[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.
