[Ord. No. 751 §1, 7-25-1983]
A. 
The Mayor of the City of Oak Grove is hereby authorized to implement any water conservation technique he/she deems advisable to maintain an adequate water supply for consumption and fire protection.
B. 
The water conservation method implemented by the Mayor will be effective immediately upon the issuance and shall remain in full force and effect until the next meeting of the Board of Aldermen at which time the Board of Aldermen shall consider the further implementation.
[Ord. No. 306 §§1 — 6, 3-4-1963]
No person or persons, not authorized by the City of Oak Grove, Missouri, shall trespass upon the waterworks property of the City of Oak Grove, including the water reservoir, pumping stations and water tower.
[Ord. No. 988 §14-6.9, 2-5-1990]
A. 
Definitions. The following words and phrases when used in this Section shall, for the purpose of this Section, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this Section except when the context otherwise requires:
CUSTOMER
The person in whose name a utility service is provided.
DIVERT
To change the intended course or path of electricity, water, gas, telephone, cable television or other utility service without the authorization or consent of the utility.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, firm, association or corporation.
RECONNECTION
The commencement of utility service, other than by the utility company, to a customer or other person after service has been discontinued by the utility.
TAMPER
To rearrange, damage, injure, destroy, alter, interfere with or otherwise prevent from performing normal or customary function.
UTILITY SERVICE
The provision of electricity, water, gas, telephone, cable television or other utility service.
B. 
Unlawful Acts. It shall be unlawful for any person to commit, authorize, solicit, aid, abet or attempt any of the following acts:
1. 
Divert, or cause to be diverted, utility service by any means whatsoever.
2. 
Make, or cause to be made, any connection or reconnection with property owned or used by the utility to provide utility service without the authorization or consent of the utility.
3. 
Prevent any utility meter, or other device used in determining the charge for utility service, from accurately performing its measuring function by tampering or by any other means.
4. 
Tamper with any property owned or used by the utility company to provide utility service.
5. 
Use of, receive the direct benefit of all, or a portion, of the utility service with knowledge of, or reason to believe that, the diversion, tampering or unauthorized connection existed at the time of the use, or that the use or receipt was without the authorization or consent of the utility.
6. 
Advertise, manufacture, distribute, sell, use, rent or offer for sale, rental or use any device of any description, or any plan or kit designed to obtain utility service in violation of this Section.
7. 
Obtain utility service by means of false representations or fraudulent or deceptive actions designed to avoid the payment of any outstanding lawful charges for any utility service.
8. 
Avoid the lawful charges, in whole or in part, for any utility service by the use of any fraudulent or deceptive scheme, device, means or method.
C. 
Presumption Of Violation. There is a rebuttable presumption that there is a violation of this Section if, on the premises controlled by the customer or by the person using or receiving the direct benefit of utility service, there is either, or both of the following:
1. 
Any instrument, apparatus or device primarily designed to be used to obtain utility service without paying the full lawful charge therefore.
2. 
Any utility equipment that has been altered, tampered with or by-passed so as to cause no measurement or inaccurate measurement of utility service.
[Ord. No. 1447 §4, 6-21-2004; Ord. No. 2026, 2-22-2022]
A. 
Uniform Terms Of Payment And Collection For Water And Sewer Utility Service Charges.
1. 
Any reference to "utility service" in this Section shall mean the provision of water and/or sewerage service.
2. 
The department shall obtain consumption amounts by reading utility service meters monthly. If conditions cause the department to be unable to read the service meters, the department reserves the right to estimate consumption based on the customer's past three (3) month usage history in order to generate a utility bill. When estimated consumption is used, the department shall adjust and amend charges regarding actual versus estimated consumption on the next utility bill reflecting actual meter readings.
3. 
The department shall provide each customer a monthly invoice detailing utility charges and consumption for the given billing period. Utility bills shall be provided to customers at or near the middle of each month.
4. 
Terms of payment. All utility bills are due and payable upon receipt, but in any event not later than the twenty-third (23rd) day of the following month, unless the twenty-third (23rd) day is a legal holiday, Saturday or Sunday. In the event the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day is a legal holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the final payment date for current bills shall be the next regular business day immediately following the holiday or weekend day. Notwithstanding the foregoing, payments submitted after the tenth (10th) of the month shall be subject to a penalty charge as described in Subparagraph (6) below.
5. 
Customers shall have the first ten (10) calendar days of the month to submit payment for utility services rendered without the imposition of a penalty charge. The period of the billing date through the tenth (10th) day of the month shall be known as the standard billing period. An extension of the standard billing period is available only in one (1) or more of the following circumstances:
a. 
If the tenth (10th) day of the month is a legal holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the standard billing period shall be extended to the end of the billing office shift on the next regular business day immediately following the holiday or weekend day.
b. 
Payments placed in the City Hall drop box will be deemed to have been submitted within the standard billing period, provided that the payment is deposited in the drop box prior to the drop box being emptied on the next regular business morning following the end of the standard billing period.
c. 
Remittance made by mail will be deemed to have been submitted during the standard billing period provided that the envelope postmark is on or before the final date of the standard billing period.
6. 
A penalty charge of ten percent (10%) shall be applied to all accounts that are paid after the expiration of the standard billing period each month. The period beginning with the eleventh (11th) calendar day of the month through the twenty-third (23rd) day shall be known as the late billing period.
7. 
Utility bills not paid in full by the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day of the month are deemed delinquent and will by subjected to the delinquency policy as defined in Subsection (B) below (in the event the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day is a legal holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the final payment date for current bills shall be the next regular business day immediately following the holiday or weekend day).
8. 
The due date on a utility bill applies to current charges only and does not extend or otherwise alter any previous due date, notice or agreement regarding past due charges for delinquent utility service.
B. 
Delinquency Of Utility Bills Policy.
1. 
All utility bills and current utility service charges not paid in full by the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day of the month are deemed delinquent (in the event the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day is a legal holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the final payment date for current bills shall be the next regular business day immediately following the holiday or weekend day) and shall be subject to discontinuance of utility service as provided in Subsection (C) below.
2. 
All information concerning final notice and service termination (i.e., termination for non-payment or shutoff) will be provided on the utility bill.
3. 
Final notices and shutoff notices will not be provided under a separate mailing.
4. 
Terms of the City's provision of utility services, which include delinquency, disconnection for non-payment, service termination and payment arrangement policies, will be provided on the utility service application form.
5. 
Deposits required by the department in accordance with this Chapter, if any, may be applied against a delinquent bill and any other arrears due by the customer at the discretion of the City.
6. 
If any charges become delinquent pursuant to this Section, the City Administrator or his or her designee is authorized to file a notice of delinquency with the Jackson County Department of Records or the Lafayette County Recorder of Deeds, whichever is applicable. The notice of delinquency shall be a lien upon any land located within the corporate limits of the City. Liens created according to this Subsection may be enforced by suit or foreclosure as provided by Section 250.234, RSMo., as amended. Provided that the delinquent amounts plus interest and any recording fees or attorney's fees have been paid in full, the City Administrator or his or her designee shall file a notice of that fact with the Jackson County Department of Records or the Lafayette County Recorder of Deeds, whichever is appropriate.
C. 
Discontinuance Of Utility Service.
1. 
Utility service may be discontinued by the department after five (5) days' notice for any of the following reasons:
a. 
Non-payment of any utility bill due and owing;
b. 
Willful or indifferent waste of water due to any cause;
c. 
Willful or indifferent waste of water entering the building sewer due to any cause;
d. 
Failure to protect and maintain the service pipe or fixtures or plumbing fixtures and drainage system on the customer's property in a condition satisfactory to the department;
e. 
Molesting or tampering by the customer or by others with the knowledge of the customer with any meter, connection, service pipe, curb cock, seal or any other appliances controlling or regulating the customer's water supply;
f. 
Molesting or tampering by the customer or by others with the knowledge of the customer with any meter, meter seal, drainage system, piping or any other device controlling or regulating the customer's sewage flow;
g. 
Failure to provide the department's employees free and reasonable access to the premises served or for obstructing the way of ingress to the meter or other appliances controlling or regulating the customer's water supply or sewage flow;
h. 
Violation of any rule or regulation of the department.
2. 
Water service will be discontinued by one (1) the following methods:
a. 
The department may cut off the water supply to the premises.
b. 
The department may place a lock on the water meter(s) regulating the water supply to the premises.
c. 
The department may remove the water meter(s) regulating the water supply to the premises.
3. 
Sewer service may be discontinued by one (1) of the following methods:
a. 
Where water service is also furnished to the customer by the department, the department may cut off the water supply and remove the meter.
b. 
Where water supply to the premises is furnished by the owner or by others than the department, the department, in its discretion, reserves the right to:
(1) 
Remove the meter used for measuring the water supply to the sewerage facilities;
(2) 
Seal the building connection or sewer; or
(3) 
Remove the connection to the public sewer.
4. 
In the event that utility service must be discontinued for a premises, a shutoff/service disconnection fee shall be imposed in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to cover the administrative costs of the City for this action. The twenty-five dollar ($25.00) shutoff/service disconnection fee only accounts for the initial service disconnection costs associated with the utility shutoff and service reconnection during regular business hours. Should it be necessary for the City to take action to discontinue utility service at a premises outside of regular business hours, the City may impose additional fees to cover the increased administrative costs of this action.
5. 
The notice required by this Subsection for discontinuance of utility service for the reason of non-payment of any utility bill due and owing is deemed to be satisfied by the provision of notice on the billing statement. Therefore, shutoff/service termination action for accounts which have been deemed delinquent according to Subsection (B) of this Section may commence as early as the twenty-first (21st) calendar day of the billing month.
6. 
All services that are delinquent by the shutoff date will be terminated unless written payment arrangements have been prepared, accepted and filed in the utility billing office in accordance with the Subsection (F), Payment Arrangement Policy, of this Section.
D. 
Restoration Of Utility Service After Discontinuance.
1. 
When the utility service to a customer has been discontinued for any of the reasons enumerated in Subsection (C) above, it will be renewed only after the conditions, circumstances or practices which caused the utility service to be discontinued are corrected to the satisfaction of the department and upon payment of all charges due and payable by the customer in accordance with this Chapter and the effective schedule of rates. Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to apply to circumstances in which the discontinuance of service was initiated due to the temporary vacancy of the premises.
2. 
A fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be made for turning on the water and/or re-establishing the utility services to the account during regular business hours (Monday — Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.).
3. 
Any request for service reconnection after the close of regular business hours of the utility service crew will be assessed the thirty-five dollar ($35.00) on/off fee and an additional after-hours reconnection surcharge amounting to the total overtime cost of the employee(s) called out to reestablish utility service. After-hours reconnection is not guaranteed and is further subject to the availability of appropriate utility personnel.
4. 
If sewer service was discontinued by removal of the meter or by sealing the building connection or by removal of the connection to the public sewer, the customer shall pay an additional fee equal to the actual cost of restoring the service including all labor, materials and overhead. This fee shall be estimated by the department upon application for restoration of service and the customer shall pay the amount of the estimate prior to restoration of utility service. Any adjustments in the amount of the estimated fee charged in comparison to the actual costs incurred will be made upon completion of the restoration of service.
5. 
All amounts that are delinquent as well as all on/off and reconnection surcharge fees must be paid in full by cash, money order or certified check only, before utility service will be reconnected.
6. 
The City reserves the right to refuse to provide or reestablish utility service for individuals who exhibit a history of chronic delinquency with the City. Chronic delinquency is defined as having service terminated more than two (2) times in a calendar year and/or placement of account on delinquency status for three (3) or more consecutive months; and/or having written two (2) or more checks returned for insufficient funds for delinquent utility services in the past twelve (12) months.
7. 
Discontinuing utility service to a premises for any reason shall not prevent the department from pursuing any lawful remedy by action at law or otherwise for the collection of monies due from the customer.
E. 
Disputed Utility Bill Policy.
1. 
When disputing a utility bill, the following terms of payment apply:
a. 
All utility service charges must be paid in accordance with Subsection (A) "Uniform Terms Of Payment And Collection For Water And Sewer Utility Service Charges" of this Section in order to avoid service disconnection for non-payment.
b. 
All charges for utilities must continue to be paid while the disputed bill process is pending.
c. 
Upon completion of the disputed bill procedure, if adjustment of the bill is warranted, the customer will receive either a credit (refund of charges collected by the City) or debit (charge for charges not yet collected by the City) to their respective utility account based on the terms of the resolution of the disputed bill.
2. 
If a customer disputes a utility bill, one (1) or more of the following options must be pursued in order to remedy the dispute:
a. 
Request a meeting with the City Administrator and/or his or her designee in order to discuss the reason(s) for disputing the bill and to determine the appropriate course of corrective action.
b. 
Request that the meter be tested.
(1) 
If the meter is tested and found to be inaccurately registering utility consumption, the department shall replace the meter and shall adjust the utility bill amount due by calculating consumption for the billing period in question based on average usage for the twelve (12) months preceding the disputed period; all of these services will be provided at no cost to the customer. Any retroactive billing adjustments shall not be for more than ninety (90) days prior to the originating date of the dispute.
(2) 
If the meter is tested and found to register within the tolerance limits as defined by the relevant industry standard meter specifications, the customer is charged sixty dollars ($60.00) for each meter tested. Based upon the meter test reports, neither the City Administrator nor the department can further recommend adjustment of the given disputed bill. If other sufficient evidence of mitigating effects on the metering or billing process is provided, a hearing concerning the disputed bill shall be set before the Board of Appeals.
c. 
Request a hearing before the Board of Appeals as established and governed by the appropriate City ordinance provided that the disputed bill contains consumption/usage that is more than one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the average usage during the immediately preceding twelve (12) months.
(1) 
For example: a customer account's average bills indicate water consumption of four thousand (4,000) gallons per month, the disputed bill in question indicates usage of seven thousand (7,000) gallons per month. As a result of seven thousand (7,000) gallons per month exceeding one hundred fifty percent (150%) (six thousand (6,000) gallons per month) of the four thousand (4,000) gallons per month average, the customer may request a hearing.
(2) 
In the event a twelve (12) month history is not available, the usage must exceed the respective industry standard average by fifty percent (50%) or more.
(3) 
All requests for hearings must occur within ten (10) regular business days (Monday — Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) of receipt of the bill.
(4) 
Special circumstance hearings may be heard before the Board of Appeals for situations and accounts not meeting the minimum qualifying standards as established above. Such special circumstance hearings will be determined on a case-by-case basis as deemed necessary by the City Administrator or his or her appointed designee.
(5) 
Customers will be limited to no more than one (1) special circumstance hearing in any given calendar year.
3. 
All determinations resulting from the processes listed above shall be final and binding upon the City and the customer.
4. 
All fees and charges resulting from disputed bill procedures cannot be waived except by order of a court having competent jurisdiction.
F. 
Payment Arrangement Policy.
1. 
All current utility service charges must be paid in full by the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day of the current billing month as defined in Subsection (A) "Uniform Terms of Payment and Collection for Water and Sewer Utility Service Charges" of this Section.
2. 
Customers who are unable to meet their financial obligation for utility services rendered due to temporary circumstances are encouraged to seek appropriate financial institution or social service agency assistance in order to meet the requirements of their utility charges for the current period in order to avoid the delinquency deadline and service termination/shut-off proceedings. Temporary circumstances may include, but are not limited to: unemployment, a death in the immediate family, the customer's extended illness or abnormally high medical expenses.
3. 
The City may, at its sole discretion, enter into a written payment arrangement with the customer, provided that the customer can make a showing of financial need and prove that he or she has made a good faith attempt to obtain assistance from a bonafide social service agency or financial institution and that assistance was denied or otherwise unavailable. The City Administrator or his or her designee may require any customer seeking to enter into a payment arrangement to verify, by affidavit, the customer's financial need and/or good faith attempt to obtain other assistance.
4. 
Customers must provide written evidence and the City must verify by the twenty-third (23rd) day of the current billing month that arrangements have been made between the customer and a bona fide social service agency or financial institution or that a payment arrangement has been executed with the City to meet the complete financial obligation of all current and any delinquent utility service charges.
5. 
Upon receipt of the written evidence and verification of payment assistance by the Utility Billing Office, the City shall extend the shut-off date for the given individual by an additional twenty (20) calendar days. Individuals may seek no more than two (2) payment assistance payment extensions in a calendar year.
6. 
No extensions will be granted based on personal credit or promises to pay by individual utility customers unless the arrangements are paid in full in cash by the final collection date of the current billing period (i.e., the twenty-third (23rd) calendar day of the current billing month).
7. 
All payment assistance payment extensions must be submitted in writing, signed by the customer, a representative of the bona fide social service agency or financial institution providing assistance to the customer, if applicable, and the City Administrator or his or her designee and filed with the Utility Billing Office.
8. 
Failure of the social service agency or financial institution to remit payment within twenty (20) calendar days will subject the customer to proceedings under Subsection (C) "Discontinuance of Utility Service" of this Section.
9. 
If the social service agency or financial institution cannot guarantee payment in full within the twenty (20) day time limit, written notice from the institution must accompany the application for payment assistance payment extension and explicitly state when payment will be remitted to the City.
10. 
The City shall maintain and provide, upon request by the customer, a list of social service agencies and financial institutions for customers to contact if payment assistance is needed.
11. 
Utility services that have already been disconnected for non-payment are not eligible for payment extensions. All charges associated with said accounts must be paid in full in cash prior to service reestablishment.
12. 
Payment arrangements are limited only to temporary circumstances and, therefore, are limited to two (2) requests per calendar year.
13. 
Continuing requests for payment arrangements will not be accepted. Once payment arrangement options as established above are exhausted, service termination for non-payment/shut off procedures shall result.
14. 
The City reserves the right at any time to extend payment arrangements and/or collect payment through any recognized industry which specializes in debt collection management services.