CHAPTER 50: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section
   50.01   Due date; delinquent bills
   50.02   Procedures for disconnection of utility service
   50.03   Owners of real estate responsible
   50.04   Utilities disconnect list
   50.05   Removing municipally-owned utilities from jurisdiction of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
   50.06   Adjustments of water and sewer bills for undetected leaks
§ 50.01 DUE DATE; DELINQUENT BILLS.
   All utility bills shall be due and payable monthly on a combined statement. Bills not paid on or before the due date shall be delinquent, and shall incur a collection charge of 10%. In addition, disconnection procedures will be instituted as set forth in § 50.02 for bills not paid on or before the due date.
(Ord. 569, passed 5-1-1990; Ord. 1996-617, passed 4-16-1996)
§ 50.02 PROCEDURES FOR DISCONNECTION OF UTILITY SERVICE.
   The town shall disconnect utility services in accord with the following policies.
   (A)   When it becomes necessary for the town to disconnect utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid together with the collection charge and a reconnection charge of $75 has been made.
   (B)   Reconnection procedures will be instituted the following business day only after all necessary charges have been paid in full or the Town Council has granted a delay or a waiver.
   (C)   The policy of the town is to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills.
      (1)   All bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill.
      (2)   If any bill is not paid by or before that date, a notice will be mailed that if the bill is not paid by the twenty-fifth day of the month or the following business day, service will be discontinued for nonpayment.
      (3)   Any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill, or requesting a delay or waiver of payment, shall have the right to a hearing before the Town Council at its regularly scheduled meeting prior to the date the service will be discontinued, at which time he or she may be represented in person or 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 Council.
      (4)   In the absence of payment of the bill rendered, or resort to the hearing procedure prescribed herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified.
      (5)   Disconnection procedures will be instituted before 12:00 p.m. on business days and will not be instituted on Fridays.
(Ord. 569, passed 5-1-1990; Ord. 2003-680, passed 5-20-2003)
§ 50.03 OWNERS OF REAL ESTATE RESPONSIBLE.
   (A)   The owners of real estate shall be responsible for any and all utility bills regarding their properties, even if they are not living on those properties.
   (B)   The town may not, without the approval of the Town Council, connect or “turn on” any utilities to said real estate which have utility bills due and owing to the town after said real estate has been vacated.
   (B)   This section shall go into effect on January 1, 2006.
(Ord. 2005-701, passed 9-20-2005)
§ 50.04 UTILITIES DISCONNECT LIST.
   (A)   This section applies to all utilities operated by the town, including water, sewer and electric.
   (B)   Customer bills for these utilities are due on the tenth of each month with a 15-day grace period. If customers exceed the 15-day grace period (i.e., don’t pay by the twenty-fifth of the month), utilities will be turned off without any further notice.
      (1)   Home energy assistance program. The town shall not, during the period from December 1 through March 15, disconnect residential electric service to any customer whose eligibility to receive benefits pursuant to I.C. 4-4-33 is being determined by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority or its designee after the submission of a complete application for benefits by the customer to the authority or its designee and the customer has furnished to the town proof of his or her application to receive such benefits or the town has been so notified in writing by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority or its authorized representatives.
      (2)   Medical statement. The disconnection of residential electric service to a customer shall be postponed for a period of ten days if, prior to the disconnect date specified in the disconnect notice, the customer provides the town with a medical statement from a licensed physician or public health official which states that disconnection would be a serious and immediate threat to the health or safety of a designated person in the household of the customer. The postponement of the disconnection shall be continued for one additional ten-day period upon, the provision of an additional medical statement.
      (3)   Financial hardship. Utility services shall not be disconnected if a customer shows cause for his or her inability to pay the full amount due (financial hardship shall constitute cause) and the customer:
         (a)   Pays a reasonable portion (not to exceed $10 or one tenth of the bill whichever is less), unless the customer agrees to a greater portion of the bill;
         (b)   Agrees to pay the remainder of the outstanding bill within three months;
         (c)   Agrees to pay all undisputed future bills for service as they become due;
         (d)   Has not breached any similar agreement with the utility made pursuant to this rule within the past 12 months. Provided, however, that the utility may add outstanding bill a late payment charge not to exceed the amount set by law; and
         (e)   The above terms of agreement shall be put in writing by the utility and signed by the customer and by a representative of the utility.
      (4)   Unusually large bill. Utility services shall not be disconnected if a customer or user is unable to pay a bill, which is unusually large due to a prior incorrect reading of the meter, incorrect application of the rate schedule, incorrect connection or functioning of the meter, prior estimates where no actual reading was taken for over two months, stopped or slow meter, or any human or mechanical error of the utility, and the customer:
         (a)   Pays a reasonable portion of the bill, not to exceed an amount equal to the customer’s average bill for the six bills immediately proceeding the bill in question;
         (b)   Agrees to pay the remaining at a reasonable rate;
         (c)   Agrees to pay all undisputed future bills for service as they become due; provided, however, that the utility may not add to the outstanding bill any late fee;
         (d)   The terms of agreement shall be put in writing by the town and signed by the customer and a representative of the town.
      (5)   Utility services shall not be disconnected where otherwise prohibited by law.
   (D)   Utility services shall be restored as soon as reasonably possible, but within one working day, when the outstanding bill and all other applicable fees are paid in full. In the event payment is made after regular business hours, utility services will not be reconnected until the following business day. Required fees to be paid for reconnection of utility services are as follows:
      (1)   Total amount of bill owed;
      (2)   $75 reconnection fee;
      (3)   Penalty of 10% of outstanding balance owed; and
      (4)   In addition, the customer must complete any all and all forms required by the town for a credit check if requested.
(Ord. 2007-716, passed 5-16-2007; Ord. 2009-734, passed 5-12-2009; Ord. 2012-6, passed 3-28-2012)
§ 50.05 REMOVING MUNICIPALLY-OWNED UTILITIES FROM JURISDICTION OF THE INDIANA UTILITY REGULATORY COMMISSION.
   (A)   The municipally owned utilities of the town shall be taken out of the jurisdiction of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission for the approval of rates and charges, and of the issuance of stocks, bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness.
   (B)   This section shall be in full force and effect upon proper statutory notice, passage, promulgation and publication as required by law.
(Ord. 560, passed 1-3-1989)
§ 50.06 ADJUSTMENTS OF WATER AND SEWER BILLS FOR UNDETECTED LEAKS.
   (A)   In accordance with I.C. 8-1.5-3.5 et seq., the town utilities may adjust an “unusually large” residential water bill if the excess usage reflected in the bills are caused by physical damage to any facility or equipment supplying water to the premises and the damage:
      (1)   Is not visible or detectable on the customer’s premises except upon excavation or some other disturbance of the property;
      (2)   Is not the result of an act of the customer, or of any agent or contractor hired by the customer; and
      (3)   “Unusually large” bill means a residential water bill that reflects monthly water usage, in whatever units measured, that is at least two times the customer’s average monthly usage on the premises.
   (B)   The Clerk-Treasurer, in the capacity of Billing Clerk for the town utilities, is hereby authorized and make water bill adjustments subject to the following conditions:
      (1)   The customer must submit a written request for a water leak adjustment;
      (2)   The request for adjustment must be received within 60 days of the end of the first billing cycle for which the adjustment being requested;
      (3)   The length of any adjustment may not exceed a span of two billing cycles;
      (4)   It is determined that the customer’s water usage for the billing cycle(s) was at least two times greater than the customer’s average water usage for the preceding six billing cycles;
      (5)   It is determined that the excess usage reflected in the bill(s) was by physical damage to any facility or equipment supplying water to the premises and the damage:
         (a)   Is not visible or detectable on the customer’s premises except upon excavation or some other disturbance of the property; and
         (b)   Is not the result of an act of the customer, or of any agent or contractor hired by the customer.
      (6)   The request must accompanied by a receipt for the water leak repair or an affidavit signed by the person who made the repair, describing the nature of the repair(s) made, and accompanied by a receipt for the materials used to make the repair(s).
      (7)   The number of adjustments shall be limited to one per service for any 12-month time period.
      (8)   Any adjustment shall be limited to the amount that the bill exceeds two times the customer’s average usage for the preceding six months.
(Ord. 2012-13, passed 10-22-2012)