(a) After the effective date of this chapter [Ordinance No. 1992-1], the owner, and/or his authorized agent, shall make application for service, in person, at the office of the town and at the same time make the deposit guarantee required below.
(b) The town may reject any application for service not available under a standard rate or which involves excessive service cost, or which may affect the supply of service to other customers, or for other good and sufficient reasons.
(c) The town may reject any application for service when the applicant is delinquent in payment of bills incurred for service previously supplied at any location within the "System."
If a delinquent customer is not the owner of the premises to which the services are delivered, the payment of delinquent amounts may not be required before providing service at the request of new or different customer or owner, tenant or occupant of the premises but this restriction shall not apply when the premises are occupied by two (2) or more tenants whose services are measured by the same meter.
Rents, rates, fees, charges and penalties for commercial units shall be the legal obligation of the owner of the premises served when: the property or premises is leased or rented to more than one (1) tenant and services rendered to more than one (1) tenant are measured by the same meter.
Provided further, when the owner of the premises has been served water and sewer and has not paid for the same, the town shall not be required to render services to anyone at the location where such water and sewer was used, until such water and sewer bill has been paid. (G.S. 160A-314)
The town reserves the right to change multi-metered property to single metered property where experience and delinquencies cause a loss to the town.
(d) For violation of any kind of the provisions of these rules relating to application for service, the town may, at the expiration of ten (10) days after mailing a written notice to the last known address of the owner, remove the meter and discontinue service. Where the meter is thereafter reinstalled, the owner shall first pay to the town the current reinstallation charge.
(e) All commercial units within the town which cater to the public in any respect shall connect to the "System" within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this chapter [Ordinance No. 1992-1].
(f) Applications for water taps, and requests to install meters or taps when fees have been prepaid, must be made at least ten (10) working days in advance of the day on which service is desired.
(Ord. No. 1992-1, 1-7-92; Ord. No. 2001-2, § 13, 1-8-01; Ord. No. 2021-09, 5-4-21)