Chapter 13.02
UTILITY PAYMENT PLAN
Sections:
13.02.020 Authority to set a payment plan.
13.02.040 Utility payment plan policies.
13.02.010 Definitions.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, whenever used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning given to them by this section:
A. “Utility charges” shall mean the charge made to users of any service provided by the village or a contractor authorized by the village for obtaining water, discharging storm or sanitary sewage, or for providing a service for which sanitation charges are made.
B. “Sanitation charges” shall mean the charge made to users of any service provided by the village or a contractor authorized by the village for the removal and disposal of any refuse, garbage, yard waste, white goods, or recyclables. (Ord. 98-41 § 1, 1998)
13.02.020 Authority to set a payment plan.
Under the following conditions the village clerk, or his or her designee, may set up a payment plan for village utility customers who are delinquent in paying their utility bill rendered by the village, which may include all or any part of the water, sewer, and sanitation charges.
A. The village clerk shall require all applicants for a utility payment plan to fill out an application. The form of the application shall be approved by the village attorney. As a minimum the application form:
1. Must be sustainable in court as a legally binding debit to the village.
2. Must be signed and dated by the applicants who are both the owners and occupiers of the place that received the utility charges. If the utility charge was made to tenants, then both the tenants and the owners of the property must sign a form and both become responsible for paying the utility charge either separately or jointly. In the case of a tenant, the tenant and property owner may sign separate forms.
In the case of a tenant, where the tenant is making the monthly payments on the utility payment plan and where the tenant fails to make any of the monthly payments, then the amount of the payment plan that is still outstanding is immediately due by the property owner. In this case the owner shall be notified following the procedures of the village code as if the utility charges were first overdue; however, an additional ten percent penalty will not be applied. Water service will be shut off to the property per the regulations of the village code along with all appropriate charges.
3. Must be for a period of no longer than six months; however, in no case shall the monthly payment on the payment plan be less than one hundred dollars each month. Each payment shall be made no later than the tenth day of each month, with the first payment due on the first tenth day of the month following the date of the application. Neither the submission of an application or its subsequent approval by the village clerk shall relieve the applicants from paying any future billing for utility charges per the requirements of the village code.
4. Must indicate that a search of the utility payment history of the applicant shows that the applicant has not had a water shut-off for the prior fourteen-month period and that the applicant has been a municipal utility customer for a minimum of fourteen months. That is to say that an applicant who has made less than fourteen months’ worth of utility payments is not eligible for the provisions of this chapter.
5. An application can only be submitted after the utility charges are past due and the balance due must be shown on the form; such amount shall include all charges for utility service, late charges, and penalties. No interest will be charged other than penalties and late charges specified in the village code.
B. A utility payment plan can only be used once by an applicant, in any eighteen-month period, whether residing in the same residence or not; however, a landlord may sign multiple applications, provided it is not for any personal residence of the landlord. In addition, all applicants shall be required to pay a down payment in the amount of twenty-five percent of the total delinquent utility bill as a condition precedent to entering into a utility payment plan, as contemplated in this chapter. (Ord. 2013-03 §§ 2, 3, 2013; Ord. 98-41 § 1, 1998)
13.02.030 Cancellation.
Should any payment due under this chapter be late the utility payment plan will be voided and all amounts outstanding under the plan shall be due immediately. In such cases the applicant shall be notified following the procedures of the village code as if the utility charges were first overdue; however, an additional ten percent penalty will not be applied. Water service will be shut off to the property per the regulations of the village code along with all appropriate charges. (Ord. 2013-27 § 3, 2013)
13.02.040 Utility payment plan policies.
The village clerk is hereby authorized and directed to create reasonable policies for the implementation of the provisions, terms and conditions of this chapter; however, in no event shall such policies conflict with the provisions, terms and conditions of this chapter. (Ord. 2013-03 § 4, 2013)