(A) The owner of improved property within the town shall be liable for the payment of all water and sewer services furnished to such premises, and if the charges are not paid, legal action may be taken to collect these charges. All bills for water and sewer services shall be rendered to the owner.
(B) Upon failure of the owner to pay the amount charged for either water or sewer services within the time set forth on billing, both services may be discontinued without prejudice to the right of the town to recover for services rendered before discontinuance, as set forth in divisions (1) through (4) below, and services shall not be restored until the account is paid. These rates shall generally be determined on the basis of water consumption measured for each customer through a metering device installed, maintained, and read by the town.
(1) It is the policy of the town before terminating utility service, to give the customer a fair opportunity to avoid termination either by paying charges due or showing that the charges are in error. As soon as possible following the past due date, written notice of delinquency shall be sent to the customer by first-class mail.
(2) Notice. The notice shall contain the following information:
(a) The amount which must be paid to avoid termination;
(b) The date on which termination will occur, which must be at least ten days after the mailing date; and
(c) A statement that the customer may appear at the office of the Town Manager or his or her designated representative between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on any business day and request an informal hearing with the Town Manager or his or her designee, for the purpose of showing error or working out a satisfactory extended payment arrangement.
(3) Certification. The employee responsible for mailing the notice shall certify the date on which the notice was mailed, on a form or in a record book or electronic medium designed for that purpose.
(4) Termination. If the customer does not make acceptable payment arrangements and fails to show cause why service should not be terminated, service may be terminated on or after the date specified in the notice of termination. Service may be terminated between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 400 p.m. on business days from Monday through Thursday only. If the customer fails to comply with agreed upon extended payment arrangements, service may be terminated without further notice.
(C) For the purpose of spreading more evenly the capital costs associated with providing the required amount and quality of water and the collection and treatment of wastewater, systems service charges shall be made according to the size of the water meter for each billing period on both water and sewer. These charges, for customers both inside and outside the town limits, shall be as set forth in the fee schedule of § 50.080.
(D) Whenever water or sewer service is discontinued for any reason, a fee shall be charged for such discontinuance. Charges for such service work shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Aldermen and charge schedules shall be kept on file in the offices of the Town Clerk and the Director of Public Works.
(Ord., passed 7-28-83)