mains into a meter or private connection, which connection has been cut off by the city for the nonpayment
of water bill, without authority of the City Clerk or other city official, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(`86 Code, § 21-41)
(I) Punishment for a violation of this section shall be as set forth in § 1-99, except that the penalty shall be as be as is set out in Appendix B, which is attached hereto and made a part hereof. A copy of the penalty schedule, which may be amended from time to time, shall be kept in the office of the City Clerk.
(`86 Code, § 21-7) (Ord. 85-6-1, passed 6-11-85; Am. Ord. 87-3-1, passed 3-10-87; Am. Ord. 88-4-2, passed 4-12-88; Am. Ord. 98-12-1, passed 12-8-98; Am. Ord. 00-11-1; passed 11-14-00)
Statutory reference:
Authority to fix and enforce rates, see G.S. § 160A-314