Rates for Schedule I and Schedule II shall be as provided in §
100-19K.
[Amended 5-12-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-8]
The Water and Sewer Department of the Town of Newton will prepare
bills setting forth water, sewer and other Department charges and
send them to its customers through the U.S. Postal System. Bills that
are not delivered by the U.S. Postal System shall, nevertheless, remain
due and owing. The amount of such nondelivered bills shall, upon request,
be made available to customers either in person, in writing or by
telephone.
A. All accounts will be billed quarterly on the 15th day of February,
May, August, and November. Bills must be paid on or before the 15th
day of March, June, September, and December. All bills not paid within
30 calendar days after the billed date, March 15, June 15, September
15, and December 15, are subject to a ten-percent penalty, which shall
be added to the amount of the bill and collected as other charges.
Should the due date fall on a weekend or legal holiday observed by
the Town of Newton, the due date will be extended to the next business
day.
[Amended 12-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-17; 11-28-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-25]
B. All bills shall be due no later than the due date set forth on said
bill. To avoid additional charges, such as on and off fees, payments
for delinquent accounts must be paid before 10:00 a.m. on the scheduled
shutoff day. If the payment is not received by this time and date,
the water will be shut off and any fees so stated in this chapter
will be imposed.
C. Charges for both connection and use shall be payable to the Town
of Newton Water Sewer Utility. The Town shall have the same remedies
for the collection charges with penalties and costs as the collection
of taxes upon real estate.
D. In the event that a bill remains unpaid for 30 days or more after
the due date of such bill, the Department may discontinue water service
to the property for which the water bill is due, provided that the
Department has complied with the following procedure:
(1) A delinquent notice shall be sent to the account stating that service
will be discontinued because the bill remains unpaid for 30 days.
This notice shall be deemed satisfactory if sent as follows:
(a)
By regular mail, provided that the mailing is made to the last
known address of the owner of record.
(2) The Town may also deliver this notice to the physical address or
phone the account if that number has been provided to the Utility
Collector.
(3) The notice must be postmarked at least 10 days prior to the date
of the discontinuation of service.
(4) In the event that the delinquent account is that of a landlord/tenant
situation, then the tenant will have the option of paying the delinquent
bill.
(5) In the event that a partial payment of the amount due and owing on
a bill is made but the outstanding balance is more than $25, no additional
notices will be given before discontinuance of service as set forth
in this section.
E. A customer must contact the Town Water/Sewer Utility Clerk, by phone,
in person or in writing, to arrange for a payment agreement to avoid
the scheduled discontinuation of service. If the payment agreement
is violated, service may be discontinued.
[Amended 12-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-17]
F. A service charge shall be assessed for the restoration of service
when service to a property has been discontinued. Said service charge
shall be due and payable immediately upon restoration of service.
If said service restoration fee is not paid within one business day
of the date of restoration, the service may be discontinued without
further notice.
G. The Utility Advisory Board shall have the authority to recommend
to Newton Town Council to waive any fees or service charges incurred
on account of the provisions of this section for reasons of hardship
or upon other good cause shown.
H. All accounts will be listed in the name of the legal owner of the
property and forwarded to the property owner's last known address.
I. In the event that more than one resident is connected to the curb
box, preventing a shutoff, the shutoff fee will nevertheless be imposed.
Furthermore, a delinquent owner of a residence which cannot be shut
off due to a shared curb box will be required to install a separate
curb box in the event that a shutoff would have been imposed for two
consecutive quarters. It is the intent of this chapter to permit a
shared curb box only if it may be accomplished without conflict and
without problems. In the event a conflict or problem should arise,
the Utility Advisory Board, in its sole and absolute discretion, may
recommend to the Town Council that it may require the property owner
to install separate curb boxes.