4.1203 Recovery of Unpaid Charges; Enforcement.
(1) Any charges which are not paid when due may be recovered from the responsible party in an action at law by the City.
(2) Title companies will have access to current outstanding balances on City utility accounts. Since this balance is through the last bill cycle, title companies must contact City Utilities for final bill calculations and proration. Any outstanding balances, including prior accounts the owner is responsible for at the same location, as well as any outstanding amounts such as write offs or amounts turned over to a collection agency plus their fees and penalties, will be included.
(3) Accounts are considered delinquent if they are 60 days past due. Delinquent accounts shall be subject to the following collections procedures:
(a) Sewer and Penalty Fees.
(i) Accounts with delinquent sewer and associated penalties shall receive written notice requesting remittance by the twenty-fifth day of the month, and will include account number, amount in arrears, date payment is due, and balance due, including assessed late penalties.
(ii) Interest will continue to accrue at the current assessed late penalty.
(iii) Should all collection steps fail, the City may enforce the collection of delinquent sewer charges by any means provided by state and local law, and any delinquency may be certified to the Jackson County Department of Assessment and Taxation for collection in the manner provided by State and local law. Thereafter, property owner will be mailed a “Notice of Tax Certification” requesting remittance prior to the date of certification and include account number, amount in arrears, date payment is due, and the administrative fee amount, which is established in the most recent fee schedule approved by resolution of the City Council.
(iv) All accounts with outstanding balances of 90 days or more and that have been properly noticed will result in the unpaid sewer balances, including penalties and administrative fee, certified to the County Tax Assessor to be collected as other taxes are collected.
(b) Other Fees. Delinquent accounts shall be referred to a collection agency after a notice to that effect has been sent by the City to the last known address of the last known responsible party. Such notification shall provide for payment in full to be made within 15 days of the date notification was mailed. Accounts referred to collection shall have the costs for collection and interest added to the delinquent utility balance.
(4) Violation of this section constitutes a violation and shall be punished as provided in Section 1.100. Violations may be enforced on residential accounts with an outstanding balance greater than or equal to $1,000 (including collection fees and penalties) and commercial accounts with an outstanding balance greater than or equal to $2,500 (including collection fees and penalties) or 12 months of nonpayment of monthly utility bills, whichever is greater. Each day that an account remains delinquent constitutes a separate violation.