A. Monthly Billings:
1. City Treasurer: All billings for the charges and fees levied and assessed under the provisions of this chapter, as amended, shall be made by, and all payments shall be paid to, the office of the treasurer of the city.
2. Owner/Occupant: Billings shall be in the name of both the owner and the occupant of the premises against which the charge or fee is made.
3. Joint Billing With Sewer Service: Such billings shall be made monthly and may be made at the same time and on the same billing for sewer services to the same premises.
4. Payment Due: The billing date shall be the tenth (10th) day of the month following the month that the charges were incurred, and the payment shall be due no later than the twenty-fifth (25th) of said month in which the billing is made. If not paid on or before the twenty-fifth (25th), the amount due shall be deemed to be delinquent.
B. Nonpayment; Delinquency:
1. Disconnection Of Service: In case of nonpayment or delinquency in the payment of sewer user charges or fees imposed, the city clerk is authorized, after notice and opportunity to be heard as hereinafter specified, to disconnect or turn off the water connection for the premises from the water system of the city.
2. Reconnection; Fee: Water service shall remain turned off or disconnected until the delinquent charges and fees and a reconnection fee, set by resolution of the city council, have been paid to the treasurer.
C. Notice Of Delinquency:
1. Any residential or commercial user who shall fail to pay the water service fees or hookup fee referred to in sections 8-1-8 or 8-1-9 of this chapter shall be notified of such delinquency in accordance with the city’s most recently adopted resolution containing said subject matter on utility billing policies and procedures.
2. Any such notice shall be deemed complete upon mailing.
D. Appeal: The clerk shall provide a payment delinquency notice to the owner and occupant or person in charge of the premises in accordance with Section 8-1-11(C)(1) providing fifteen (15) days in which to appeal the user charges, fees or water service termination to the city council. All appeals must be made in writing and received by the clerk within the fifteen (15) day time period. If an appeal is made, the appeal shall be heard at the next regular city council meeting following filing of the appeal, unless the appeal is filed less than forty-eight (48) hours before the next regularly scheduled city council meeting in which said appeal will be heard at the following next regularly scheduled city council meeting. The city council shall issue its decision on the appeal, in writing, within five (5) working days of the regular city council meeting at which the appeal was heard. Water service shall not be shut off or disconnected during the pendency of an appeal. The city council’s determination on the appeal shall, if payment is required, set forth the date and amount of payment due in order to prevent turnoff or disconnection of the water service.
E. Owner/Occupant Liability; Lien Against Property: The owner and occupant of any such premises for which a user charge or fee is due shall be jointly and severally liable for all fees and charges assessed by the city. Such charges shall become a lien upon and against the property for which the user charge or fee is assessed to the extent permitted by the laws of the state and this code and may be collected in any manner permitted or hereafter permitted by law.
F. Credit/Debit Card User Fees: Effective October 1, 2022, all credit card and debit card user fees incurred in the payment of monthly user fees and charges shall be the sole responsibility of the customer and not the city. (Ord. 539, 11-12-2013; amd. Ord. 607, passed 7-27-2022)