City of Ozawkie Water/Sewer Policy

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CITY OF OZAWKIE POLICY for

Water/Sewer Services

Delinquency/Termination Notices

This act shall apply to all persons, firms, corporations, City Departments, the United States, the State of Kansas and any organizations whose premises are connected or may here-after be connected to the Sanitary Water System and/or the Sanitary Sewer System of the City of Ozawkie, Kansas:

1. DEFINITIONS.

a) Customer. Refers to the utility services account holder of record.

b) Utility Services. Includes both sanitary sewer service and water service.

c) Collection Agent. The City Clerk shall act as the collection agent for water billings for the City.

2. In order that all persons shall be fairly and equitably charged an appropriate fee for goods and services rendered, the City of Ozawkie hereby establishes the following procedures for recording and collecting said fees:

a) Each person shall be billed on a bi-monthly basis after all water meters have been read.

b) Said fees will be based on a schedule posted as the current Addendum of this Ordinance.

c) Said fees will be paid by the end of the month in which the bill is received. (i.e. Jan., March., May., Jul., Sep., & Nov.)

d) Further, the City may refuse service to any location where there is an unpaid balance owing for prior utility service at such location, and may refuse service to any customer who owes an unpaid balance to the City for prior or existing service at any other location.

3. In order to ensure the prompt payment of Water/Sewage Service Fees, the following procedures for service charges, Delinquency Notices and Termination Notices, are hereby established by the City of Ozawkie:

A. A 10% (ten percent) service charge shall be added to any bill in the event full payment of the amount due is not received by the last day of the month in which the billing statement was issued. (The bill will reflect the total amount due in the event timely payment is not received.)

B. Water/Sewer Service may be terminated for failure to make all appropriate payments. No termination shall go into effect until the following conditions have been met.

1. The person(s) responsible for the payment of any bill which is delinquent for at least 10 (ten) days, shall be mailed a “Reminder Notice”

2. The “Reminder Notice” will:

a) Be mailed to the billing address or the last known address of the responsible person.

b) Remind the person that they are 10 (ten) days delinquent.

c) Summarize all fees, service charges, and note that a $10.00 (ten dollar) Delinquency Fee has been attached to compensate for Administrative time:

Water/Sewer Fee ________

10% Late Charge ________

Delinquency Fee ___$10__

Total: ________

d) Advise the person that they have 10 (ten) days to make complete payment.

3. If 10 (ten) days elapses since the Reminder Notice was mailed by the City and payment has not been received, in full or an agreement has not been reached as to a satisfactory payment plan, a Disconnect Notice shall be placed on the door handle of the house of which the utilities are being used.

4. A “Disconnect Notice” will also be sent to the person(s) responsible for payment and will:

a) Contain a statement of the reason for termination of services (i.e. failure to pay).

b) Contain a statement specifying that if payment is not received within ten (10) days or the City Clerk has not been contacted to negotiate a payment plan, services will be disconnected.

SERVICES WILL BE DISCONNECTED ON THE LAST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH OF THE BILLING PERIOD.

C. No service shall resume except upon the complete payment of the following:

1. All Outstanding Fees

2. All Service Charges (10%+)

3. The Reminder Letter Charge ($10.00)

4. A $25.00 (Twenty Five Dollar) “Re-Connect” Fee, which is accrued to compensate for the City Engineer’s time to disconnect and the City Clerk’s time to send out the reminder to pay.

D. If any person shall default on payment, and be disconnected, within a 12 (twelve) month period, a “Re-Connect Fee” of $100.00 (One Hundred Dollars) shall be imposed.

It is not the intent of the City of Ozawkie to cause any hardship for any person, firm, or corporation utilizing the services of the City of Ozawkie.

Although it is recognized that the City of Ozawkie does not have the staff, the experience nor the funds to assist those citizens having difficulty meeting their responsibilities, the City Clerk is directed to make a “good faith” effort in directing such persons to any possible assistance.

It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Ozawkie that its Utilities shall be operated in a manner that reflects good government as well as good business practices. However, the City must balance its obligations to/from paying and non-paying customers, alike. Extremely delinquent customers are not satisfying their community obligations, thus in certain instances, the City may be forced to act to uniformly enforce customer obligations.

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