[Amended 6-27-2006 by Ord. No. 1365; 6-27-2006 by Ord. No. 1366; 6-27-2006 by Ord. No. 1367; 6-27-2006 by Ord. No. 1368]
A.
Customer accepts service. The rates, rules and regulations contained
in this chapter shall constitute and be considered a part of the contract
with every person, company or corporation that is supplied with water
and sewer services from the waterworks and sewer system; and every
person, company or corporation, hereinafter called a "customer," that
accepts and uses Village water and sewer services shall be held to
have consented to be bound thereby.
B.
Not liable for interrupted service. The Department shall endeavor at all times to provide a regular and uninterrupted supply of service; however, in case the supply of service shall be interrupted or irregular or defective or fail from causes beyond its control or through ordinary negligence of employees, servants or agents, the Department shall not be liable therefor. (See also Chapter 209, Gas System.)
C.
Using services without paying. Any person using utility services from the Village without paying therefor, or who shall be found guilty of breaking the seal of any meter or appurtenances, or bypassing any meter, shall be guilty of violating this chapter, and, upon conviction, shall be fined a sum as provided in § 93-1 of the Village Code.
D.
Destroying property. Any person found guilty of defacing, tampering with, injuring or destroying, or in any manner limiting the use or availability of any meter or any property of the waterworks system and sewer system, or erecting signs on the property of the Department without permission, shall, upon conviction of such act, be fined as provided in § 93-1 of the Village Code.
E.
Service obtained by fraud. All contracts for water and sewer services
shall be made in the name of the head of the household, firm or corporation
using the established spelling of that person's or firm's name. Attempts
to obtain service by the use of other names, different spellings or
by substituting other persons or firms shall be considered a subterfuge
and service shall be denied. If service has been discontinued because
of nonpayment of bills or any unpaid obligation and service has again
been obtained through subterfuge, misrepresentation or fraud, that
service shall be promptly disconnected and the whole or such part
of the advanced payment as may be necessary to satisfy the unpaid
obligation shall be retained by the Village and credited to the appropriate
account.
F.
Failure to receive bill. Failure to receive a bill shall not excuse
a customer from his obligation to pay within the time specified. Should
the Department be unable to bill a customer for services used during
any month, the following billing shall include the charges for services
used during the unbilled month.
G.
Request to discontinue service. Services shall have been deemed to
have been supplied to any property connected to the water and sewer
systems during a month unless the customer notifies the Village prior
to the first day of the new billing month in which the services are
to be discontinued.
H.
Billing; utility shut-off; hearing.
[Amended 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 19-1479; 9-15-2021 by Ord. No. 21-1496]
(1)
If a bill is not paid on the 20th day of the month, then a penalty
equal to 10% of the current bill shall be added thereto on the 21st
day of the month.
(2)
A delinquent or "Shutoff Notice" is mailed on the 22nd day of the
month to any customer who is 30 days past due.
(3)
The customers are given five days from the date of the "Shutoff Notice"
or they will be shut off. (This date does not include days the office
is not opened.)
(4)
If the consumer who has been notified for nonpayment of utility bills
is not the owner of record, then the Village shall notify the owner
of the property by first-class mail.
(5)
Once utility services have been disconnected, the same shall not
be again connected or used until all delinquent accounts and bills
of service are paid in full, including a fee for each connection of
such utility services as set from time to time by the Board of Trustees
by resolution, plus expenses incurred in the reconnecting of the utility
services.
(6)
All past-due Village accounts for gas and water furnished by the
Village which have been deemed delinquent by the Utilities Office
shall be paid by the person responsible by cash, money order, or certified
checks. The Utilities Office shall no longer accept any personal checks
on any past-due utility accounts.
I.
Lien notice.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(1)
Whenever a bill for utility services remains unpaid for 45 days after
it has been rendered, the Gas and Water Clerk 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 charges for utility services served
subsequent to the period covered by the bill. The Village Gas and
Water Clerk will notify by first class mail, to the last known address,
intent to file on the property for unpaid gas or water bills.
(2)
If the consumer of utility services whose bill is unpaid is not the
owner of the premises, and the Gas and Water Clerk has notice of this,
then notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises, if his address
is known to the Gas and Water Clerk, whenever such bill remains unpaid
for a period of 45 days after it has been rendered.
(3)
The failure of the Gas and Water Clerk to record such lien or to
mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice,
shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid utility
bills as mentioned herein.
J.
Foreclosure of lien.
(1)
Property subject to a lien for unpaid utility charges may be sold
for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be
applied to pay the 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.
(2)
The Village Attorney is hereby authorized 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 for utility services
has remained unpaid 60 days after it has been rendered.
K.
Under the provisions of Subsection I, when invoked by the Village, a customer shall, in addition to all of the utility charges and penalties provided for in the Village Code, be required to pay the reasonable attorneys fees and filing fees incurred by the Village as a result of preparing and filing such lien, with such fee to be set from time to time by ordinance of the Village Board, with such fee now determined and actual cost which will compensate the Village for attorney fees and expenses of filing a lien notice. Upon payment of the utility services specified in said lien notice, and the fees herein assessed, the Village shall submit to the customer a release of lien, and it will be the customer's obligation to record the same and pay for the recording fees on the same.
The owner of any lot, parcel of land or premises receiving utility
services, the occupant of such premises and the user of the services
shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the services
to such lot, parcel of land, or premises, and all services are rendered
to the premises by the Village only on the condition that such owner,
occupant and user shall be jointly and severally liable therefor to
the Village.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Whenever any meter, by reason of its being out of repair, or
from any cause, fails to properly register the utilities passing through
the same, the consumer shall be charged the average charge of the
previous three months' usage. If no record of the previous three months
exists, then it shall be the duty of the Gas and Water Clerk to estimate
the amount of utilities consumed during the time the meter fails to
operate, and the consumer shall be charged with such estimated amount.
Bills may be estimated whenever it is impossible to read the meters
during inclement weather.
No free utility service shall be furnished to any person, public
or private, and all rates and charges shall be nondiscriminatory,
provided that the Mayor and Village Board reserve the right to impose
special rates and charges in cases where particular circumstances
render the regular rates inadequate or unjust.
A.
Residential.
(1)
When any application is made for utility services in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter, all applicants for which the service
is requested shall deposit with the application the following amounts:
[Amended 9-15-2021 by Ord. No. 21-1496; 2-16-2022 by Ord. No. 22-1498; 8-17-2022 by Ord. No. 22-1505]
|
Businesses
|
Residents Inside Village
|
Residents Outside Village
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Water:
|
$300
|
$100
|
$100
|
|
Gas:
|
$400
|
$150
|
$150
|
(2)
Where the amount of the deposit provided above is not sufficient
to adequately protect the utility departments, a greater amount than
stated above may be required, based on the consumer's estimated bill
for a customary billing period. In the event the consumer's deposit
has to be utilized to cover the fees and charges for water and/or
gas system service more than one time during a calendar year, then
the Village Board may establish a larger deposit.
B.
Security for payment; no interest. The deposits made under the provisions
of this chapter shall be held by the Village as security for the payment
of utility services used by the applicant upon the premises to which
his application pertains, and may be so applied when any default is
made in the payment in the utilities bill in accordance with this
chapter. The deposit shall earn no interest.
