[Adopted 11-6-1912]
Whenever any water meter bills shall remain unpaid for the space of
60 days after the same shall have become due and payable, the City Treasurer
shall, at the expiration of said 60 days, report all such cases of nonpayment
to the Director of Public Works.
[Amended 8-4-1998; 2-2-1999]
A.
Upon failure of the commercial property owner to pay
the metered water bill within the payment period, a penalty of 2% per month,
compounded, shall be charged for additional months thereafter where the account
is delinquent.
B.
When the commercial property owner fails to pay the metered
water bill within 90 days, the Controller shall send a certified shutoff notice
to the property owner stating that, if the bill is not paid, water service
will be shut off in approximately 30 days by the City Water Meter Department.
The cost of sending these notices and publishing the notices in the newspaper
will be charged to the delinquent user.
(1)
Approximately two weeks before water service is shut
off, the Controller will publish, in the Recorder, the names and addresses
of all commercial property owners who are subject to water service shutoff.
(2)
The Water Meter Department, at the direction of the Controller,
will post a notice of evacuation on all doors at the property subject to water
shutoff at least 72 hours before the water service is shutoff.
(3)
Within 72 hours after water service is shut off, the
Water Meter Department will notify the Controller's office, the Fire
Department and the Department of Public Works of the addresses of any buildings
which have had their water service shutoff.
(4)
The Corporation Counsel will take any appropriate legal
action to recover monies owed to the city for water service provided but not
paid for.
C.
Should the water service be turned off for nonpayment,
a reconnection charge of $20 will be assessed by the Controller against the
commercial property owner and will be due when paying the delinquent water
bill. No water service will be reconnected until all water charges and fees
are paid in full at the Controller's office.
D.
All water bills will be billed to the commercial property
owner. In no case shall the tenant be billed, or held responsible, for any
water service bills incurred at the property. Water service charges are the
responsibility of the property owner.
[Added 2-2-1999]
When the supply of water to any premise or any part thereof is turned
off at the direction of the Controller, no person shall reconnect the water
service without the written permission of the Controller.
Whenever water has been turned off by the Director of Public Works pursuant
to this article for nonpayment of water meter bills, no person shall turn
the same on again unless authorized by such Director of Public Works, and
any person so turning on such water without such permission shall be guilty
of misdemeanor.
