[Adopted by Ord. No. 805 (Sec. 17-23 of the 1997 Revised General Ordinances); amended in
its entirety by Ord. No. 1078-96]
[Amended by Ord. No. 1109-97]
Water and sewer usage charges based on meter readings shall
be billed in arrears and shall also be payable within 20 days after
the date of billings from the utility.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1109-97; Ord. No. 1147-98; 10-19-2010 by Ord. No. 216-2010]
All bills shall be payable within 20 calendar days of the date
of the bill. Any bill not paid within the twenty-calendar-day period
shall be subject to payment of interest at the rate of 8 percent per
annum on the first $1,500 of delinquency, and 18 percent per annum
on any amount in excess of $1,500, to be calculated from the date
of the delinquency to the actual date of receipt. Failure to pay any
bill within 45 calendar days of the date of the bill, including interest,
shall be cause to terminate service in accordance with the following
rules and procedures:
A.
A notice shall be sent to any delinquent account with a balance greater
than $20, on the working day closest to the 10th calendar day of delinquency,
stating the balance due plus interest calculated to the date established
for termination of service. The notice shall assess a charge of $5
as cost of the notification, and will state that a charge of $50 will
be imposed as the cost of shutoff. The notice shall also state the
actual date of termination.
B.
If water service is terminated, it shall not be restored until complete
payment is received of all delinquencies, interest and charges, including
the notification charge of $5, the shutoff charge of $50, plus a turn-on
fee of 10 percent of the unpaid principal water and sewer charges
due, but not less than $75 is received.
C.
Any account whose unpaid principal balance due equals the minimum charge for water and sewer only will not be subject to actual shutoff for the current billing period. Failure to pay timely all charges due for two consecutive billing periods will be cause to terminate service as noted in Subsections A and B above.
D.
In addition to the termination of service, a lien for the bill owed,
together with interest, penalties and costs, shall be placed upon
the premises involved in accordance with law, and shall be collected
in the method and manner established by law.
E.
One-time waiver of penalty. The City's Chief Financial Officer shall
have the discretion to waive on one and only one instance at the customer's
request the notice fee ($5) assessed against the customer's water
and/or sewer bill in accordance with this article. The application
for such a waiver shall be on a form prescribed by the Chief Financial
Officer and shall set forth the good-faith reasons upon which the
customer seeks waiver of the penalty. If the Chief Financial Officer
is satisfied that good cause exists and exercises his discretion to
waive the penalty, the Chief Financial Officer shall make the appropriate
notation in the customer's file and shall not thereafter consider
any request for a waiver of penalties made by such customer.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1109-97; 10-19-2010 by Ord. No. 216-2010]
The following fees shall be charged as indicated:
[Amended by Ord. No. 1258-2002; 4-18-2005 by Ord. No. 26-2005; 10-18-2005 by Ord.
No. 47-2005; 10-19-2010 by Ord. No. 216-2010]
A.
If the consumer receives an unusually high bill as the result of
a broken water line or malfunctioning equipment, and the consumer
can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Water/Sewer
that none of the water resulting from the leak entered the Sanitary
Sewer System, the sewer portion of the bill may be adjusted based
on the average water usage for the same time period in the immediately
preceding three years, or the minimum charge for sewer, whichever
is greater.
B.
If the consumer receives an unusually high water bill as the result
of a leaking toilet or faucet, the sewer portion of the bill may be
adjusted to an amount equal to the cost charged by the Cape May County
Municipal Utilities Authority ("CMCMUA") to the City of Cape May for
wastewater treatment. In such cases, the consumer will be charged
an Excess Sewer Rate based on the annual CMCMUA fee assessed to the
Water and Sewer Utility divided by the total water consumed by City
of Cape May customers in the prior year (i.e., 2010 CMCMUA fee $2,459,080.00
divided by 2009 water consumption 220,239,000 = $11.17 per 1,000 gallons).
The cost for the sewer shall be determined annually, following a review
by the Superintendent of the CMCMUA, CMCMUA User Charge System, Rate
Setting Report, issued by the CMCMUA.
C.
There shall be no adjustment to the water portion of the bill resulting
from a leak caused by a broken water pipe, malfunctioning equipment,
leaking toilet or faucet.
D.
In order to obtain such an adjustment, the following procedure shall
be followed:
(1)
A written request for an adjustment shall be filed with the Superintendent
of the Water and Sewer Utility. Such request shall be filed on forms
prescribed by the City.
(2)
Such written request shall be filed not later than 45 days after
the date when the consumer first knew of the catastrophic occurrence,
but in no event later than 30 days following receipt of the first
bill in the succeeding year. Any application for an adjustment filed
beyond such time shall not be considered. This shall not apply to
any claim for adjustment which is pending as of April 1, 1990, although
the Superintendent, in his discretion, may require all such claimants
to comply with the procedures set forth in this section.
(3)
Such application for an adjustment shall be accompanied by an affidavit
from a licensed plumber or other person making the repairs certifying
as to the nature of the malfunction, the date or dates on which it
occurred, the duration thereof, the date and nature of all repairs
made to correct such malfunction, and an itemized invoice detailing
the nature of the services performed and the dates thereof.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The form for the Affidavit from the Licensed Plumber is included as an attachment to this chapter.
(4)
Such application for adjustment shall also have attached thereto
legible copies of invoices or receipts for the services of any plumber
or other repairman, if any, as well as legible copies of invoices
or receipts for any repair or replacement of the malfunctioning equipment.
(5)
Such application for adjustment shall also be accompanied by the
written consent of the owner(s) and occupant(s) of the premises in
question granting permission to the City of Cape May and its duly
appointed agents or representatives to enter upon the property to
make such inspection or inspections as is deemed necessary or expedient
by the City of Cape May in order to investigate the claim for adjustment.
E.
Installment payments for unusually large bills; procedure.
(1)
Consumers faced with an unusually large bill may seek to pay a portion
of such bill in installment payments. Any such installment payment
plan must be in strict conformance with the provisions of this subsection.
(2)
A bill shall be deemed to be unusually large if the water consumption
on the subject bill exceeds the water consumption on the bill for
the same period in the immediately preceding year by 50 percent or
more.
(3)
Consumers facing an unusually large bill may request in writing that
an installment payment plan be set up to satisfy the account. Such
written request shall be filed with the Superintendent not later than
45 days after the date when the consumer first knew of the unusually
large bill, but in no event later than 30 days prior to the scheduled
shutoff date. Any application for an installment payment plan filed
beyond such time shall not be considered. Such written request shall:
(a)
Be accompanied by an affidavit from a licensed plumber or other
person making repairs certifying as to the nature of the malfunction,
the date or dates on which it occurred, the duration thereof, the
date and nature of all repairs made to correct such malfunction, and
an itemized invoice detailing the nature of the services performed
and the dates thereof; and
(b)
Have attached thereto legible copies of invoices or receipts
for the services of any plumber or other repairman, if any, for any
repair or replacement of the malfunctioning equipment.
(4)
Any consumer applying for an installment payment plan pursuant to
this subsection must pay that portion of the current balance representing
the consumption of water equal to 150 percent of the consumption for
the same billing period in the prior year, along with their written
request for an installment plan as to the remaining balance.
(5)
All outstanding charges must be paid in equal monthly installments,
not to exceed 12 months, commencing on the first day of the second
month after the request for an installment plan is made. Interest
shall accrue on any balance subject to an installment plan at the
rate established by this chapter for delinquent payments until the
balance due under the installment plan is satisfied in full.
(6)
If any scheduled payment is not received by the City on or before the due date, the entire remaining balance shall be due and payable immediately, and the City shall terminate service pursuant to the requirements of Section 510-30 of this article. The City is not responsible for delays caused by mailing of a payment, nor is the postmark considered the date of payment.
(7)
No consumer shall be permitted to make installment payments on unusually
large bills pursuant to a plan established pursuant to this subsection
more than once in any five-year period unless such further installment
payment plan is approved by Council, which approval shall be granted
or withheld in Council's sole discretion.
F.
Installment payments for water bills other than those classified
as unusually large; procedure.
(1)
Any consumer may request a thirty-day extension of time within which
to pay a water bill. All such requests must be made in writing in
a letter format proposing the manner of payment (i.e., dates and amounts),
and must be addressed to the Superintendent on or before the seventh
calendar day after the original due date of the water bill.
(2)
All requests for an extension of time must be accompanied by a payment
of at least 40 percent of the balance due.
(3)
Any remaining balance due during the extension period shall be paid
in two equal installments. The first installment shall be due no later
than the 15th day of the extension period. The remaining installment
payment shall be due no later than the 30th day of the extension period.
(4)
No extension of greater than 30 days beyond the scheduled date for
termination of service for nonpayment shall be granted.
(5)
Interest shall continue to accrue at the rate set forth in this chapter
for delinquent payments and shall be payable in full with the second
installment.
(6)
Only one request for an extension of time to pay a delinquent utility
bill may be made in one calendar year.
(7)
All installment payments must be received by the date due. The failure
of the consumer to make any required installment payment during the
extension period will be cause for immediate termination of service
without further notice. The City is not responsible for delays caused
by mailing of a payment, nor is the postmark considered the date of
payment.
[Amended 10-7-2014 by Ord. No. 284-2014]
The Superintendent shall render a decision on all such applications
within 45 days of the filing of a complete application for adjustment
unless additional time is required for investigation, in which case
the time period shall be extended for an additional 45 days. Upon
being satisfied of the existence of such catastrophic occurrence,
as defined herein, the Superintendent may make an adjustment in the
water bill; provided, however, that such adjustment shall not reduce
the bill below the average bill of the same quarter in the three previous
years. Any adjustment in the bill that will result in a cancellation
of charges amounting to $1,500 or more shall require the approval
of City Council by resolution. In the event that more than one adjustment
is required in any twelve-month period, any second or subsequent adjustment
shall require the approval of City Council notwithstanding the amount
of such adjustment.
The City Council is hereby authorized to adopt rules and regulations
concerning billing and rates as well as any matter related thereto.
Such rules and regulations shall be adopted by resolution of the City
Council which may thereafter be repealed, amended or supplemented.
