(a) Once all or a portion of two consecutive months’ water bills have become delinquent, if the bills are not paid in full by the first business day of the following month, a delinquency notice will be hung on the door of the property for which water and sewer services are billed. At that time, a delinquency will result in termination of water services to the property, according to the procedure set forth in this Section 927.07.
The notice will include the shut off bill and a letter stating that, to avoid disconnection, the full amount of the shut off bill must be paid on or before to the 15th day of the month that the notice is given, or if the 15th day of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, that the full amount of the shut off bill must be paid on or before the first business day following the 15th day of the month the notice is given.
If the property is a residence, the notice shall also be given to the owner of the property (“owner”), and both owner and occupant shall be given an opportunity to request a hearing on such termination within ten days of the mailing and hanging of the notice. If either the owner or occupant requests a hearing, service cannot be terminated until after such hearing. If water service is in the name of the owner, the occupant may, at or before such hearing, transfer the account into the name of the occupant upon paying any unpaid water bills on any account already in the name of the occupant, paying a new security deposit, and establishing a new account. The notice described in this subsection shall be hung on the door of the property and sent by ordinary mail to the last known address of the owner, if such address is other than that of the property subject to disconnection. The owner/occupant and the Village Administrator have the opportunity to mutually reach a satisfactory agreement to avoid termination of service but only up to the date of termination.
(b) Disconnection of service shall be done on the next business day following the date on the notice for payment of the shut off amount. If a hearing described in subsection (a) above, has been requested within ten days of the posting and mailing of the notice but has not yet been held, disconnection shall be postponed until the business day following the hearing. In order to preclude service being terminated over a weekend, disconnections shall not be made on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.
(c) The Village shall not disconnect service to the home of any customer during such time as any resident therein is seriously ill, as certified to the Village Administrator by a registered physician. A registered physician’s certification of serious illness shall be sufficient if initially made by telephone. In such an event the Village Administrator shall inform the certifying physician that he or she must forward to the Administrator within seven (7) days, a written certification indicating the name and address of the seriously ill person, the nature of the illness, and its likely duration. Upon receipt of this notice, the Administrator shall forward an installment note, payable upon demand, evidencing the full amount of the unpaid bill, which must be returned with the customer’s signature within ten (10) days in order for this section to be applicable. Collection upon the note can be made by the Village at any time. Serious illness affects disconnection only. It has no effect on necessity to pay by the customer or collection by the Village.
(d) If the Administrator sends an employee to the customer’s premises for the purpose of disconnecting service, and the customer then and there tenders payment in full of the bill to prevent disconnection, the service shall not be disconnected; provided, however, that the Administrator may charge such customer twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for sending such employee to the premises, which amount must also be paid to prevent disconnection. This disconnection fee shall also be charged to any account for which service has been disconnected. For purposes of this section, the utility’s field personnel and employees shall be deemed to be authorized and shall be required to accept full payment from the customer and give the customer a receipt for any payment made but shall not be required to make change or to enter into agreements with the customer. Any employee sent to disconnect service shall bring with him or her either a copy of the customer’s bill showing the amount outstanding, or all the information contained therein.
(e) Water and sewer bills that remain unpaid for seven (7) calendar days after service is terminated will result in the customer’s security deposit being applied to the unpaid bill and the amount closed.
(f) Water service that has been terminated will not be restored until any unpaid balance for water and sewer service and the $25.00 disconnection fee has been paid in full. Water service that has been terminated and the account closed will not be restored to the property until any unpaid balance for water and sewer service is paid in full, a new account established, a new security deposit made and water service restoration fee paid. This procedure will apply to the property whether occupied by the same occupant as when service was terminated, a new occupant or owner.
(g) If a customer disputes any part of an original or delinquent bill as rendered, he or she shall notify the Fiscal Officer in writing within three business days after receipt of the bill. The Fiscal Officer shall promptly notify the Village Administrator who shall investigate the dispute promptly and thoroughly and make a diligent attempt to reach a mutually satisfactory settlement of the dispute. If a mutually satisfactory settlement is not reached, the customer will be so informed in writing and shall also be informed in writing of his or her right to appeal to Council in accordance with Section 921.11. Reasonable attempts shall be made to resolve the dispute prior to the scheduled date of service being disconnected if the bill is not paid. If, however, the appeal or resolution of the dispute extends beyond such date, service shall not be disconnected until the business day following the conclusion of the appeal or resolution of the dispute. If a mutually satisfactory settlement is not reached and the customer does not timely appeal to Council, the service will be disconnected at the expiration of the time to appeal to Council.
(h) When service is disconnected, the Village employee making the disconnection shall immediately inform a reasonable adult at the premises that service has been terminated or, if a responsible adult is not on the premises at the time of disconnection, the employee shall leave on the premises in a conspicuous place a notice advising that service has been terminated. (Ord. 19-005. Passed 3-18-19.)