[Ord. No. 1026 §1, 9-11-2003]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have these
prescribed meanings:
Any user who shall fail or refuse to pay the stated charge
for such service within ten (10) days after a statement addressed
to him/her at his/her last known address and deposited by the City
Clerk or City Collector or his/her agent into the United States mail,
postage prepaid. A user may be a delinquent user so defined herein
even though the City has a deposit as hereinafter provided for.
Any person who obtains water from the municipal water plant metered through its mains or discharges sewage into the sanitary sewer system of Mound City or any extensions thereof. Water service and sewage service shall be deemed to be furnished to both the occupant and the owner of any site served regardless of whether the occupant or owner made application for service under Section 700.090 of this Article. Notice under Section 700.035 of this Article shall be made to both the occupant and the owner of the site served.
[Ord. No. 1026 §2, 9-11-2003; Ord. No. 1058 §2, 7-7-2005; Ord.
No. 1128 §1, 9-9-2008]
A.
Whenever
any person shall fail or refuse to pay the amount of the charges stated
in the statement for utility services, in full, by the thirtieth (30th)
day of the month following the close of the period for which service
was rendered, then the City shall cause utility service to such user
to be discontinued. However, prior to discontinuance, a notice shall
be mailed by the City Collector of the City to the delinquent user,
by regular mail, and shall be addressed to such user at the address
provided by the user to the City Collector, giving such user at least
forty-eight (48) hours written notice of the intention to disconnect
service. The notice shall state as follows:
1.
The date of said notice.
2.
The name and address of the delinquent user.
3.
That the utility account with the City is delinquent.
4.
The total amount of unpaid charges for said service.
5.
A statement informing the user that payment of the full amount must
be made by close of business on the day preceding the last day of
the month; and,
6.
That unless payment is made by close of business on the day proceeding
the last day of the month utility service will be discontinued without
further notice.
B.
A penalty
of three dollars ($3.00) will be added to all utility bills not paid
by the twentieth (20th) day of the month following the close of the
period for which service was rendered.
C.
The
City shall have the right at any time upon giving forty-eight (48)
hours written notice to users for good and sufficient cause or for
failure to comply with the provisions and requirements of this Chapter,
to discontinue furnishing any user with water service.
D.
When deemed appropriate by the Water Superintendent and after proper notice as described in the preceding paragraphs of Section 700.030, a final warning of disconnection will be placed on the premises' door handle or other conspicuous place giving warning of impending disconnection. A fee of five dollars ($5.00) will be charged upon delivery of this final warning to cover the cost associated with the preparation and delivery of this warning.
A.
Sewerage services, water services, or water and sewerage services combined shall be deemed to be furnished to both the occupant and owner of the premises receiving such service and, except as otherwise provided in Subsection (B) of this Section, the City shall have power to sue the occupant or owner, or both, of such real estate in a civil action to recover any sums due for such services less any deposit that is held by the City for such services plus a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court.
B.
When
the occupant is delinquent in payment for thirty (30) days, the City
shall make a good faith effort to notify the owner of the premises
receiving such service of the delinquency and the amount thereof.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary,
when an occupant is delinquent more than ninety (90) days, the owner
shall not be liable for sums due for more than ninety (90) days of
service. Any notice of termination of service shall be sent to both
the occupant and owner of the premises receiving such service.
C.
The
provisions of this Section shall apply only to residences that have
their own private water and sewer lines. In instances where several
residences share a common water or sewer line, the owner of the real
property upon which the residences sit shall be liable for water and
sewer expenses.
D.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of law to the contrary, any water provider who
terminates service due to delinquency of payment by a consumer shall
not be liable for any civil or criminal damages.
E.
The
provisions of this Section shall not apply to unapplied-for utility
services. As used in this Subsection, "unapplied-for utility
services" means services requiring application by the property
owner and acceptance of such application by the utility prior to the
establishment of an account. The property owner is billed directly
for the services provided, and as a result, any delinquent payment
of a bill becomes the responsibility of the property owner rather
than the occupant.
[Ord. No. 1026 §3, 9-11-2003]
Any damage resulting from the disconnection of the water service
to the water user or to any property of the water user or the landowner
of the property occupied by the water user shall not be the responsibility
of the City, its agents or employees. The City, its agents and employees
shall not be liable to the water user or the landowner of any property
used, held, occupied, owned, rented or leased by the water user for
any damage to the aforesaid property or any other damage incurred
due to the disconnection of water service provided for herein and
it shall be immaterial that no notice of such disconnection was given
to or received by the water user or the property owner.
[Ord. No. 1026 §4, 9-11-2003]
If said delinquent user shall notify the City Collector in writing
that he/she believes the statement sent to him/her to be in error
and shall also deposit as security with said City Collector the amount
stated in the bill, then said Collector shall hold the amount separate
and apart from the other funds of the City until the next regular
meeting date of the Board of Aldermen, when it shall then be the duty
of the protesting user, if he/she wishes a hearing on the matter,
to appear before the Board of Aldermen and present his/her facts and
information and the Board of Aldermen shall hear the same, consider
any other evidence or testimony that it deems pertinent and the Board
of Aldermen shall make any adjustments that it may deem proper in
the user's bill, if it finds good reason for so doing.
[Ord. No. 1026 §5, 9-11-2003]
It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to immediately notify
the Collector of the findings of the Board of Aldermen as provided
in the preceding Section and after receiving said notice from the
City Clerk, the City Collector shall deposit such amounts held as
security into the fund or funds as designated by said report and return
any unused or excessive amounts, as determined by the Board of Aldermen,
to the delinquent user.
[Ord. No. 1026 §6, 9-11-2003]
A.
In
the event any user fails to pay the charges and costs for water services
by the close of business on the business day preceding the last day
of the month and has not filed a notice and made a deposit with the
City Collector as required, the account shall be declared delinquent.
Thereupon, the City Collector shall issue written direction to the
appropriate City employee to immediately disconnect the water service
on the delinquent account.
B.
In
the event that any disconnected water service is subsequently reconnected
without City authorization, City staff shall install a locking mechanism
on the water meter to prevent future reconnection. In such instance
a forty dollar ($40.00) lock installation fee shall be assessed to
the user who last had the account and said user shall additionally
be responsible for any damage caused to the locking mechanism as determined
by the City, including cost of replacement.
C.
In
addition thereto, the City shall have the authority to seek any other
remedy allowed by law.
[Ord. No. 1026 §7, 9-11-2003]
A.
As
to all delinquent water service accounts, prior to connection or reconnection
the account shall be satisfied in full, including:
1.
All delinquent costs and charges in connection with previously provided
water services;
2.
A twenty dollar ($20.00) reconnection fee;
3.
Any locking fee and assessment for damages caused to the lock;
4.
Any deposits required by this Article; and
5.
An optional after-hours connection fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00),
if the user so desires.
B.
If
all costs on any account are paid in full by 3:00 P.M. on a business
day, the water service shall be connected the same day. In the event
the costs are paid in full after 3:00 P.M., the water service shall
be reconnected the following business day. In the event the user desires
an after-hours reconnection, in addition to the twenty dollar ($20.00)
reconnection charge, such user shall also pay an after-hours connection
fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00). However, after-hour connections will
be made subject to availability of City personnel, and such after-hour
connection is neither mandated nor guaranteed.
[Ord. No. 1026 §8, 9-11-2003; Ord. No. 1248 §1, 11-6-2014]
A.
Any person who may hereafter make application for City water, as
a user, shall therewith and as a prerequisite of obtaining such service
pay to the City Collector a deposit as hereinafter set forth, which
sum shall be held by said Collector in a special fund; such deposit
shall be as follows:
1.
For each residential hookup when the user is the owner of the
property, the deposit required is the sum of seventy-five dollars
($75.00).
2.
For each residential hookup when the user is a tenant/renter
of the property, the deposit required is the sum of one hundred fifty
dollars ($150.00).
3.
For each hookup for a commercial place of business, the deposit
required is the sum of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
[Ord. No. 1026 §9, 9-11-2003]
At any time when any customer having such deposit may be in arrears on his/her payment, the City Collector is hereby authorized and may in his/her discretion charge said amount of arrears against the deposit and thereafter make an order terminating service to said customer in accordance with Sections 700.020 to 700.070 of this Chapter, until all delinquent payments, together with penalties thereon, are paid in full plus the amount needed to restore the deposit to its original amount. Provided further, that the discretion granted herein shall in no way create any duty upon the City Collector to debit the deposit prior to terminating a delinquent user's service as provided for in Sections 700.020 to 700.070 of this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 1026 §§10, 12, 9-11-2003; Ord. No. 1248 §2, 11-6-2014]
A.
Whenever a user shall have made a deposit with the City Collector
as above provided and shall furnish proof to the Collector that he/she,
the user, no longer is a water customer of the City of Mound City
and that all his/her bills for services and other debts owed the City,
including taxes, are paid in full, said customer shall be entitled
to a refund of all of the unused portion of said deposit.
B.
Should any user terminate service with the City of Mound City without making application for a refund as provided in Subsection (A) above, it shall be the duty of the City Collector to, at least once a year, compute the amount of refund, if any, to which any person may be entitled and to notify the City Clerk of the exact amount of the refund due.
C.
After a customer, who is the owner of the property, maintains at
least five (5) consecutive years of continuous, timely payments of
his/her utility service account, any security deposit previously paid
shall be refunded as credit to the customer's utility service
account. Any customer who so qualifies shall not be required to maintain
a utility service deposit. After the requirement for a security deposit
is terminated as provided herein, if the utility service of the customer
is disconnected for non-payment of a utility bill, the requirement
for a security deposit shall be reinstated, and the applicable deposit
shall be paid by the customer prior to reconnection or continuation
of the utility service.
[Ord. No. 1026 §11, 9-11-2003]
Whenever any charges or costs for water and sewerage services
as provided above remain unpaid by a user, they are hereby deemed
to be a lien against the property serviced.
[Ord. No. 1026 §13, 9-11-2003]
It shall be a misdemeanor for any person or persons to tamper
with or cause to be tampered with or to make any connection to any
water main, water meter, sewer line or any property of the City of
Mound City water and sewer systems, the effect of which is to prevent
the proper measuring of water service, to permit the diversion of
the water service or user of the sewer system, or to reconnect service
when service has been discontinued for non-payment of a bill for service.
[Ord. No. 975 §§1
— 3, 1-1-2001]
A.
AVERAGE MONTHLY SEWER BILL
AVERAGE MONTHLY WATER BILL
UNDERGROUND
UNDETECTABLE
Definitions. As used in this Section, the following terms
shall have these prescribed meanings:
The charges for sewer service based upon each individual
customer's usage over the previous twelve (12) month period.
The charges for water service based upon each individual
customer's usage over the previous twelve (12) month period.
Located below the surface of the ground.
Hidden, not able to readily discover the nature, existence,
presence or fact of.
B.
Policy.
1.
As detailed in Section 700.150, it is the responsibility of all customers receiving service from the City's water and sewer lines to keep their service line, meter and other equipment used in connection therewith in a good state of repair at all times.
2.
Whenever a customer becomes aware that an excessive water leak has
occurred, it shall be their responsibility to immediately, or within
five (5) working days, notify the Mound City Water Department of such
leak in order to make a determination as to whether water and sewer
service charges are eligible for abatement.
3.
Wholesale customers are not eligible for abatement of charges under
this Section.
4.
The City Water Superintendent shall ascertain whether the leak was
undetectable and underground and therefore eligible for abatement.
5.
Appeals from the decision of the Water Superintendent may be made
by the customer to the Board of Aldermen.
C.
Abatement Of Charges.
1.
Abatement of water service charges. After deducting
the average monthly water bill, the remaining charges for water service
due to excessively high water usage as the direct result of an undetectable
underground water leak shall be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%).
2.
Abatement of sewer service charges. After deducting
the average monthly sewer bill, the remaining charges for sewer service
due to excessively high water usage as the direct result of an undetectable
underground water leak shall be abated.
