[Adopted 8-13-1969 as Ch. 4, Art. III, of the 1969 Code
of Ordinances]
Every building within the Village of Scotia
used for human occupancy, whether for dwelling, employment, recreational
or any other purpose, shall be connected with the village water supply.
Applications for water service shall be made
to the Plumbing Inspector. Applications shall be made by the owner
or by a licensed plumber in the name of the owner and shall be accompanied
by the required fee in accordance with the established village fee
schedule.[1]
Water service lines from the village water main
to the building being served, including service curb stops, stop boxes
and meter connections, shall be installed under the direction of the
Plumbing Inspector and maintained in good order by the property owner
or the consumer.
A.
The water service pipe shall be of sufficient size
to furnish an adequate supply of water to meet the requirements of
the premises at peak demand. Water service pipes shall be at least
three-fourths (3/4) inch nominal size, except that where direct supply
flush valves are used at system pressure, such pipe shall be at least
one and one-fourth (1 1/4) inches nominal size.
B.
Service lines shall be laid at sufficient depth to
avoid freezing and shall be maintained in a condition to avoid leaks.
C.
Service lines shall remain open to inspection before
covering. Connection to the main shall be made only by a licensed
plumber under the direction of the Plumbing Inspector.
D.
Any leak developing in the service line before entering
the meter shall be repaired promptly by the property owner of the
premises, and if not repaired promptly, service may he shut off by
order of the Superintendent of Public Works. Alternatively or in addition
to shutting off service, if the property owner, after being given
10 days' written notice of the need of repair to the service line,
fails to make the necessary repairs the Superintendent of Public Works
may cause such service line to be repaired. Such notice may be served
personally or by affixing the notice to the door of the offending
property and mailing by certified mail to the last known address.
Where an emergency shall exist as determined by the Superintendent
of Public Works, the necessary repairs may be made by the village
without notice. The costs and expenses incurred by the village to
make repairs as herein before provided shall constitute a lien and
charge upon the real property affected and may be assessed and levied
upon said real property and collected in the same manner as other
taxes.
[Amended 1-10-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2001]
A separate service connection shall be provided
for each principal building, except that where one building stands
at the rear of another on an interior lot and no service line can
be laid through an adjoining yard, driveway or alley, the service
line to the front building may be extended to the rear building.
Within 30 days after abandonment of any water
service, the service line shall be disconnected at the main and the
connection sealed off by a licensed plumber, at the expense of the
owner of the premises.
All use of water shall be subject to the following
limitations:
A.
Sprinkling. Water may be used for sprinkling purposes
except when prohibited by the Superintendent of Public Works. The
Superintendent may, whenever he deems it advisable, prohibit the use
of water for sprinkling or for any purpose other than household consumption
or he may limit the hours during which water may be so used. He shall
cause a notice to be published in the official newspaper of the village
setting forth the hours during which such limitations or prohibition
shall be effective.
B.
Supply to neighboring premises. No consumer shall
supply water in any manner or through any fixture or devices whatever
to the occupants of neighboring premises of any description except
by special permission, in writing, from the Superintendent.
A.
Metering required. All water furnished to consumers
shall be measured through meters furnished and installed by the village.
Title to the meter shall remain in the village, the fee as established
being the rental for the use of said meter and keeping the same in
repair. The village shall maintain meters in good repair without cost
to the consumer, except such repairs as are made necessary by the
negligence of the consumer.
B.
Testing meters. Upon application therefor, accompanied
by the required fee, any customer to whom water is being furnished
shall be entitled to a test of the meter through which said water
is measured. In the event that such test shows the meter measures
accurately, within the limits established by the United States Bureau
of Standards, such application fee shall be retained by the village;
otherwise the fee shall be returned to the applicant.
C.
Meter reading.
[Amended 9-26-2007 by L.L. No. 8-2007; 4-8-2009 by L.L. No.
4-2009]
(1)
Meters
used for measuring the quantity of water taken by consumers shall
be read and recorded by the Village at regular intervals for the purpose
of determining the amount of the water and sewer service bills.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection C(2), concerning what
occurs if the Village does not obtain or receive a meter reading and
which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 2-12-2014
by L.L. No. 1-2014.
A.
The Board of Trustees shall adopt a schedule of water
and sewer rates, fees and charges to be made to users of such services
supplied by the Village. Annual rates, to be effective July 1, 2023,
shall be as set forth in Schedule A, attached hereto and made a part
hereof.[1]
[Amended 6-11-1997 by L.L. No. 4-1997; 5-12-2004 by L.L. 7-2004; 6-28-2006 by L.L. No.
2-2006; 6-11-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008; 6-12-2019 by L.L. No. 2-2019; 6-10-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020; 6-9-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2021; 6-14-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule A is on file in the
office of the Village Clerk, where it is available for examination
during regular office hours.
B.
The Board of Trustees shall determine and fix the
annual collection period for water and sewer rents within the village.
Such annual collection period shall be established by resolution and
may, from time to time, be amended by Board resolution,[2] as may be deemed advisable by said Village Board of Trustees.
[Added 7-9-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
[2]
Editor's Note: The current resolutions are
on file in the office of the Village Clerk-Treasurer.
A.
Combined billing. Water customers who also have a
connection to the village sewer system shall be charged for water
and sewer services in one combined bill. The Village Clerk-Treasurer
shall mail bills to all water and sewer customers on or before the
established due dates.
B.
Domestic customers. Bills for customers who use water
solely for domestic purposes shall be computed for semiannual periods
beginning on January 1 of each year from meter readings taken biannually
in June and December and shall be billed on a semiannual basis on
February 1 and October 1 of each year.
[Amended 2-12-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014; 6-14-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
C.
Commercial customers. Bills for commercial customers
who use water for any purpose other than domestic purposes shall be
computed for periods as established by resolution of the Board of
Trustees.
D.
Payments.
Bills must be paid in full; partial payment of a bill is not allowed.
The bill includes use charges along with any penalties, fees and/or
administrative charges.
[Added 1-11-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]
A.
Water and sewer bills remaining unpaid 30 days after
the due date thereof shall become overdue bills. Water and sewer bills
which become due and payable on the first day of February of each
year and which remain unpaid on March 1 and all water and sewer rents
which become due and payable on October 1 of each year and which remain
unpaid on November 1 shall be overdue.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
B.
Penalty charges equal to 5% of the unpaid balance
shall be added to all such bills when they become overdue, and an
additional 1/2 of 1% shall be added for each month they remain unpaid.
A.
All overdue bills for water and sewer service remaining
unpaid 30 days after becoming overdue shall become delinquent bills.
B.
On or before May 1 of each year, the Village Clerk-Treasurer
shall certify to the Board of Trustees a complete listing of all delinquent
water and sewer bills, including penalty interest charges figured
to the first day of the next following July.
C.
The listing shall identify the real property to which
the service was furnished and the name of the owner thereof, and all
such amounts remaining unpaid on said July 1 may be added to his annual
property tax by the Board of Trustees and shall be collected in the
same manner and subject to the same rules, penalties and charges as
apply to the collection of the general village tax.
[Amended 4-8-2009 by L.L. No. 4-2009]
A.
In addition
to other means of enforcing this article, the Board of Trustees may
order that the supply of water be shut off and service discontinued
for violation of this article, including but not limited to delinquency
in the payment of bills.
B.
Before
such service shall be discontinued, written notice shall be mailed
to the consumer at least 15 days prior to the shutoff day.
C.
At the
expiration of the period of notice, it shall be the duty of the Superintendent
of Public Works to have the water supply shut off forthwith, unless
such bills have been paid in full.
D.
In the
case of consumers outside the corporate limits of the Village, the
above action to shut off the water supply to delinquent customers
shall be mandatory.
[Added 10-13-1993 by L.L. No. 4-1993; amended 4-8-2009 by L.L. No. 4-2009]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any
provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable
by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
15 days, or both.
