An ordinance amending Ordinance No, 252 regarding the consolidation and amending of water and sewer system billing regulations and water and sewer charges, tap fees, and bulk water rates.
Be it Ordained by the Board of Trustees for the Town of Deer Trail, Colorado, that:
Section 1.
Sections 2 and 3 of Ordinance No. 252, Series of 2016, are amended to read as follows:
Section 2. Water and sewer billing; payment, penalty.
All water sold by the Town shall be metered by meters which shall be installed in accordance with Town standards. Water and sewer users shall pay their water and sewer bills on an actual usage basis, based on the water meter reading for the previous month plus the base charge for the current month. Water meters shall be read on the 25th day of each month, as nearly as possible, and bills shall be mailed on the 1st day of each succeeding month. All bills shall be due on or before the 25th day of the month following the reading of the meter (the “due date”). If the bill is not paid in full on or before thirty (30) days from the due date, a penalty of fifteen dollars ($15.00) shall be added thereto and paid by the user.
Section 3. Delinquent account; disconnection notice, penalty; lien.
- A delinquent account is defined as a bill that remains unpaid for 30 days after the due date after the 25th day of the month following the reading of the meter. Whenever a bill for water services remains unpaid for 30 days after the due date for more than five (5) days adjusted each month to fall within the present billing month following the 25th day of the month following the reading of the meter, the Town Clerk shall send a notice to the user advising him or her that unless the delinquent bill is paid within ten (10) days of the mailing of the notice, his or her water service will be terminated and informing him or her that the Town shall collect interest on the unpaid balance at a rate of one percent (1%) per month. The notice shall also advise the user that he or she has a right to a hearing, before the Board of Trustees, prior to termination of water service; at which hearing the sole issue shall be whether or not the water charges are due and payable and whether or not said charges have been paid. A penalty of ten dollars ($10.00) plus a mailing charge for each shut-off notice mailed shall be assessed. Whether after a hearing before the Board of Trustees or otherwise, the water shall not be turned on again until all delinquent water charges have been paid. A charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be imposed for an actual disconnection and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for a reconnection following a disconnection of water service.
- Each water charge levied shall be a lien therewith, and if the same is not paid within sixty (60) days after it becomes due and payable, in addition to the Town's right to impose charges on delinquent accounts as described in Subsection (A) above and in addition to the Town's right to terminate water service and collect interest as described in Subsection A above, the Town shall have the right to record such lien against the real property in the files of the County Clerk and Recorder, with a ten percent (10%) penalty thereon to defray the cost of collection and with the cost of recording to be paid by the property owner as part of the total amount due.
- Each sewer charge levied, and each sewer tap fee levied shall be a lien therewith, and if the same is not paid within sixty (60) days after it becomes due and payable, the Town shall have the right to record such lien against the real property in the files of County Clerk and Recorder, with a ten percent (10%) penalty thereon to defray the cost of collection and with the cost of recording to be paid by the property owner as
part of the total amount due.
Section 2.
Ordinance No. 252, Series of 2016, remains in full force and effect, except as amended above.
Section 3.
If any section, subsection, or clause of this ordinance shall be deemed to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the remaining sections, subsections, and clauses shall not be affected thereby.
Section 4. Repealer.
All acts, orders, resolutions, ordinances, or parts thereof, of the Town that are inconsistent or in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent only of such inconsistency or conflict.
Section 5. Recording and Authentication.
Immediately upon its passage, this Ordinance shall be recorded in the Town of Deer Trail Book of Ordinances kept for that purpose, authenticated by the signatures of the Mayor and Clerk, shall be published as required by law,
Section 6. Effective Date.
This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after final publication.
Adopted and approved this ___ day of ___ 2016.
Kent Vashus, Mayor
Town of Deer Trail, Colorado
Attest: Wendy Heywood, Town Clerk