(a) The Village Fiscal Officer, acting as Clerk of the Village water system, is hereby authorized to issue shut-off notices to those account holders in excess of thirty days in arrears relative to their water and sewer service accounts. This notice shall give the account holder a period of five days from the due date, the 15th of each month, to pay the entire balance due including the past due amount, penalties, late charges, disconnection fee, reconnection charge, if any, as well as the current monthly billing in full, or to make satisfactory arrangements with the Village Administrator for payment on said billing. Any and all payments for reconnection of delinquent water and sewer billings shall be made in cash, money order or certified check made payable to the Village of Wakeman, Ohio, to the Village Fiscal Officer.
(1) Said notice shall be sent to the customer at the customer’s last address known by the Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer. In the event the customer is not the owner of the property connected to the water and sewer system, a copy of the notice shall be sent to the owner of the property, if known by the Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer. Said notice shall be served by regular mail, personal service or by attaching the notice to the door of the premises so served.
(2) The notice shall inform the account holder that unless the unpaid bill for water and sewer service is paid in full or satisfactory arrangement with the Village Administrator for payment on said outstanding billing are not made on or before the fifth day following the due date, the 15th of each month, water and sewer service shall be terminated. In addition, the notice shall also inform the account holder that a ten percent (10%) late payment charge shall be added to the bill or any part thereof which remains unpaid commencing the first day after payment is due, and that a disconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and a reconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged to the account holder if the water and sewer service are shut-off prior to service being resumed during normal business hours, or that a reconnection fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) shall be charged to the account holder if the water and sewer service are shut-off prior to service being resumed after normal business hours.
(b) (1) If the account holder, property owner or one of their representatives fails to pay the entire outstanding bill in full or otherwise fails to make arrangements satisfactory to the Village Administrator, then said Village Administrator shall cause the water and sewer service to be terminated until said account holder pays the entire outstanding bill, including the past due amount, penalties, late charges, disconnection fee, reconnection fee, and the current monthly billing, in full. The Village Administrator shall inform the Village Fiscal Officer of any and all payment arrangements which are made with any delinquent account holder to ensure compliance with said agreement. The Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer shall receive both the twenty-five dollar ($25.00) disconnection fee and the twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or seventy-five dollars ($75.00) reconnection fee before service is resumed.
(2) Anyone who has been previously disconnected for nonpayment shall be required, on the second disconnection of service, be required to make deposit equal to two times the deposit as established by the ordinance in force at that time.
(c) If the account holder fails to pay the outstanding bill in full or otherwise fail to make arrangements satisfactory to the Village Administrator after a period of thirty days after the shut-off date, the Village Administrator, regardless of whether the water and sewer service is terminated, shall do either of the following:
(1) Notify the Village Solicitor to prepare the necessary documentation to certify the unpaid portion of the bill, together with late charges, the disconnection fee, and the reconnection fee to the Huron County Auditor as a lien against the property to which the service was provided for collection as other taxes; or
(2) Collect the unpaid portion of the bill, together with late charges, the disconnection fee, and the reconnection fee by actions at law.
(d)
In the event that during the monthly reading of the water meters there appears to be an abnormality in a customer’s billing where the billing is in excess of two times the average billing from the previous twelve month period, the Village Administrator shall contact the customer to determine whether there is a leak, a faulty meter, or some other problem relative to that customer’s water service. The Village Administrator shall attempt to contact the customer by telephone and shall also send a written notice to the customer at the customer’s last address known by the Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer. In the event the customer is not the owner of the property connected to the water and sewer system, a copy of the notice shall be sent to owner of the property, if known by the Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer. The aforementioned written notice shall be served by regular mail, personal service or by attaching the notice to the door of the premises so served. If the customer does not contact the Village Administrator within forty-eight hours after attempting to leave a message by telephone and after sending the written notice, the Village Administrator shall shut-off the customer’s water service until such time Village Administrator or his designee shall be permitted access to the affected premises to determine whether the problem is related to some fault within the Village water system, the meter, or is that of the customer’s. The Village Administrator shall document his attempts to contact the customer by telephone. In the event a customer’s water is shut-off due to the customer’s failure to contact the Village Administrator after messages by telephone and in writing have been given to the customer, the customer will be charged a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) disconnection fee. In order for the customer’s water and sewer service to be reconnected, the customer shall pay to the Village the disconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and a reconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) if the water and sewer service are reconnected during normal business hours. In the event the water and sewer service are to be reconnected after normal business hours, the customer shall pay to the Village a reconnection fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00). In any event, either the Village Administrator or Village Fiscal Officer shall receive both the disconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and the reconnection fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or seventy-five dollars ($75.00) prior to service being resumed.
(Ord. 2016-O-13. Passed 7-11-16.)