(A) Charges a lien against property.
(1) All charges for water are assessed against the property to which the service is rendered and are an encumbrance upon such property per R.C. §§ 743.02, 743.03, and 743.04, collectible in the same manner as other taxes and assessment. It shall be the responsibility of persons purchasing property to ascertain if there are any unpaid water bills.
(2) When there is an outstanding water, sewer, or sanitation bill or combination thereof, and the responsible party cannot be located for payment, the water service to that address will be discontinued, and the bill will then be presented to the owner of the property and water service will not be reconnected until payment is made in full.
(3) Property owners shall be denied water service to new turn ons or existing services if other accounts are delinquent.
(B) Account must be in property owner’s name.
(1) To receive services in your name, the owner shall appear at the utilities office with a state or federal picture ID and shall provide one of the following:
(a) The owner of record (as shown by the County Auditor);
(b) A company representative (provided by owner); and
(c) A recent buyer (deed stamped by the Recorder’s office).
(2) The property may be used as a rental but account shall remain in the property owner’s name.
(3) Residentially used accounts shall comply with this section effective as of the date the adopting ordinance was passed.
(4) All other account uses (i.e., commercial, industrial, and the like) shall transition as per this chapter when the existing tenant transfers ownership of the premises, at which point, the landlord/owner shall have the utilities account placed into their name.
(C) Delivery of bills. The Water Department will undertake to deliver bills for water by depositing same in the post office only as a matter of convenience to the owner. Failure to receive a bill shall not relieve any person from his or her obligation to pay the bill. The owner has the option to receive bills through email notification and/or to have paper bills sent to address on file. For rental units, the owner has the option to receive email notifications and/or have paper bills mailed to address of choice.
(D) Unrepaired leaks and billing for leaks. When a consumer has been notified of a leak and repair is not made within ten days, the service may be shut off without further notice. If the leak continues and the customer cannot locate it and does not want service terminated, then the customer will owe the complete bill and it will not be adjusted.
(1) An underground water line leak, which is a leak from the outside of the foundation wall to the meter or shutoff will be adjusted as follows: if proof of the leak can be shown, all of the sewer charge over the average usage will be dropped and one-half of the water charge over the average usage will be dropped.
(2) Any water line leak inside the foundation line of a structure will be adjusted as follows: all of the sewer charge over the average usage will be dropped. In the event that the occupant of a home has not resided at the residence long enough to establish a past usage history and/or it is not reasonably possible to obtain an average usage based on past usage history at the residence, the village shall determine the number of occupants in the home and multiply that number by 50 gpcd (gallons per capita per day). This number shall be used as the average until an actual average can be determined based on water meter readings.
(3) When a customer has excessive water usage due to a leak in their water service (for the purposes of this chapter, excessive water usage shall be defined as follows: usage resulting from a leak in a customer’s water service line resulting in water usage that is 600% over their monthly average usage or at least 32,000 gallons); and their utilities bill has already been adjusted per division (D)(2) above, and they feel the adjusted bill amount is still not affordable, they may, in writing, request an additional adjustment as per the provisions outlined herein. If the customer’s utilities bill meets the criteria as outlined herein, the customer shall be eligible for, and request in writing, an additional adjustment of 75% of their remaining water balance; there shall be no further adjustments to the sewer or garbage portions of their bill. In no case shall the final adjusted bill be less than the customer’s average monthly bill. When a customer’s final adjusted bill exceeds a total of $500 or more, they may enter into a payment plan agreement not to exceed four months, as outlined herein; customer shall pay one-half of the adjusted bill in the current month, then pay the balance of the adjusted bill, along with their regular monthly bill, over the next three months. If a customer defaults on a payment plan, they may be subject to water service disconnect.
(4) If a high bill occurs of 100% or 7,500 gallons over average, whichever is greater, when compared with similar bills of the same period of the preceding year, a meter test will be given. If the meter test is found to be accurate and there is no reasonable explanation for the high reading, the village will take the following stand: the meter was not at fault, therefore the customer shall pay for the meter test, the water was sent through the meter, so the bill is owed, but for public relations only, the village will adjust the bill by 50% if the customer and property owner or agent will sign an affidavit stating that the village was not at fault. Under these circumstances, the village will adjust a bill of these qualifications for the current owner only one time in every three-year period. The adjusted amount of the water and sewer bill shall not be less than the minimum bill, as per the current rate ordinance.
(5) Delinquent fees per § 51.20 will be waived on the amount of the bill, pending action under this division (D), if the request is made within 15 days of the bill’s issuance.
(E) Water and sewer bill disputes. When a customer disputes a bill for reasons not covered in division (D) above by filing an affidavit with the Village Administrator stating the reasons why the bill is being disputed, the Village Administrator may propose an adjustment with documentation to the Village Council. Any adjustment must be approved by the Village Council.
(F) Charges for non-sufficient funds checks. Any customer who has a check returned to the village due to non-sufficient funds, shall be charged a returned check fee as per current ordinance for each occurrence. The fee shall be paid at the same time as when the customer is required to pay cash for the returned check. All fees associated with a returned check shall be split evenly between the water and sewer operating funds.
(G) Cash only for non-sufficient funds checks. The village reserves the right to place any customer on a cash only basis if the Village Administrator and/or Village Council deem it to be necessary due to a history of non-sufficient funds checks. A letter shall be sent to the customer explaining why they are only allowed to pay with cash. The collection agency shall receive an updated cash only list at the beginning of every billing cycle. The customer shall remain on a cash only basis until the Village Administrator and/or Village Council states otherwise.
(H) Extensions/payment plans. No extensions and/or payment plans shall be granted, except as herein provided.
(I) Automatic payments (ACH).
(1) The term BILL means water, sewer, refuse, and any other charges that appears on the village utilities bill.
(2) Depositor agrees that the bank’s right with respect to each bill shall be the same as if each bill were a check drawn on the bank and signed personally by the depositor and that the bank be fully protected in honoring each bill.
(3) This authority is to remain in effect until revoked upon 30 days written notice by the bank, utility company, or depositor.
(4) Bank’s sole responsibility and duty shall be to charge the depositor’s account for the amount shown on the utility bill and to promptly remit said amount to the utility company; however, in the event any bill is dishonored, the bank shall be under no liability whatsoever.
(5) In the event the bill presented is in error or is incorrect in any respect, depositor’s recourse shall be solely against the utility company. The depositor shall make every effort to contact the utility company prior to the fifteenth of the month to work out any issues.
(6) Bank is under no obligation to notify depositor of either payment or dishonor of utility bills. Bills will be returned unpaid to the utility company if depositor’s account does not contain sufficient funds to cover the amount of said bills. A fee will be added to customer account for non-sufficient funds consistent with villages fee schedule.
(J) Credit card payments. Credit card payments are not accepted in the collection office and are only provided by a third-party company. If credit card transaction is stopped by payee for any reason, the payee shall still be responsible for all charges on the account and will also be assessed any other fees (i.e., chargeback fee) charged to village in result of this dispute.
(K) Receipt of utilities bill payment from customer. It is the customers responsibility to ensure payment of their utilities bill is made and submitted to the Utilities Department in a timely manner.
(1) When a customer sends payment for their utilities bill through regular mail (United States Postal Service/USPS), with a postmark date of the sixteenth of the current billing month, or prior, and the payment is not received until after the twenty-third of the current billing month, the customer may request (once per calendar year) a credit of the late fees that were applied due to the payment being received after the twenty-third of the current billing month. Upon receipt of the request to waive the late fees, the Utilities Clerk shall review the account, and if the account is eligible for an adjustment of the late fees, the adjustment will be made as a credit to the subject account.
(2) Any mailed payment with a postmark date of the seventeenth of the current billing month, or later, and received after late fees have been applied on the twenty-third of the current billing month, is not subject to having the late fees credited to their account.
(3) In the event a mailed payment does not have a postmark date, and is received after late fees have been applied on the twenty-third of the current billing month, the customer may request a one-time per calendar year credit of their late fees, as long as the date on the check is listed as the sixteenth or prior.
(4) The village offers these late fee adjustments as a customer service mechanism only, and does not accept responsibility for the delay in the delivery of utilities payments by the USPS to the village utilities offices.
(5) All customers affected by a delay in the delivery of their utilities’ payments will be notified of alternative payment methods by the utilities office staff.
(6) All other methods of payment of utilities bills are not subject to a credit of late fees applied per current rules.
(Ord. 24-05, passed 3-4-2024)