§ 94-85. Billing and payment of charges; delinquency; connection fee.

(a)

It shall be the duty of the director of the utilities department to keep accounts of all users of electric current, water or wastewater services and to enter on such accounts all charges, and the director of the utilities department is authorized and empowered to, from time to time and as often as the proper administration of his office shall require, fix the meter reading dates in districts of the area supplied by the system. The dates on which charges against the users of electric current, water or wastewater service become due shall be as indicated on the utility bill. Under no circumstances shall the due date be less than 15 calendar days after the date the bill is mailed.

(b)

All charges owed by any person for electric, water and wastewater services rendered by the system shall be billed and collected as a unit. Failure of any person to pay the combined charges by the indicated due date shall cause such charges to become past due. If such past due charges are not paid within the time set down in the utility billing and collection procedures and guidelines manual, then services shall be disconnected and shall be reconnected only in accordance with the provisions of such manual. Late payment, reconnection and after-hours charges shall be assessed against such accounts in accordance with such procedures and guidelines. If a customer fails to pay the charges for electric, water, and wastewater services by the indicated due date, such charge shall become past due. If the system fails to receive payment by the fifth day following the due date, a late charge of five percent of the amount due shall be added to the amount due from residential customers, and a late charge of five percent of the amount due shall be added to the amount due from commercial customers.

(c)

All payments shall be made in cash or its equivalent, and any exchange on checks, money orders or other evidences of cash must be paid by the customer.

(d)

At the time of initiating utility services, a connection fee for electric and/or water service will be assessed for each account in accordance with established procedures and guidelines.

(City Code 1965, § 23-19; Ord. No. 312-97, § 1, 9-16-97; Ord. No. O-333-2003, § 1, 12-16-03; Ord. No. O-182-2016, § 1, 9-6-16)