Chapter 13.45
BILLING PROCEDURES
Sections:
13.45.010 Billing responsibility.
13.45.020 Subsidy of accounts.
13.45.040 Accounts shall be in name of property owner.
13.45.080 Notice of delinquency.
13.45.100 Delinquencies in the event of death.
13.45.110 Delinquency by Tribal employees.
13.45.120 Delinquency by Tribal members.
13.45.140 Tulalip Tribes Utility Department authorized to use a collection agency.
13.45.010 Billing responsibility.
The Utility Department is responsible for billing customers for utility services. The billing service, however, may be contracted to the general Tribal government or another agency or firm at the discretion of the Utility Department and Board of Directors. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.01, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.020 Subsidy of accounts.
The Utility Department will charge each user based on the rate schedule approved in Chapter 13.40 TTC. The Tribal general government of the Tulalip Tribes or any other organization may contract with the Utility Department to subsidize any of the users on the system. All of these agreements and their user rate shares shall be appended to this title in TTC 13.105.020 (Appendix B). The agency providing the subsidy shall be billed monthly by the Utility and said bill shall include all the costs not charged directly to those users. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.02, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.030 Monthly statement.
Each month, the Department shall mail to all utility customers a statement detailing the following information:
The owner and customer’s name and account number;
The types and level of service used in the current month;
The billed cost of the current month’s service, plus an accounting of bills or charges past due, if any;
The date that payment is due;
The amount of a late fee, if not paid by due date;
The amount of interest to be added to any outstanding balance; and
The location to mail or deliver payment.
Failure to receive a bill will not release the customer from obligation to pay for services provided in a timely manner. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.03, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.040 Accounts shall be in name of property owner.
All accounts for water and sewer service shall be in the name of the owner of the property and current occupant. The occupant shall be held primarily responsible for payment, however, any default by the occupant will result in the owner of the land being held responsible for payment including any additional fees or charges. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.04, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.050 Due date.
The monthly date on which payment will be due shall be the first of the month, unless another date is established by Utility Department regulation or payment schedule according to district. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.05, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.060 Payments past due.
Payments not received by the due date with a 10-day grace period are considered past due. The Utility shall issue a notice of payment past due to the customer, detailing the payment owed, late fee and the consequences for failure to pay. The notice shall be sent no later than the date the next billing is sent out. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.06, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.070 Delinquent account.
If the payment past due is not paid within 10 calendar days after the monthly due date, the account shall be declared delinquent. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.07, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.080 Notice of delinquency.
The Utility shall immediately notify the customer in writing once his account has been declared delinquent, and list the sanctions that may be imposed without further notice and the water service shall be terminated. Notice of delinquency shall be made by regular mail and such other means to provide proof of notice to the customer, such as a door hanger, secure taping of the notice to the front door or placement of the notice on the meter, if one exists on the property.
Once an account has been declared delinquent and services have been terminated, the customer will be required to install a water meter (through the Utility) prior to reestablishing service unless a meter already exists and pay any late fees and reconnect fees established.
The Utility shall not be liable for any loss of property, personal injury, business loss, or any other damages which the customer may suffer by the termination of a delinquent account in accordance with this title. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.08, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.090 Payback agreement.
At the option of the Utility Department, each customer with a past due account shall sign a payback agreement with the Utility to pay the delinquent account in full. The minimum amount of payment and the payment schedule required in the payback agreement shall be determined by the Utility Manager based on the amount owed by the customer and the customer’s ability to pay in the determination of the Utility Manager consistent with this section.
Utility Department customers are only allowed one payback agreement annually and only if they have successfully completed the prior payback agreement. Current monthly fees shall be paid in full each month, as well as the amount agreed to in the payback agreement.
(1) Short-Term Basis Only. Payback agreements are made available to customers in recognition of unavoidable or unexpected financial problems, and are intended to be of a temporary short-term nature. The term of the payback agreement shall not exceed 12 months. Any payback agreement that will need to be for any term longer than the 12 months as stated will need the approval of the Executive Director.
(2) Breach of Payback Agreement. Breach of the payback agreement authorizes termination of the payback agreement and the Utilities to be shut off with notice.
(3) Collection Agency. All utility customers will be subject to collection by a licensed agency or other garnishment remedies available by law.
The current payback agreement is attached as TTC 13.105.030 (Appendix C). [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.09, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.100 Delinquencies in the event of death.
All customers delinquent on their accounts shall have liens placed against their assets including their estate should the individual die before their water and sewer accounts have been paid in full. The amount of the delinquency must be more than the cost of processing the lien before a lien shall be placed on the estate. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.10, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.110 Delinquency by Tribal employees.
If an employee of the Tulalip Tribes receives water or sewer services from the Tulalip Utility Department and becomes delinquent in his or her account the Utility Department shall request a mandatory deduction from that employee’s paycheck.
Any employee of the Tulalip Tribes may sign up for voluntary payroll deductions, per TTC 9.10.170(4), or any successor code, until their debt to the Utility Department is paid in full. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.11, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.120 Delinquency by Tribal members.
If a Tribal member is delinquent in their account and is about to be disconnected under the provisions of TTC 13.45.080, the Tulalip Tribal member shall be subject to involuntary garnishment of their per capita payments. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.12, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.130 Security deposits.
The Utility Department shall require each new customer to pay a security deposit equal in amount to the basic monthly rate for their user class for the services they are applying for prior to receiving said service. The deposits shall be retained by the Utility until such time that the customer terminates service. If the account is not delinquent and in arrears the deposit shall be returned to the customer, and the security deposit shall be refunded in full if the account is current with no balance due at the time that service is discontinued by the customer. [Res. 2016-164; Ord. 76 § 9.13, 12-6-2004 (Res. 2004-467)].
13.45.140 Tulalip Tribes Utility Department authorized to use a collection agency.
(1)(a) The Utility Department may retain, by written contract, collection agencies licensed under Chapter 19.16 RCW for the purpose of collecting debts owed the Utility Department by any person.
(b) As a subdivision of a government agency, the Tulalip Tribes, using a collection agency, may add a reasonable fee, payable by the debtor, to the outstanding debt for the collection agency fee incurred or to be incurred. The amount to be paid for collection services shall be left to the agreement of the governmental entity and its collection agency or agencies, but a contingent fee of up to 50 percent of the first $100,000 of the unpaid debt per account and up to 35 percent of the unpaid debt over $100,000 per account is reasonable, and a minimum fee of the full amount of the debt up to $100.00 per account is reasonable. Any fee agreement entered into by a governmental entity is presumptively reasonable.
(2) No debt may be assigned to a collection agency unless (a) there has been an attempt to advise the customer (i) of the existence of the debt and (ii) that the debt may be assigned to a collection agency for collection if the debt is not paid, and (b) at least 30 days have elapsed from the time notice was attempted.
(3) Collection agencies assigned debts under this section shall have only those remedies and powers which would be available to them as assignees of private creditors.
(4) For purposes of this section, the term “debt” shall include fines and other debts, including the fee allowed under subsection (1)(b) of this section. [Res. 2016-164].