§ 78-58. Billing; payment; delinquent bills; transfer of delinquent bills from one location to another.

(a)

In all cases where water is furnished by the city water system, the sewer service charge shall be included in the bills for water rendered by the city; provided, however, that each such bill shall show separately the amount of the bill for water.

(b)

Utility bills shall be sent to consumers or when the use of a multiple or master meter is employed by the owner, regularly each month, and the fact that a consumer or owner does not receive a bill shall not constitute grounds for discount or adjustment.

(c)

A utility bill shall not be considered paid until remittance for the bill has been received by the city, and the public services department shall not be responsible for delays or losses in the transportation in the mail or otherwise.

(d)

If the amount of such water and sewer charges shall not be paid within 20 days from the rendition of such bill, the public services department shall, after written notice to the customer, discontinue furnishing water to such premises and shall discontinue the premises from the city water system and shall proceed forthwith to recover the amount of such water and sewer service charges in such lawful manner as may be required.

(e)

The public services department shall have the right to refuse service to any premises, when the contracting party of such premises has an unpaid utilities bill under his contract, until such time as the bill is paid. The public services department shall also have the right to refuse service to premises when the owner of such premises has an unpaid bill for services or for material or labor rendered or expended by the public services department in connection with rendering service to the premises.

(f)

The public services department shall have the right to transfer a delinquent water bill at one address to the account of the same consumer at another address, provided the consumer is receiving service at the latter address, and shall have the right to discontinue service at the latter address for nonpayment of the transferred bill, regardless of the fact that the current bills are being paid.

(g)

Charges included in utility bills shall be a lien upon the real property. Whenever a bill remains unpaid 60 days after it has been rendered, the city clerk may file with the county recorder 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 city claims a lien for this amount as well as for all charges subsequent to the period covered by the bill. If the consumer of services whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises and the clerk has notice of this, notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises, if his address is known to the clerk, whenever such bill remains unpaid for a period of 60 days after it has been rendered. The failure of the clerk to record such lien claim and 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 bills as mentioned in subsection (h) of this section. The owner shall be responsible for the payment of all administrative expenses and costs, including attorney's fees, incurred by the city in the collection of charges, filing of liens or actions to foreclose such liens.

(h)

Property subject to a lien for unpaid utility charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the charges, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges and attorney's fees after deducting costs.

(i)

The city attorney is authorized and directed to institute such proceedings, in the name of the city, in any court having jurisdiction over such matters, against any property for which a utility bill has remained unpaid for 60 days after it has been rendered.

(Code 1988, § 22-48; Ord. No. 11-02, § VI, 1-13-11)