[R.O. 2011 §66.010; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
All accounts for City water shall be due and payable upon receipt of a billing notice from the City.
[R.O. 2011 §67.200; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
A. 
No water service shall be provided to any new customer until such customer places a deposit of fifty dollars ($50.00) for an owner-occupied dwelling or one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for renter-occupied dwelling with the Utility Clerk.
1. 
All water deposits shall be retained by the City until the customer has ordered service to be discontinued, and there is no outstanding balance due on the account.
2. 
If any customer, upon termination of water service for any reason, has an account for water which is due and payable, then the City may apply such customer's deposit as a whole or partial payment on said customer's obligation with the City.
3. 
All water deposits shall be credited to the Utility Department deposit account.
[R.O. 2011 §66.020; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012; Ord. No. 2640 §3, 4-7-2014; Ord. No. 2662 §3, 2-17-2015]
A. 
Delinquency. Billing for same shall be sent to each customer within three (3) days after readings are complete. All bills not paid before 12:01 A.M. the 16th day of the month, as herein provided, shall be delinquent and subject to penalty as provided by ordinance.
B. 
Collections. Should an account remain outstanding for a period of sixty (60) days, the account will be submitted to a collection agency for collection. All such collection costs, as well as any costs pertaining to adjudication, will be borne by the debtor.
C. 
Write-offs. Should an account remain outstanding for a period of five (5) years, the account shall be written off as uncollectible.
D. 
Unverifiable Accounts. Delinquent accounts transferred from the "old system" which are unverifiable shall be written off as uncollectible.
E. 
Payment Request -- Water Service Unpaid. If the water service has been disconnected because the water and/or sewer bill has not been paid, the water service shall not be turned on until the charges have been paid. This Subsection also applies to accounts which have been previously written off as uncollectible.
F. 
Settlements. When the City Administrator and a customer arrive at a mutually satisfactory settlement of a disputed amount, or the customer does not dispute liability to the utility, but claims inability to pay the outstanding bill in full, the City Administrator and the customer may enter into a written settlement agreement. The decision to enter into a settlement agreement shall be at the sole discretion of the City.
1. 
If a customer is in compliance with the terms and conditions of a settlement agreement, service shall not be discontinued for having a delinquent account.
2. 
If the customer fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a settlement agreement, service may be discontinued.
G. 
Delinquent charges for water or sewer service shall be a lien upon the real estate to which such services were furnished upon the recording of a notice of delinquency with the Andrew County Recorder of Deeds. If such charges are paid in full, the City shall record a release of lien. The lien created herein may be enforced by suit or foreclosure.
[Ord. No. 2840, 5-15-2023]
[R.O. 2011 §66.021; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
A. 
The City shall have the right to disconnect or refuse to connect or reconnect any utility service:
1. 
To any person who fails to comply with the provisions of State laws or City ordinances, or rules and regulations concerning the payment of property taxes;
2. 
To any property which does not meet the provisions of State law or City ordinances, rules and regulations; or
3. 
Which utility does not meet the provisions of State law or City ordinances, rules or regulations.
[R.O. 2011 §66.022; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
No remedy is intended to be exclusive of any other remedy, but each remedy now or hereafter available shall be cumulative and in addition to every other remedy and may be exercised without exhausting and without regard to any other available remedy.
[R.O. 2011 §66.030; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
Should any customer or customers fail or refuse to pay such utility bill when the same shall have become due as herein provided, then the City shall cause utility service to such customer to be discontinued. However, prior to discontinuance a notice shall be mailed by the Utility Clerk of the City to the delinquent customer.
[Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012; Ord. No. 2745, 12-18-2017]
A. 
The notice shall be addressed to such customer at the address provided by the customer, and a copy of the notice shall be addressed to the property owner/landlord at the address provided by the property owner/landlord from the Utility Clerk, after the sixteenth (16th) of the month, but before discontinuance of service;
1. 
That his/her utility account with the City is delinquent stating the amount plus penalty;
2. 
Informing the customer that payment of the delinquency must be made before the disconnect date; and
3. 
That unless payment has been made by 10:00 A.M. the day of cutoff, utility service will be discontinued.
[R.O. 2011 §66.031; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
A ten percent (10%) penalty will be added to all delinquent utility bills if not paid by the fifteenth (15th) day of the month. Penalty and service charges shall be deposited to the Water and Surplus Fund.
[R.O. 2011 §66.040; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012]
On or about the twenty-second (22nd) day of each month, the Utility Clerk shall deliver to the Director of Public Works the names of all customers who are to be disconnected because of failure to pay delinquent accounts, after notice, and it shall be the duty of the Superintendent to disconnect such customer or customers.
[R.O. 2011 §66.050; Ord. No. 2295 §1, 7-10-2006; Ord. No. 2413 §1, 1-5-2009; Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012; Ord. No. 2673 §§1 — 3, 8-17-2015]
A. 
After service has been disconnected for non-payment, water will not be restored until the next business day as herein provided; a customer can only restore service by:
1. 
Paying the utility bill in full plus penalty and paying the reconnect fee.
a. 
Next day reconnect fee is twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
b. 
Same day reconnect fee is seventy-five dollars ($75.00) during business hours.
[Ord. No. 2586 §§1 — 2, 12-17-2012; Ord. No. 2823, 5-16-2022]
A. 
Payment arrangements shall only be granted in the event of a water service line break.
1. 
In the event a customer's private service line breaks, and an extraordinary amount of water is discharged through the break, a payment arrangement with the City may be made.
a. 
Documentation that verifies a break in the private service distribution system occurred and was repaired must be presented to City staff:
(1) 
A photograph (or other evidence) indicating the general area of the break and/or work being performed;
(2) 
An invoice for labor and/or parts used to repair the break; or
(3) 
Failures in the dwelling's interior plumbing system will not be eligible for payment arrangements (for example: leaking toilet or faucet, broken hot water heater, malfunctioning dishwasher, etc.).
b. 
A payment of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month in addition to the payment of the regular monthly utility bill must be made for bills of eight hundred dollars ($800.00) or less resulting from water service line breaks.
c. 
The City Administrator may negotiate a payment plan for bills in excess of eight hundred dollars ($800.00) resulting from a water service line break.
2. 
All payment arrangements must be approved by the City Administrator.
3. 
If customer experiences excessive use due to an exterior line break, provisions for adjustments to billing are described in Section 705.100 of this Code.
[R.O. 2011 §66.100; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
The City of Savannah ("Utility") developed this Identity Theft Prevention Program ("program") pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission's Red Flag Rule ("Rule") which implements Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 16 C.F.R. Section 681.2. This program was developed with oversight and approval of the Board of Aldermen. After consideration of the size and complexity of the Utility's operations and account systems, and the nature and scope of the Utility's activities, the Board of Aldermen determined that this program was appropriate for the City of Savannah, and therefore approved this program on October 20, 2008.
[R.O. 2011 §66.120; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
A. 
Fulfilling Requirements Of The Red Flag Rule. Under the Red Flag Rule, every financial institution and creditor is required to establish an "Identity Theft Prevention Program" tailored to its size, complexity and the nature of its operation. Each program must contain reasonable policies and procedures to:
1. 
Identify relevant red flags for new and existing covered accounts and incorporate those red flags into the program;
2. 
Detect red flags that have been incorporated into the program;
3. 
Respond appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate identity theft; and
4. 
Ensure the program is updated periodically to reflect changes in risks to customers or to the safety and soundness of the creditor from identity theft.
B. 
Red Flag Rule Definitions Used In This Program. The Red Flag Rule defines "identity theft" as "fraud committed using the identifying information of another person" and a "red flag" as a pattern, practice, or specific activity that indicates the possible existence of identity theft.
According to the Rule, a municipal utility is a creditor subject to the Rule requirements. The Rule defines "creditors" to include "finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, and telecommunications companies. Where non-profit and government entities defer payment for goods or services, they too are to be considered creditors".
All the Utility's accounts that are individual utility service accounts held by customers of the Utility whether residential, commercial or industrial are covered by the Rule. Under the Rule, a "covered account" is:
1. 
Any account the Utility offers or maintains primarily for personal, family or household purposes, that involves multiple payments or transactions; and
2. 
Any other account the Utility offers or maintains for which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk to customers or to the safety and soundness of the Utility from identity theft.
"Identifying information" is defined under the Rule as "any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific person" including: name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, date of birth, government issued driver's license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number, unique electronic identification number, computer's Internet Protocol address, or routing code.
C. 
Program Administrator. The City Administrator will serve as the Program Administrator for the Identity Theft Program.
[R.O. 2011 §66.130; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
A. 
General. In order to identify relevant red flags, the Utility considers the types of accounts that it offers and maintains, the methods it provides to open its accounts, the methods it provides to access its accounts, and its previous experiences with identity theft. The Utility identifies the following red flags in each of the listed categories.
B. 
Notifications And Warnings From Credit Reporting Agencies — Red Flags.
1. 
Report of fraud accompanying a credit report;
2. 
Notice or report from a credit agency of a credit freeze on a customer or applicant;
3. 
Notice or report from a credit agency of an active duty alert for an applicant; and
4. 
Indication from a credit report of activity that is inconsistent with a customer's usual pattern or activity.
C. 
Suspicious Documents — Red Flags.
1. 
Identification document or card that appears to be forged, altered or inauthentic;
2. 
Identification document or card on which a person's photograph or physical description is not consistent with the person presenting the document;
3. 
Other document with information that is not consistent with existing customer information (such as if a person's signature on a check appears forged); and
4. 
Application for service that appears to have been altered or forged.
D. 
Suspicious Personal Identifying Information — Red Flags.
1. 
Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other information the customer provides (example: inconsistent birth dates);
2. 
Identifying information presented that is inconsistent with other sources of information (for instance, an address not matching an address on a credit report);
3. 
Identifying information presented that is the same as information shown on other applications that were found to be fraudulent;
4. 
Identifying information presented that is consistent with fraudulent activity (such as an invalid phone number or fictitious billing address);
5. 
Social Security number presented that is the same as one given by another customer;
6. 
An address or phone number presented that is the same as that of another person;
7. 
A person fails to provide complete personal identifying information on an application when reminded to do so (however, by law Social Security numbers must not be required); and
8. 
A person's identifying information is not consistent with the information that is on file for the customer.
E. 
Suspicious Account Activity Or Unusual Use Of Account — Red Flags.
1. 
Change of address for an account followed by a request to change the account holder's name;
2. 
Payments stop on an otherwise consistently up-to-date account;
3. 
Account used in a way that is not consistent with prior use (example: very high activity);
4. 
Mail sent to the account holder is repeatedly returned as undeliverable;
5. 
Notice to the Utility that a customer is not receiving mail sent by the Utility;
6. 
Notice to the Utility that an account has unauthorized activity;
7. 
Breach in the Utility's computer system security; and
8. 
Unauthorized access to or use of customer account information.
F. 
Alerts From Others — Red Flag.
1. 
Notice to the Utility from a customer, identity theft victim, law enforcement or other person that it has opened or is maintaining a fraudulent account for a person engaged in identity theft.
[R.O. 2011 §66.140; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
A. 
New Accounts. In order to detect any of the red flags identified above associated with the opening of a new account, Utility personnel will take the following steps to obtain and verify the identity of the person opening the account:
Detect:
1. 
Require certain identifying information such as name, date of birth, residential or business address, principal place of business for an entity, driver's license or other identification;
2. 
Verify the customer's identity (for instance, review a driver's license or other identification card);
3. 
Review documentation showing the existence of a business entity; and
4. 
Independently contact the customer.
B. 
Existing Accounts. In order to detect any of the red flags identified above for an existing account, Utility personnel will take the following steps to monitor transactions with an account:
Detect:
1. 
Verify the identification of customers if they request information (in person, via telephone, via facsimile, via e-mail);
2. 
Verify the validity of requests to change billing addresses; and
3. 
Verify changes in banking information given for billing and payment purposes.
[R.O. 2011 §66.150; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
A. 
In the event Utility personnel detect any identified red flags, such personnel shall take one (1) or more of the following steps, depending on the degree of risk posed by the red flag:
Prevent and Mitigate:
1. 
Continue to monitor an account for evidence of identity theft;
2. 
Contact the customer;
3. 
Change any passwords or other security devices that permit access to accounts;
4. 
Not open a new account;
5. 
Close an existing account;
6. 
Reopen an account with a new number;
7. 
Notify the Program Administrator for determination of the appropriate step(s) to take;
8. 
Notify law enforcement; or
9. 
Determine that no response is warranted under the particular circumstances.
B. 
Protect Customer Identifying Information. In order to further prevent the likelihood of identity theft occurring with respect to Utility accounts, the Utility will take the following steps with respect to its internal operating procedures to protect customer identifying information:
1. 
Ensure that its website is secure or provide clear notice that the website is not secure;
2. 
Ensure complete and secure destruction of paper documents and computer files containing customer information;
3. 
Ensure that office computers are password protected and that computer screens lock after a set period of time;
4. 
Keep offices clear of papers containing customer information;
5. 
Request only the last four (4) digits of Social Security numbers (if any);
6. 
Ensure computer virus protection is up-to-date; and
7. 
Require and keep only the kinds of customer information that are necessary for Utility purposes.
[R.O. 2011 §66.160; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
This program will be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect changes in risks to customers and the soundness of the Utility from identity theft. At least once a year, the Program Administrator will consider the Utility's experiences with identity theft situation, changes in identity theft methods, changes in identity theft detection and prevention methods, changes in types of accounts the Utility maintains and changes in the Utility's business arrangements with other entities. After considering these factors, the Program Administrator will determine whether changes to the program, including the listing of red flags, are warranted. If warranted, the Program Administrator will update the program or present the Board of Aldermen with his/her recommended changes and the Board of Aldermen will make a determination of whether to accept, modify or reject those changes to the program.
[R.O. 2011 §66.170; Ord. No. 2407 §1, 10-20-2008]
A. 
Oversight. Responsibility for developing, implementing and updating this program lies with an Identity Theft Committee for the Utility. The Committee is headed by a Program Administrator who may be the head of the Utility or his/her appointee. Two (2) or more other individuals appointed by the head of the Utility or the Program Administrator comprise the remainder of the Committee membership. The Program Administrator will be responsible for the program administration, for ensuring appropriate training of Utility staff on the program, for reviewing any staff reports regarding the detection of red flags and the steps for preventing and mitigating identity theft, determining which steps of prevention and mitigation should be taken in particular circumstances and considering periodic changes to the program.
B. 
Staff Training And Reports. Utility staff responsible for implementing the program shall be trained either by or under the direction of the Program Administrator in the detection of red flags, and the responsive steps to be taken when a red flag is detected. Training will occur once a year. Staff will provide any applicable reports to the Program Administrator on incidents of identity theft, the Utility's compliance with the program and the effectiveness of the program.
C. 
Service Provider Arrangements. In the event the Utility engages a service provider to perform an activity in connection with one (1) or more accounts, the Utility will take the following steps to ensure the service provider performs its activity in accordance with reasonable policies and procedures designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate the risk of identity theft.
1. 
Require, by contract, that service providers have such policies and procedures in place; and
2. 
Require, by contract, that service providers review the Utility's program and report any red flags to the Program Administrator.
D. 
Specific Program Elements And Confidentiality. For the effectiveness of identity theft prevention programs, the Red Flag Rule envisions a degree of confidentiality regarding the Utility's specific practices relating to identity theft detection, prevention and mitigation. Therefore, under this program, knowledge of such specific practices are to be limited to the Identity Theft Committee and those employees who need to know them for purposes of preventing identity theft. Because this program is to be adopted by a public body and thus publicly available, it would be counterproductive to list these specific practices here. Therefore, only the program's general red flag detection, implementation and prevention practices are listed in this document.