13.15.090 Termination of utility service.
As an additional and concurrent method of enforcing the lien of the town for the charges referred to in CMC 13.15.080(1) and/or (2), the town may elect to enforce said lien by terminating the water service from the premises to which such services were furnished or remove that water meter thereon, after the utility charges become delinquent and unpaid as defined by this chapter. Water service shall remain terminated until all such charges, including penalties and interest thereon together with the charges provided for in the rate schedule, for turning the water off and turning the water on or reinstalling such water meter have been paid in full. Change of ownership or occupancy of premises found delinquent shall not be cause for reducing or eliminating the penalties set forth in this chapter.
Utility services shall be terminated using the following procedure:
(1) Whenever notice of termination is required under this chapter for utility termination, such notice shall inform the customer of his or her right to a hearing, the current phone number and address of Town Hall where a hearing may be requested, the normal business hours to phone in for a hearing, and the time periods involved if the hearing is requested as to utility termination.
(2) If requested by the customer as provided in CMC 13.15.030, a hearing by the mayor or his designee shall be held not more than five business days after receipt of the request from the customer. The customer shall have the right to come to said hearing and present evidence why such utilities should not be terminated.
(3) Any hearing under this chapter shall be conducted during normal business hours, on an informal basis. A record of the hearing, including the date of hearing, who was present, and the findings made as to whether or not the bill was justly owing, and the reasons therefor shall be made in writing. The written finding shall be filed on the town utility system record.
(4) Termination of utility service for accounts delinquent 30 days or less will only take place on weekdays when Town Hall is open the following business day. Delinquent accounts greater than 30 days who failed to follow through on payment arrangements, whose payments have been returned due to insufficient funds, or who have tampered with their meter or lock after being terminated due to delinquent payment may have their service terminated again without further notice. A return payment and/or tampering fee may be assessed and result in further suspension of service.
(5) A service charge shall be applied for both terminating and reactivating service, as specified in CMC 13.10.060. (Ord. 662 § 8, 2022; Ord. 550 § 2, 2012)