[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Vineland 4-11-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-28. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Utilities — See Ch. 687.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DEPLOYMENT
Written military orders directed at military personnel requiring that persons report for active duty to be served outside of the United States and its territories to attain a task or mission for a period in excess of 30 days. Deployment shall not mean pre-deployment post-deployment or training. Deployment shall commence upon physical relocation outside of the United States or its territories.
PRIMARY RESIDENCE
A person's legal residence for purposes of income tax, driver's licenses, or voter registration, among other criteria. A person shall not have more than one primary residence. Other determining factors are one's mailing address and time spent at the residence per year.
VINELAND RESIDENT
A person who maintains the City of Vineland as his/her primary residence.
UTILITY BILLS
Those electric and water utility bills incurred at the primary residence of deployed military personnel.
All members of the military who are deployed as defined herein shall be entitled to a reduction of 5% on their electric bill and 5% on their water bill from the date of physical deployment on a per-month basis for their primary residence only (utilities reduction). Should there be more than one deployed military personnel resident residing at the same primary residence, the utilities reduction shall not be cumulative.
A. 
In order to qualify for the utilities reduction, the Vineland military personnel resident must provide proof that 1) the City of Vineland is his/her primary residence and 2) he/she must provide copies of documentation indicating date of deployment and proof that deployment is outside of the United States or its territories. Upon providing adequate proof in the sole discretion of the Director of Municipal Utilities, the military personnel resident so deployed shall receive a reduction of his/her electric and water bills, prorated from the date of physical deployment for an initial period of not more than 60 days.
B. 
The military personnel resident so deployed shall further execute a certification in the form provided by the City of Vineland that he/she meets the qualifications as set forth herein for said utilities reduction.
C. 
At the expiration of the sixty-day period set forth in Subsection A above, the utilities reduction shall discontinue and full billing shall resume, prorated. The utilities reduction may continue thereafter on a monthly basis, provided the military personnel resident so deployed or a member of his/her immediate family with whom he/she resides executes a certification of continued deployment as defined herein for each month thereafter until the military personnel resident returns from deployment.
D. 
The utilities reduction shall discontinue in the event the electric or water billing payment is more than 30 days delinquent and no repayment agreement has been reached between the Director of the municipal utilities and the military personnel resident or his/her immediate family member with whom he/she resides.
A. 
In the event the electric and/or water billing remains unpaid for the primary residence of the deployed military personnel and during the time of deployment, the City of Vineland shall suspend any and all collection practices as well as any interest charge on the unpaid accounts until the military personnel resident returns to the United States from deployment.
B. 
The military personnel so deployed shall repay the unpaid utility bills incurred during deployment within one year of returning from deployment. In the event unpaid utility bills incurred during deployment are not paid within one year, then all collection practices shall be reinstated, including interest charged on the unpaid utility bills commencing one year from the return from deployment to the United States.
C. 
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the City of Vineland reserves the right to secure the payment of outstanding utility bills by municipal liens.