A. Wastewater Service Rates And Charges: Wastewater rates for wastewater supplied by the Village shall be one dollar and forty cents ($1.40) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of wastewater used by any user, plus the charges set forth below:
1. Single-Family Residential Users:
a. Wastewater service shall be billed at one dollar twenty five cents ($1.25) per month.
2. Multi-Family And Commercial Users:
a. Wastewater service shall be billed one dollar twenty five cents ($1.25) per month multiplied by the number of units served at each location.
3. Miscellaneous Users:
a. Miscellaneous users which do not fall within the classification of subsection A1 or A2 of this section, such as schools, churches and Municipal users, shall be billed at a rate of one dollar twenty five cents ($1.25) a month.
4. Measurement Of Flow: The volume of flow used for computing basic user charges shall be the metered water consumption read to the lowest even increments of one thousand (1,000) gallons.
Metering devices for determining the volume of waste shall be installed and maintained by the user, owner and occupant. Following approval and installation, such meters may not be removed without the consent of the Village. Additional devices for measuring the volume of waste discharged may be required by the Village if such volumes cannot otherwise be determined from the metered water consumption records.
B. Bills For Service:
1. Rates and charges for wastewater service for all users, shall be payable monthly.
2. The owner of the premises, the occupant thereof and the user of the service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the service to such premises and the service is furnished to the premises by the Village only upon the condition that the owner of the premises, occupant and user of the services are jointly and severally liable therefor to the Village.
3. Bills for wastewater service shall be sent out by the Village on or before the ninth day of the month succeeding the period for which the service is billed.
4. All wastewater bills are due and payable on the twenty eighth day of that month.
C. Delinquent Accounts; Lien:
1. Delinquent Bills: All wastewater charges shall be due and payable on or before the twenty eighth day of the month the statements of such charges are rendered and shall become delinquent if remaining unpaid thereafter. A penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount shall be added to the bill after same becomes past due.
2. Lien Notice Of Delinquency:
a. Whenever a bill for wastewater service remains unpaid for sixty (60) days after it has been rendered, the Village shall file with the County Recorder of Deeds a statement of lien claim. This statement shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, and a notice that the Village claims a lien for this amount as well as for all rates and charges subsequent to the period covered by the bill.
b. If the user whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the Village has notice of this, notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises if his address be known to the Village whenever such bill remains unpaid for the period of one hundred five (105) days after it has been rendered.
c. The failure of the Village to record such lien or to make such notice or the failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid bills as mentioned herein.
3. Foreclosure Of Lien: Property subject to a lien for unpaid rates and charges may be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of the sale shall be applied to pay the rates and charges, after deducting costs, as is the case in the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill in equity in the name of the Village. The Village Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute such proceedings in the name of the Village in any court having jurisdiction over such matters against any property for which the bill has remained unpaid one hundred five (105) days after it has been rendered. The remedy set forth in this section shall not be exclusive of any other remedy at law or in equity to collect the unpaid amounts or otherwise enforce this Code.
D. Revenues:
1. All revenues and monies derived from the operation of the wastewater collection system shall be deposited in the sewerage account of the Sewerage Fund. All such revenues and monies shall be held by the Village separate and apart from private funds and separate and apart from all other funds of the Village, and all of said sum, without any deductions whatever, shall be delivered to the Village not more than ten (10) days after receipt of the same or at such more frequent intervals as may, from time to time, be directed by the President and Board of Trustees.
2. The Village shall receive all such revenues from the wastewater collection system and all other funds and monies incident to the operation of such system as the same may be delivered and deposit the same in the account of the fund designated as the Sewerage Fund of the Village. Such fund shall be administered in every respect in the manner provided by the revised Cities and Villages Act, effective January 1942.
E. Accounts:
1. The Village shall establish a proper system of accounts and shall keep proper books, records and accounts in which complete and correct entries shall be made of all transactions relative to the sewerage system, and at regular annual intervals, an audit by an independent auditing concern of the books shall be made to show the receipts and disbursements of the wastewater collection system.
2. In addition to the customary operating statements, the annual audit report shall also reflect the revenues and operating expenses of the wastewater collection system, including a replacement cost, to indicate that sewer rates and charges are sufficient to fund the ongoing maintenance and operation of the wastewater system. In this regard, the financial information to be shown in the audit report shall also include the following:
a. Billing data to show total number of gallons billed.
b. Debt service for the next succeeding fiscal year.
c. Number of users connected to the system.
d. Number of nonmetered users.
3. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency or authorized representative shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the Village which are applicable to the Village system of user charges for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts and transcriptions thereof to ensure compliance with the terms of the special and general conditions to any State grant.
F. Notice Of Rates:
1. Each user will be notified, at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate and that portion of the user charges which are attributable to the wastewater collection system.
2. A copy of this section properly certified by the Village shall be filed in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County and shall also be deemed notice to all owners of real estate of the charges of the wastewater collection system of the Village on their properties.
G. Effective Dates Of Rates: The rates and charges established in this chapter shall be effective as of October 1, 2014, and shall be reflected on all bills rendered thereafter.
H. Appeals: The method for computation of rates and service charges established for user charges in subsection A of this section shall be made available to a user within five (5) days of receipt of a written request for such. A formal written appeal may be filed with the Village outlining any discrepancies regarding service charges. A resolution of such discrepancies shall be made by the Village within seven (7) days after receipt of a written appeal.
I. Penalty: Any person violating any provisions of this section shall be fined the amount set forth in section 1-4-1 of this Code for each offense. (Ord. 83-20, 9-27-1983; amd. Ord. 2014-16, 3-4-2014; Ord. 2014-29, 8-19-2014; Ord. 2019-16, 4-3-2019; Ord. 2019-31, 7-2-2019; Ord. 2021-09, 4-7-2019)