The village shall disconnect utility service in accord with the following policies.
(A) When it becomes necessary for the village to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment, service will be reinstated only after all payments for utility service and the disconnection fee then due have been received. It is the policy of the village 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. The village's Establishment of Utility Service Application and all bills shall contain, in addition to the utility billing address, telephone number, email address, charge, past due charge, and shut off date, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect:
(1) All bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill;
(2) Disconnection of service will take place on the 2nd of the month following the due date of the bill if payment has not been received.
(3) Any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented in person and 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 village official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer's service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer's complaint.
(B) Requests of delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified.
(C) The village reserves the right to discontinue utility service to any utility customer of the village who has not had an actual utility meter service reading conducted by village personnel for six consecutive months. Thirty days prior to any disconnection of utility service, village personnel shall attempt to notify the utility customer by certified mail or personal service by posting a notice on the entry door to the premises requesting access to their property to obtain an actual utility service reading. If an actual reading is not obtained within ten days after the attempted notification is made, utility service will be discontinued until an actual reading can be obtained. Prior to the restoration of service, the village will install a meter reader at the property at no cost to the customer to facilitate more efficient meter reading services.
(Ord. 92-20, passed 9-28-1992; Ord. 2008-24, passed 10-27-2008; Ord. 2019-17, passed 5-13-2019)