(A) In addition to all of the other remedies and/or penalties available to the Village and/or accessed against the customer, such bill shall represent and become a lien upon the real estate upon or to which such water or sewer service is supplied. When a bill for water service remains unpaid 60 days after it has been rendered, the Village Clerk shall file with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds a notice of lien claim.
(1) This notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out a description of such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof, the amount of money due for such water or sewer service and the date when such amount became delinquent.
(2) In addition to the foregoing, when a water and/or sewer bill remains unpaid for a period of 45 days after it has been rendered and the customer whose water bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the Village Clerk has notice of this, the Village Clerk shall mail or cause to be mailed notice of delinquency to the owner of the premises, if the owner's address is known to the Clerk.
(a) Such notice shall also indicate that if such owner and/or occupant has a complaint concerning an erroneous billing, within seven days from the date of such notice such owner and/or occupant may contact the Village Manager/ Comptroller and present such complaint to him, and that the Village Manager/Comptroller may thereafter rectify any error he may find to exist.
(b) Such notice shall also contain a statement that service shall be terminated and discontinued without further notice after ten days from the date of such notice thereof unless the delinquency and/or violation is rectified. Discontinued service shall not be reinstated until all claims are settled.
(B) The failure of the Village Clerk to record the lien claim or to mail the notice or the failure of the owner to receive the notice shall not affect the right of the Village to collect the arrearage and foreclose the lien for unpaid water and sewer bills.
(C) The Corporation Counsel is hereby authorized and directed to institute the proceedings in the name of the Village, in any court having jurisdiction, to the amount of any bill for water and/or sewer which has remained unpaid 60 days after it has been rendered to the customer by the Village. He shall be authorized to foreclose upon property subject to lien for unpaid water and/or sewer charges including attorneys fees and court costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens.
(Ord. 00-2245, passed 8-22-00)