Chapter 14.20
RATES AND FUNDS
Sections:
14.20.020 Connections, billings, penalties, and interest, and procedure upon delinquency.
14.20.021 Shutoff of persons on delinquent list.
14.20.022 Tenant’s option to pay for water service.
14.20.040 Funds—Accounting and disbursement.
14.20.010 Rates—On file.
A. Water service will be provided only at the rates, fees, and charges established, and duly adopted and approved by the Dillingham city council. A copy of the rate schedule shall be available for public inspection during regular business hours at City Hall.
B. Annually, the water system charges will be reviewed and adjusted as needed to provide the necessary revenues for the operation, repair, maintenance, and replacement of the water system. (Ord. 88-05, 1988; Ord. 08-07 § 3, 2008.)
14.20.020 Connections, billings, penalties, and interest, and procedure upon delinquency.
A. All applications for water service shall be made to the city on forms provided by the city and as specified in Chapter 14.04. The applicant remains personally liable for payment for the service until such is terminated or transferred by the city.
B. Bills will be mailed out by the last day of each month. Accounts are delinquent if payment is not received by the fifteenth day of the following month. Nonreceipt of a bill does not alter the due or delinquency date. A penalty of twenty percent will be added to any delinquent payment. In addition, interest at the rate of ten and one-half percent per annum will be charged on any delinquent account.
C. A fee of ten dollars shall be charged for each start of water service and a fee of ten dollars shall be charged for each disconnection of water service.
D. A penalty of twenty-five dollars will be assessed to the owner of the property for failure to notify the city of occupancy. In addition, a minimum of one month service back billing will be assessed to the owner of the property for this failure to notify.
E. Every charge made in connection with the construction, installation or repair of facilities incidental to providing water service, or for water furnished for consumption, constitutes a lien chargeable against the property, and has status the same as if the charge was levied as a property tax. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as any other lien or mortgage against the property for nonpayment, in addition to other remedies provided in this chapter or elsewhere.
F. Notice may be sent to the person responsible for any delinquent account, by first class mail, that water service will be shut off on a date certain, which date shall be not less than sixty days after the bill was mailed and thirty days after the date such notice is mailed. The notice should also be mailed to other interested parties or anyone requesting such notice, and shall advise of the following facts and procedure:
1. The address of the premises, the date of the billing, the amount due and the amount that is delinquent;
2. The date the city intends to shut off the water;
3. The right of each consumer to a hearing before the city manager or the city manager’s designee upon the filing of a request for hearing received by the city at least one business day before the disconnect date;
4. The fact that the notice will be canceled upon payment of all delinquent amounts prior to the date specified in the notice;
G. Upon receipt of a timely request for a hearing, copies of all pertinent documents shall be made available to the consumer and a hearing date shall be set by the city manager or the city manager’s designee. The hearing shall be informal and upon such rules as the city manager or the city manager’s designee might deem appropriate. Continuance may be granted or telephonic participation utilized as necessary, and the consumer shall have the right to ask questions, testify and state his or her case with or without assistance. The issue to be determined is whether the charges are in fact delinquent to the premises, and the amount of the delinquency. The city manager or the city manager’s designee shall clearly express his or her decision either orally at the close of the hearing or within three days in writing.
H. A consumer may avoid shut-off by paying all delinquent amounts up until the date specified for shut-off. If payment of all delinquent amounts is not made by either the date specified in the notice or, in the event of a hearing, within ten days after decision by the city manager or the city manager’s designee, then service may be disconnected. Shut-off water will not be turned on except by proper representatives of the city and upon payment of all amounts due and any required deposit.
I. Nothing in this chapter prevents agreement by the city and consumer on procedure or settlement of an outstanding balance in accordance with city policy. (Ord. 88-05, 1988; Ord. 94-09 § 1, 1994; Ord. 08-07 § 4, 2008.)
14.20.021 Shutoff of persons on delinquent list.
The water supply may be shut off to any premises owned or occupied by a person or business who has been placed on the delinquent list maintained by the Port of Dillingham pursuant to Rule 34.1 of the Port of Dillingham Terminal Tariff, or on the denied services list maintained by the city using the procedures set forth in Chapter 4.40. (Ord. 95-06 § 4 (part), 1995; Ord. 13-10 § 10, 2013.)
14.20.022 Tenant’s option to pay for water service.
If the premises owned by a person who has been placed on any delinquent list maintained by the city are occupied by persons who are not on any delinquent list, services may be restored, or termination of services avoided, if the occupant pays the delinquent water service bill. (Ord. 95-06 § 4 (part), 1995; Ord. 08-07 § 5, 2008.)
14.20.030 Use of funds.
All moneys collected for water system use will be used strictly for maintenance, extension, repair, capital improvement, and operation of the system. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)
14.20.040 Funds—Accounting and disbursement.
All moneys collected for water system use will be separately accounted for by the city treasurer and disbursed by action of the city council. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)