§ 98-60. Lien and enforcement.

(a)

The charges for water service which are, under the provisions of Section 21 of Act 94, Public Acts of Michigan, 1933, as amended, made a lien on all premises served thereby, unless notice is given that the tenant is responsible, and whenever any such charge against any piece of property shall be delinquent for six months, the city official or officials in charge of the collection thereof shall certify on or before May first of each year, to the city assessor the act of such delinquency, whereupon such charge shall be entered upon the next tax roll as a charge against such premises and lien thereof enforced in the same manner as general city taxes against such premises are collected and the lien thereof enforced, provided however, where notice is given that a tenant is responsible for such charges and service as provided by said Section 21 of Act 94, no further service shall be rendered to such premises until a cash deposit, as established by the city shall have been made as security of payment of such charges and services.

(b)

In addition to other remedies provided herein or by applicable law or ordinance, the city shall have the right to shut off and discontinue the supply of water to any premises for the nonpayment of water rates when due, subject to constitutional requirements.

(c)

A charge, as established by the city, shall be made when the use of service is discontinued for any reason except as a result of delinquent charges and the curb stop closed, and a similar charge shall be made for opening the stop for service. Actual cost will be charged when these services are required at any time other than regular working hours including labor, equipment rental, materials, and administration. 24 hours' notice shall be given for all service other than emergency service.

(d)

Water service furnished by the system shall be billed no less than quarterly; however, the city reserves the right to bill on a more frequent basis.

The city may bill large volume users, those customers with a meter two inches and larger, on a monthly basis, when Ordinance No. 17-437 (April 3, 2017) is enacted, if the user makes a formal written request to the city for monthly billing and the city manager approves same.

Bills for the rates and charges set forth in section 98-56 shall be due and payable at the business office of the city or to any designated agent on their date of issue. If not paid, by the fifteenth day thereafter, there shall be an additional charge as established by the city to reimburse the city for the added administrative and interest costs associated with the failure of such customer to pay on time.

(e)

If rates and charges imposed by section 98-56 are not paid on or before their respective due dates, the city, pursuant to Act 132 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1891, as amended, may:

(1)

Discontinue the services provided by the system by disconnecting the service line from the service pipe, and the service so discontinued shall not be reinstated until all sums then due and owing, including late fees and all expenses incurred by the city for shutting off and turning on the service, shall be paid to the city;

(2)

Institute an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amounts unpaid, including late fees, interest and reasonable attorney fees; or

(3)

Enforce the lien created in paragraph (a) above.

These remedies shall be cumulative and shall be in addition to any other remedy provided in this article or, now or hereafter existing, a law or in equity. Under no circumstance shall action taken by the city to collect unpaid rates and charges, late fees and interest, invalidate or waive the lien created by paragraph (a) above. Customers with a delinquent account shall be entitled to a public hearing before the city clerk.

(f)

Any rates and charges for service rendered prior to the effective date of this article are hereby ratified and shall be collected pursuant to section 98-60, and the city shall pursue all remedies pursuant to section 98-60 upon failure of a customer to pay said rates and charges.

(g)

All bills and notices relating to the conduct of the business of the city and of the system will be mailed to the customer's address unless a change of address has been filed in writing at the business office of the city. The city shall not otherwise by responsible for delivery of any bill or notice, nor will the customer be excused from nonpayment of a bill or from any performance required in said notice. Bills and notices shall only be sent to the customer signing for service.

(h)

Applications for connection permits may be cancelled and/or water service disconnected by the city for any violation of any part of this article including, without limitation, any of the following reasons:

(1)

Misrepresentation in the permit application as to the nature or extent of the property to be serviced by the system;

(2)

Nonpayment of bills;

(3)

Improper or imperfect and/or failure to keep service lines in a suitable state of repair; and

(4)

Damage to any component of the system.

(i)

Service shall not be re-established until all delinquent charges and late fees may be recovered by the city by court action.

(j)

The city shall make all reasonable efforts to eliminate interruptions of service and, when such interruptions occur, will endeavor to re-establish service with the shortest possible delay. Whenever service is interrupted for the purpose of working on the system, all customers affected by such interruption will be notified in advance whenever it is possible to do so.

(k)

Any customer has the right to appeal any rates or charges levied in accordance with this article. Appeals shall be directed to the city within 15 days for the issue date of a billing, along with any supporting documentation for amendment of the charges in question. Any additional information that may be required to resolve the appeal, as directed by the city, shall be obtained by the customer at his or her expense. Resolution of appeals shall be made within 60 days by the city in accordance with the best available data and this article. All bills for rates and charges outstanding during the appeals process, including all late fees or delinquency charges, shall continue to be due and payable. Upon resolution of the appeal, the city shall adjust said charges accordingly, including any refunds due. Adjustments shall be retroactive to the previous 12 months' billings only.

(Ord. No. 01-307, § 1, 4-2-2001; Ord. No. 17-437, 4-3-2017)