(A) The town will discontinue service for any one of the following reasons:
(1) Failure to pay a bill for electric service within a time allowed, the twentieth of the month following the due date;
(2) Refusal of legitimate access to premises; and/or
(3) Damage to or loss of town property for which the customer is responsible.
(B) When it becomes necessary for the town to discontinue electric service for any of the forgoing reasons, service will be reinstated after all bills due are paid and a reconnection fee of $25 has been paid to reimburse the town for expenses in disconnecting and reconnecting the electric service.
(C) If a customer is receiving service at more than one location, service at any or all locations may be discontinued if bills for service at any one or more locations are not paid within the time specified by these rules; provided, however, that residential electric service shall not be discontinued for non- payment of bills for other classes of service.
(D) It is the policy of the town to discontinue electric service for the reason of non-payment of bill only after notice has been served and an opportunity to be heard has been communicated.
(1) The title;
(2) The town official in charge of billing;
(3) The bills for electric service are due and payable upon receipt and shall be delinquent if not paid by the due date specified on the bill. The due date will be no earlier than the fifteenth day of the month the bill is due. A late fee of $10 will be charged if the bill is not paid by noon of the following work day following the due date.
(4) If the bill is not paid by the date specified in the bill as the cut off date, the first of the month following due date, the Town Administrator will investigate the reason for non-payment on a case by case basis. Before discontinuing service, the Town Administrator will advise the Board of Commissioners and the Mayor of his or her recommendation. The Town Administrator, in hardship cases, can approve extensions of installment payments. He or she will also give direction to service agencies that can provide assistance but will not intercede in writing letters to the service agency on behalf of a resident.
(5) Any customer disputing the correctness of a bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented 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 town official in charge of utility billing who shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be disconnected and have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint. All disputed bills must be presented at the town hall within five days from the date of the bill.
(6) A $10 fee will be charged for all new requests for meter testing. If meter is found to be bad, no charge will be incrued and adjustment will be made to the account.
(7) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be accepted, only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. If the absence of payment of the bill rendered or a resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified.
(8) Request for disconnect from customer will require proper identification and a disconnect agreement.
(Ord. passed 10-2-2006; Ord. passed 11-3-2008)