(A) Billing; when due and payable; collection.
(1) In order for the city to effect the collection of charges levied and assessed under this subchapter from the persons who owe the same, such charges shall be billed each month a solid waste bill for all persons who receive service from the city or its contractor. Such charges shall be due and payable at City Hall, 400 W. Veterans Blvd., Palmview, Texas, or online as identified by the city’s website. The bills will be sent through regular United States mail channels, addressed to such person's address, and shall be due and payable by such person to the city within 15 days of the bill date.
(2) The city shall mail each customer a bill for each billing cycle assessing the applicable monthly charges, administrative fees, delinquent fees, and any other applicable fees or charges. All bills shall be due by the date indicated on the bill, allowing approximately 15 days to pay, after which time a $5 delinquent fee shall be applied. A bill is delinquent if not paid by the due date. Payments made by mail will be considered late if received after the due date. A delinquent payment notice advising customers that the bill is delinquent shall be mailed to the customer after the due date of the bill. The delinquent notice shall notify the customer that service will be discontinued if payment is not received by the city on or before the eleventh day after the date the delinquent bill was mailed. A bin collection fee of $50 shall be assessed once an order has been issued to collect the trash bin after the eleventh day following the date the customer was notified of the delinquent payment. After service has been terminated, any balance remaining shall be the responsibility of the customer. If after 30 days the account is still delinquent, a certified demand letter shall be sent to the last known address for payment within ten days. If the account is still delinquent, the city may choose to pursue issuing a citation for failing to provide garbage service to a location within the city. If the due date for a bill or delinquent notice falls on a weekend or a holiday, the due date shall fall on the next business day the city will be open.
(3) The city may back-bill a customer for up to four months for a billing error due to an unapplied or misapplied rate. Failure to pay the most recent two months billing will result in the collection of the trash bin.
(4) In the event that the rate on the customers bill was misapplied, the bill shall be adjusted to reflect the correct rate for up to four months back prior to the notification of the error.
(5) The city shall charge a fee of $6 to setup new service, a fee of $3 for any modifications to an account, or a fee of $7.50 to reinstate an old account in order to process changes to the customer’s account.
(6) In the event that a bin is not picked up due to the bin not being placed in front of the property prior to the scheduled pickup, a $25 pick up fee will be assessed if the driver has to go back to pickup the bin.
(7) The Solid Waste Department shall deposit all collections into the sanitation fund of the city.
(B) Payment of bills.
(1) All garbage or trash and brush collection bills under any schedule contained in this chapter shall be due and payable and shall become delinquent if not paid by the day on the due date of such bill. The Solid Waste Director or his or her authorized representative is hereby authorized to discontinue brush and garbage or trash for any delinquent account according to the procedure as set out in this chapter.
(2) The security deposit of $50 shall be applicable for all new residential accounts receiving brush and garbage or trash collection services from the city. Such security deposit shall be applied in accordance with the provisions relating to amounts due brush and garbage or trash service. In the event service is discontinued for nonpayment of fees, a security deposit shall be collected. Once a bin is issued to a customer, it is the responsibility of the customer, if the bin is lost or destroyed, to reimburse the City of Palmview the cost of the bin prior to the resumption of service.
(3) The security deposit of $150 shall be applicable for all new commercial accounts receiving garbage, trash, or roll-off collection services from the city. Such security deposit shall be applied in accordance with the provisions relating to amounts due for garbage or trash service. In the event servie is discontinued for nonpayment of fees, a security deposit shall be collected. Once a dumpster is issued to a customer, it is the responsibility of the customer, if lost or destroyed, to reimburse the city the cost of the bin prior to the resumption of service.
(4) The acceptable form of payment will be cash, check, money order or debit/credit card.
(5) An additional $25 processing fee shall be added to such account by the City of Palmview for any payment not honored by any bank or financial institution for any reason.
(C) Roll-off services; billing and payment of bills.
(1) The Solid Waste Department or where applicable, the third-party contractor, is hereby authorized to bill and collect all applicable roll-off collection charges for the city.
(2) When roll-off accounts become delinquent, the Solid Waste Director or designee shall discontinue roll-off service relating to such delinquent account(s) and assess a late payment fee equal to 5% of the delinquent balance of said account.
(3) Whenever a roll-off container is removed following discontinuance of service due to nonpayment, a $50 container removal fee shall be assessed in addition to any other service charges assessed under this chapter.
(4) A security deposit shall be required for all roll-off service customers in the amount of $250 for noncommercial use and $500 for commercial/contractor use. This deposit shall be required for all new accounts as provided for in this section, save and except for any existing customer who shall transfer an account from one location to another or who shall request additional account(s) to be established under such customer's name. The deposit shall be applied to any final balance due; any credit balance will be refunded to the account holder within three weeks by the Solid Waste Department.
(5) An additional $25 processing fee shall be added to such account by the City of Palmview for any payment not honored by any bank or financial institution for any reason.
(6) A container inactivity charge of $180 shall be assessed to each customer account for every 30-calendar day period during which no container activity is registered.
(Ord. 2021-07-O, passed 6-15-2021; Ord. 2023-20-O, passed 12-5-2023)