(A) General.
(1) When the customer or responsible party of a previously terminated residential utility account (owner-occupied or renter) wishes to re-establish a new account after 60 or more days have elapsed since termination, the deposit on any such new account or customer which has a previously established a negative credit history (see below for “history defined”) with the town’s utilities, shall be double the regular deposit established above and any amounts previously written off as bad debts must be paid and any collection or legal fees paid to outside agencies must be reimbursed before a new account will be established.
(2) If an active utility account (owner-occupied or renter) becomes past due for the third or more time or remains past due (determined by multiple application of penalty charges against the account) for at least three billing periods, or service has been disconnected due to non-payment, a deposit equal to double the regular deposit established above may be required for continuation or reestablishment of service.
(B) Rental.
(1) A residential rental deposit shall always be required before utility service will be rendered. When a rental utility account (billing address or customer) moves to a new account, a new “application for utility service” shall be required.
(2) The existing deposit on hand (“old deposit”) shall be transferred to the new account, unless the customer has established a negative credit history (see below for “history defined”), in which case the old deposit shall stay with the old account and a new deposit shall be required for the new account. In this event, the deposit required on the new account may be double the regular deposit requirement. The old deposit will be applied to the current and final bills of the old account, and the balance, if any, will be refunded. If the old account is past due on the date utility service terminates, a new account will not be established until the old account is brought current. If, after a final bill is prepared, the old deposit is not sufficient to cover the remaining charges on the old account and the old account becomes past due, the new account will be subject to service termination as though the two accounts were one, because of the responsible party is the same. If the new account has different utility services than the old account, the new account’s deposit requirements must be met. A reduction in the utility requirement may result in a partial refund on the deposit.
(Ord. 2013-2, passed 1-16-2013)