[CC 2001 §13.04.005; Ord. No. 2002-03 §1, 2-12-2002]
Owner And Occupant Jointly And Severally Liable For Water, Sewage Systems And Trash Collection. The occupant and user of the premises receiving sanitary sewage services, trash collection or water and sewage services combined and the owner of such premises shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for such services rendered on the premises. The City shall have the power to terminate water and sewer services or to sue the occupant or owner, or both, of the real estate in a civil action to recover any sum due for services plus a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court and/or discontinue utility services to the property until payment is made.
[CC 2001 §13.04.010; Ord. No. 2005-06 §1, 5-10-2005; Ord. No. 2008-28 §1, 10-14-2008; Ord. No. 201845, 12-10-2018]
A. 
Generally.
1. 
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to obtain a water service connection from the municipal distribution system shall make application therefore on forms furnished by the City Water Department, and the application must be approved by the Superintendent of the City Water Department or his/her office.
2. 
The service connection shall include the tap, installing the corporation stop at the water main, the tubing or pipe to the meter, the meter and box and shutoffs and appurtenances thereto. The meter box shall be installed by the City Water Department and located at the curb or inside the property line at such point as shall be suitable to the City, providing a water main is located in the street adjacent to the property, but the expense of installation shall be paid by the property owner. Installation charges for service connections shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00) plus the cost of material. No service connection shall be smaller than three-fourths (¾) inch.
3. 
After installation, the service and meter shall become the property of the City and shall be maintained by the City Water Department; provided, however, the meter and service shall remain with the property and no tenant or subsequent owner shall be charged or billed for the replacement or repair of the meter or service after the date of completion of the installation. The property owner or tenant shall never be required to pay for the cost of repair or replacement of the meter, except in cases of abuse or extreme neglect.
4. 
Any consumer or property owner desiring to alter or change a service line or lines from the City water mains into his/her premises must first make a written application on the form furnished by the City Water Department stating fully the purpose for which the alteration or change is desired. Any such alterations shall be made by the City Water Department at the expense of the consumer or property owner.
B. 
Materials. All existing pipe, fittings, connections, valves or appurtenances allowed to be used in new service connections, regardless of the size of the service shall be constructed of approved materials. Approved materials shall include, but are not limited to, asphalt, concrete, gravel and all necessary materials to repair street repair, where applicable. Approval of materials shall be made by the City Water Department based on current recognized plumbing codes and State and Federal laws and regulations.
[Ord. No. 201204 §§1 — 5, 9-10-2012]
A. 
City utilities such as water, sewer and solid waste collection are no longer offered to property outside the City limits of Bonne Terre.
B. 
Those properties outside the City limits that have City services shall remain on the system(s). However, if the property changes ownership, the existing water and sewer services may remain but solid waste (trash) shall not be offered for that address.
C. 
Any sewer services outside the corporate limits of the City of Bonne Terre not being used or not in service for whatever reason shall not be reconnected to City sewer after the passage of this Section. Furthermore, any sewer that requires a pumping station must be approved by MoDNR and the City Code Enforcement Officer.
D. 
Those properties allowed to remain on the City of Bonne Terre utility system shall not be allowed to connect any other structure(s) to the system.
E. 
Violation of this Section shall be punishable by fine and/or imprisonment based on the decision of the court.
[CC 2001 §13.04.020; Ord. No. 2007-07 §§1 — 2, 3-6-2007; Ord. No. 201403 §2, 5-12-2014; Ord. No. 201508, 7-7-2015; Ord. No. 201509, 9-14-2015; Ord. No. 201822, 6-11-2018]
A. 
The commencement of water service to any water customer shall not start for any property until the water customer has paid all delinquent fees, bills, liens or charges of any type owed to the City by the water customer.
B. 
In the event a water service bill is not paid in full within twenty (20) days from the billing date, interest at the rate of one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) will be charged on the unpaid balance as of the cash cutoff date of the bill and continue to be charged each month thereafter until all overdue insufficient funds are otherwise provided for by City ordinance.
C. 
In the event a water customer has an unpaid balance on a water service account within twenty (20) days from the billing date, the water service account is deemed delinquent.
D. 
If a water customer fails to pay the bill in full or make other arrangements with the City Clerk within the six (6) days following the account being deemed delinquent, the City's Department of Public Works will forthwith discontinue water service to that water customer, and the bill may be specially assessed against the real property and become a lien thereon placed on the tax roll.
E. 
If a water service account is deemed delinquent, that water customer, prior to the expiration of the six (6) days following the account being deemed delinquent, can request the City Clerk to consider an installment payment plan to allow the water customer to make partial payments over a specific period of time of the overdue account. Along with those partial payments as determined by the City Clerk, the water customer must pay in full each succeeding monthly water service bill. In exercising his/her discretion, the City Clerk may consider the water customer's account history and/or general credit history of the water customer in determining whether to allow an installment payment plan and, if so, the terms of that plan.
F. 
At the time of the discontinuance and shutoff of the water service to a water customer as set forth in this Section, a final reading of the meter of such water customer shall be made, and that reading shall be certified by the Chief Operator. The Chief Operator shall determine the full amount due to the City for water consumed by the water customer up to the time of the discontinuance of water service and shall have the City Clerk apply any deposit on hand against the amount. If the deposit on hand exceeds the total amount of the final bill for water service, the balance thereof shall be transmitted to the water customer. If the deposit on hand shall be insufficient to pay the full amount of the total billing, the Chief Operator shall have the City Clerk render a final bill for the balance due to the water customer and also transfer the account to the City Attorney for collection, designate a collection firm for further action and collection and/or the County to be added to the property tax rolls as a lien against the property. At the time of the transmission to the water customer of either a refund of excess deposit or a final billing for an additional amount due and owing over and above any deposit on hand, the Chief Operator shall set forth all pertinent details as to the amount of water consumed which was used to determine the final billing. The failure on the part of the water customer to receive the notice as set forth in this Section shall be no reason, excuse or justification for the failure to pay the bill as required or to prevent the discontinuance and shutoff of the water service as set forth herein.
G. 
When any service to a water customer has been discontinued, it shall not be resumed for that water customer at the same or any other address until a deposit of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00) is paid, all unpaid bills are paid as set forth herein and a fee for the cost of discontinuance, reconnection and turn-on of the service during normal working hours in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall have been paid. No partial payment shall be accepted.
H. 
After Hours Water Service Call Outs. A fee of thirty dollars ($30.00) may be charged if a service call is made after hours due to customer neglect. Other after hours call outs will be at the discretion of the Chief Water Operator.
[Ord. No. 201012 §1, 9-13-2010; Ord. No. 201517, 12-14-2015; Ord. No. 201823, 7-16-2018]
A. 
New water service customers/consumers, including those customers which are establishing a new location of water service or change of name from a previous account, shall be required to deposit with the Water Department an amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). This deposit shall be applied to the final bill when service is terminated for any reason and is not transferable. In the case of services being terminated for non-payment, the deposit will be forfeited, inasmuch as the deposit amount is applied to the delinquent bill, and a new deposit will be required before service can be resumed. If one (1) customer is responsible for multiple accounts, one (1) deposit only will be required. If the new account is for customers/consumers that are renting, leasing, and/or occupying the new location at which water service is being requested, but is not the property owner of the premises, the applicant shall be required to produce a valid current written rental/lease agreement, which identifies the property owner, including the owners name and contact information.
B. 
For all water service customers/consumer that are deed owners, who occupy the property at which services are provided, and are not renters of said property, their deposit shall be refunded after one (1) year of good credit. "Good credit" shall mean that the customer/consumer shall not have been in arrears during the preceding year. Any new residential customer/consumer that can establish that he or she had a previous service account with the City Water Department for a period of at least twenty-four (24) months immediately preceding the customer's/consumer's application for which all undisputed charges were satisfactorily paid shall not be required to make the above deposit.
C. 
All deposits shall be collected and deposited in the Bonne Terre Water Department's general operating account. The deposit shall not earn nor shall the City be liable to pay interest on any deposit amount.
[CC 2001 §13.04.025; Ord. No. 2006-11 §§1 — 2, 9-26-2006]
A. 
Any consumer who has a dispute as to the correctness or other conditions of their account so rendered, after paying the account in full as hereinbefore provided, may make written objection thereto within thirty (30) days of the date their account is rendered, to the utility Billing Department, and upon such written objection being made the City Administrator shall order an investigation of said customer's dispute including, if necessary, an on-site investigation. The City Administrator shall determine the validity of the objection(s) and notify said customer of his/her determination in writing within ten (10) days of the date a written objection(s) is filed. In such instance the decision of the City Administrator shall be final and no further appeal shall be granted.
B. 
In addition, refunds determined valid shall be credited to the customer within the next billing period.
[CC 2001 §13.04.030; Ord. No. 12.20 §§1 — 3, 5-25-1999; Ord. No. 201917, 5-13-2019]
It is unlawful for any person or entity or their agents thereof to connect to any water hydrant in this City without the consent of the Fire Chief of the City, excepting, however, those uses that are needed for an emergency.