51.08 Payment of bills.
(A) Generally. Water bills shall be charged on a monthly basis for all customer classes. There shall be no part-time or seasonal service billing rates.
(B) Responsibility.
(1) The customer shall be solely responsible for the payment of all charges and fees prescribed within this subchapter or any succeeding ordinance.
(2) Upon written request of the customer, the city may bill a renter of the customer directly, with the understanding that the owner remains fully responsible for the terms, conditions and prohibitions contained within this subchapter.
(C) Billing cycle – Period.
(1) Billing cycle. Water meters shall be read monthly on or about the twentieth day of each month and shall be the basis for water bills in the next billing period.
(2) Billing period. Water bills shall be mailed to each customer by the first day of each month following the billing cycle. Each water bill shall be due to the city by the twentieth day of the same month of the billing period.
(D) Requirement to pay for actual or estimated water use.
(1) Failure to read a water meter does not relieve a customer’s obligation to pay for actual or estimated water use.
(2) In the event it is impossible or impractical to read a meter during the billing cycle, water bills shall be computed using one of the following methods, at the city’s discretion:
(a) The consumption by the customer for the same month of the preceding year;
(b) The consumption by the customer during the most recent billing period; or
(c) The yearly average for the preceding year.
(E) Past billing errors.
(1) The city will refund or re-bill customers upon the discovery of incorrect billings due to technical, clerical or mechanical errors or omissions. Re-billings and refunds shall be limited to the previous four months.
(2) This policy shall not apply to cases involving customer water theft, diversion, meter tampering or customer damage to city property. Such re-billings shall go back as far as the city determines the infraction(s) began.
(F) Lien for services to multifamily/multi-use buildings and properties.
(1) The city may file a lien for all water charges that are not paid for any multi-family buildings and/or multi-use properties that are either served through a single meter or are billed as a single “use,” when the city, at its option, determines not to shut off service.
(2) Whenever a bill for water service remains unpaid 90 days after it has been rendered, the lien thereby created may be foreclosed in a manner provided for by O.R.S. Ch. 223, or in any other manner provided by law.
(G) Nonpayment of bills.
(1) If water charges are not paid on or before the end of the billing period, an additional charge will be assessed for late payment one day following the due date. A late notice shall be sent by first-class mail to the customer if full payment has not been received within 15 days after the billing period has closed. The late payment charge shall be set by resolution of the City Council.
(a) If full payment of all owed and cumulative water charges to date has not been paid paid within 15 days after the next billing period has closed, a discontinuance of service notice or other notice of water service shutoff will be sent by first-class mail.
(b) If full payment has not been made within five business days of the shutoff notice mailing, a shutoff notice will be posted on the premises of the customer stating that service will be turned off in 24 hours.
(2) Once a service has been turned off under this section, it will not be turned on again until all delinquent and accrued payments have been made in full, in addition to a turn-on fee as set by resolution of the Council.
(H) Fraudulent payment. Service may be discontinued when a fraudulent payment or a NSF payment has been received by the city.
(I) Disconnection.
(1) It is the policy of the city to discontinue utility service to customers by reason of nonpayment of bills only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills.
Any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to a hearing, at which time he or she may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing and may present orally or in writing his or her complaint and contentions to the City Manager. The City Manager shall be authorized to order that the customer’s service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determination of the customer’s complaint.
(2) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due and unpaid for at least 30 days.
(3) When it becomes necessary for the city to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, along with a turn-on charge as set by resolution of the Council. (Ord. 2010-02, passed 06/14/2010; Ord. 2022-01, passed 06/13/2022)