§ 62-30. Payment of water bills.

(a)

Water bills are sent monthly and payment is due by the tenth day of the month in which the user receives the bill for the prior month's service. If a bill is not paid by the 25th day of the month in which it is received, the account shall be deemed delinquent and a fee imposed in the amount as prescribed by resolution the city council in accordance with section 1-16.

(b)

If any account, including any late fee, is not paid in full within 35 days of its due date, the city may discontinue water service to the premises and/or proceed with any lawful collection remedy.

(c)

The owner of the premises served shall be responsible to the city for the payment of all water charges arising out of the provision of such services to the owner's property. Such liability shall be joint and several with that of the occupant and shall not relieve the occupant from his/her obligation of payment for services when the occupant is different from the owner.

(d)

All water charges prescribed by this article, together with interest, penalty and reasonable costs of collection, including attorneys fees, shall constitute a perpetual and continuing lien upon the property to which water or wastewater services are provided. The penalty and interest shall be assessed at a rate equivalent to that which is assessed by state law upon delinquent general property taxes. Such lien shall have priority over all other liens except general taxes and shall, upon the city's certification and filing with Adams County, be collected and paid to the city by the county treasurer in the same manner as delinquent general property taxes.

(e)

For individually owned properties within multi-family residential structures and/or multi-unit commercial structures to which water is furnished by means other than by metering the consumption of each individually owned unit, the lien for unpaid water and wastewater service charges, interest, and costs imposed by this section attaches upon each unit in an amount computed by dividing the total amount of the lien by the number of units served through the master meter.

(f)

The city may enforce the lien against the property, or the personal property of the owner and occupant, or both.

(Code 1985, § 9-2-11; Ord. No. 04-05, §§ 1, 2, 5-4-2004; Ord. No. 10-12, § 1, 9-7-2010)