[Ord. No. 800; Ord. No. 1284, 9-20-2000]
Except as otherwise provided or limited by state law, the City
shall have as security for the collection of all charges for electric
services as authorized by the Revenue Bond Act of 1933, as amended,
a lien upon the premises to which such electric services were supplied.
Such liens shall become effective immediately upon the distribution
or supplying of such electric service or services to such premises.
The term "charges for electric service" shall mean the rates, fees,
rentals and all other charges for furnishing such service and all
repairs, maintenance and alterations of such service which the City
determines to be the responsibility of the service customer.
[Ord. No. 800; Ord. No. 1284, 9-20-2000]
Those charges which are delinquent for three months or more
on June 30 of each year shall be reported by the City Auditor to the
Council at the first meeting thereof in the month of July. The Council
thereupon shall order the publication in a newspaper published in
the City of notice to all owners of property within the City that
all unpaid electric charges which have remained unpaid for a period
of three months or more prior to June 30, which have not been paid
by October 1, shall be assessed upon the City's tax roll against
the premises to which the electric services were supplied or furnished
and that such charges shall be collected in the same manner as the
City taxes on such tax roll.
[Ord. No. 800; Ord. No. 1284, 9-20-2000]
All such electric charges which remain unpaid on October 1 shall
be transferred to the City's tax roll and assessed against the
premises to which the electric service was supplied or furnished.
This assessment shall be collected with, and in the same manner as,
City taxes. If the same have remained delinquent and unpaid after
the expiration of the time limited in the Treasurer's warrant
for the collection of taxes levied in such tax roll, such charges
shall be returned to the County Treasurer to be collected in the same
manner as the lien created by City taxes on the delinquent tax roll
of the City.
[Ord. No. 800; Ord. No. 1160, 3-6-1996; Ord.
No. 1284, 9-20-2000; 5-14-2014 by Ord. No. 1627]
If the owner of a premises which receives electric services
provided by the Holland Board of Public Works shall lease such premises
to a tenant who is responsible under the lease for the payment of
the charges for electric services, and such property owner notifies
the HBPW, in writing, of such fact, the notice to include a true copy
of the lease of the affected premises executed by the owner or his/her
designated agent and the tenant, then the charges for electric services
provided to such leased premises shall not become a lien against the
premises after the date such notice is received by the HBPW. Immediately
after the filing of such notice, the HBPW shall render no further
service to the premises until it receives from the tenant, or an individual
or entity acting on behalf of the tenant, a security deposit as security
for the payment of the electric charges. Deposits shall be refunded
to the tenant, or to the individual or entity that paid the deposit
on behalf of the tenant, upon a customer's completion of 12 consecutive
months of good credit history or upon the termination of utility service
with the account in good standing.
[Ord. No. 800; Ord. No. 1284, 9-20-2000]
The provisions of this article are intended to amplify and clarify Section
12.18 of the City Charter, Section 13 of Ordinance No. 446, adopted March 23, 1959, and Ordinance No. 733, adopted March 7, 1979. The enactment of this article shall not be construed to affect the validity of any liens arising prior to June 9, 1982, under the terms of Section 13 of Ordinance Nos. 446 and 733 to the extent that such liens do not exceed the authority granted to the City by statute.