A.
Except as provided in Article XII of this chapter, all charges for water service, including water rates, shall be billed to the owner of the premises to which water is furnished.
B.
The Town shall be notified in writing of any change in ownership at premises to which water services are furnished, which notice shall be the responsibility of the new owner. Failure to provide such notice shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. Upon receipt of proper notice, the Town will take a final reading in accordance with § 212-18. No adjustment of bills as between old and new customers will be made by the town.
C.
Upon receipt of a notice of discontinuance of service in accordance with § 212-18 and the recording of a final reading, the Town will prepare a final bill which shall be available at the office of the Water Department on the next regular day of business following the day of the final reading. A refund for the amount of excess payment resulting from an overestimated prior billing will be given to the old owner.
A.
All bills for water furnished by meter shall become due
and payable in three-month billing cycles as determined by the Water Office,
except that bills of customers whose usage exceeds 1,000 gallons or more per
day shall become due and payable monthly.
B.
The quantity recorded by the meter shall be considered
the amount of water used by the customer, which amount shall be conclusive
on both the customer and the town, except as hereinafter provided. Where the
meter has been tested and is discovered to have malfunctioned or to have registered
inaccurately, the quantity may be determined by the average registration of
the meter in a corresponding past period when in order, except that where
it appears that there has been a change of customer or change in use of water,
equitable adjustment shall be made in the determination of the town. In all
cases where a meter is found to be defective, the Town shall immediately replace
the same with a meter that has been tested and properly adjusted.
C.
Where a reading cannot be obtained, an estimated bill
may be rendered to a consumer. The quantity may be adjusted in the same procedure
as used for a meter malfunction.
In case any water bill or charge provided for in and by these rules
shall not be paid within 30 days following the due date of the bill, a ten-percent
penalty will be charged. Failure to pay any bill dated prior to September
1 of a particular year, including penalty charges, by October 1 of that year
will result in the arrears being applied to the owner's tax roll, in
accordance with § 198 of the Town Law of the State of New York.
In order to encourage prompt repairs to leakage, pipes or fixtures,
the Town may, under certain conditions, grant allowances for apparently excessive
bills resulting from leakage beyond the meter. Granting of an allowance shall
be in the sole discretion of the Town and shall not exceed 1/2 of the excess
due to leakage over the normal usage for the period. The Town shall be the
sole judge in determining the amount of excess resulting from the leakage.
If an owner fails to notify the Town that a meter should be installed
and uses water supplied by the Town which passes through no meter, he shall
be required to pay three times the monthly minimum charge for the size of
meter appropriate for the service for each thirty-day period or part thereof
that water has been used at the premises. The period of time during which
water has been so used shall be calculated from the date of issue of the certificate
of occupancy or the date of sale, whichever is earlier, to the date the meter
is installed.
