A. Monthly Payment: Charges for flat rate and metered water service and trash collection and disposal 1 to a consumer or customer shall be payable monthly to the town clerk or such person as designated by the town manager. Such charges may be itemized and totaled on a single bill, and such bill shall be due and payable when rendered. (1988 Code § 13-2-2)
B. Late Payment; Failure To Pay; Exemptions: All or any portion of the bill provided for in subsection A of this section not paid before the fifteenth day following the date such bill is mailed or presented shall be subject to a late payment penalty of ten percent (10%). Should all or any portion of the bill remain unpaid on the twenty fifth day following the mailing or presentation thereof, all services for which the bill is rendered may be discontinued pursuant to procedures set forth in subsection C of this section, unless the town manager, for good cause, grants an extension of time. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to public agencies, corporations or firms with whom the town has water contracts containing other provisions for payment for services rendered. (1988 Code § 13-2-2; amd. 2004 Code)
C. Discontinuance Of Service: When water service is to be discontinued for nonpayment, as provided for in subsection B of this section, the town manager shall cause written notice to that effect and procedures available for relief from such action to be served in person or by certified mail with return receipt requested on the customer or consumer whose service is to be discontinued. Within five (5) calendar days of the service of such notice, the consumer or customer so notified must:
1. Pay the entire amount due; or
2. Obtain from the town manager or his authorized agent the extension of time provided for in subsection B of this section; or
3. File with the town clerk a written request for hearing before a hearing officer designated by the town council to show cause why service should not be discontinued. Said hearing officer is hereby authorized to adjudicate contested bills of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). Contested bills in excess of two hundred dollars ($200.00) may be appealed to the council. Filing of request for hearing before the hearing officer or council will stay the action to discontinue service until such hearing has been held and the findings thereof have been announced. After receipt of notice of proposed termination of service and failure on the part of a customer or consumer to avail himself of the remedies provided in this subsection, service may be discontinued forthwith.
D. Reinstatement Of Service: In the event the water service of a consumer or customer has been turned off for nonpayment of water charges pursuant to this section or as herein provided, the water service shall be turned on again only upon the payment of all monies due the town for water services billed through the water department as provided herein, and the payment of a reasonable fee set by the council for restoring water service. (1988 Code § 13-2-2)
E. Proration Of Charges: If the consumer orders the water turned off or on during the month, the minimum charge shall be prorated in proportion to the days of the month that the meter service was in effect. (1988 Code § 13-2-3)
F. Responsibility For Payment: In all cases where water is used on any premises and the payment therefor is guaranteed by the property owner or his agent, such must settle for the full amount charged against the property. The water department shall not receive payment from the tenant unless the tenant sees fit to pay the whole amount of the water charges against the property. (1988 Code § 13-2-4)
Notes
| 1 | 1. See title 5, chapter 1, article B of this code. |