(A) Village billing personnel shall, at all reasonable times, be available to receive and consider disputes of any customer, applicant or user relative to an account for utility service. The person having a dispute which cannot be resolved by billing personnel must request the hearing in writing, directed to the village utility office. The customer, applicant or user shall be advised of the customer’s right to have a hearing conducted by the Office Manager or the Office Manager’s designee (who shall be a village employee other than the billing employee who initially discussed the matter with the person requesting the hearing). The village shall not disconnect the service of any person for non-payment during the pendency of the dispute if:
(1) Written notice is given to the village utility office as herein provided;
(2) Payment of all undisputed portions of the bill is made; and
(3) The person making the complaint or dispute enters into a bona fide effort to resolve the disputed matter with all due dispatch.
(B) Notice of a dispute shall be made in writing and contain the name, address and telephone number of the person disputing a charge; the address at which utility service is received which is the subject of the dispute; the specific grounds or reasons for which the charges billed are disputed; and the specific relief requested.
(C) Upon filing of the notice, the Office Manager, or his or her designee, shall schedule a hearing with the customer; if the customer has been sent a notice of delinquency, the hearing shall be scheduled on or before the disconnection date specified in the notice of delinquency.
(D) The hearing shall be informal but shall consist, as a minimum, of the customer presenting reasons the customer believes the billing to have been in error, and the billing personnel presenting reasons why the billing was not in error. The customer’s ability to pay is not a relevant consideration.
(Prior Code, § 50C.011) (Ord. 95-024, passed 10-16-1995; Ord. 2004-019, passed 6-21-2004)