07-28-2025 - Agenda Packet City Council - regular meeting

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00 UTILITIES of extending service to the main, including tap- ping, filling and permanent repair, shall be at the customer's expense. No utility connection permit shall authorize street openings or excava- tions of the roadway surface, curb or gutter, without a permit issued in accordance with chapter 3.04, article IV. (Code 1984, § 3.05(2); Code 2003, § 14-74) Sec. 2.04.250. Discontinuance of service. (a) Grounds for discontinuance. All municipal utilities may be shut off or discontinued whenever it is found that: (1) The owner or occupant of the premises served, or any person working on any connection with the municipal utility systems, has violated any related require- ment of this Code or any connection with the system; (2) Any charge for a municipal utility service, or any other financial obligation imposed on the present owner or occupant of the premises served, is unpaid after due notice; or (3) There is fraud or misrepresentation by the owner or occupant in connection with any application for service or delivery or charges. (b) Notice and procedure. (1) It is city policy to annually certify delinquent utility accounts to the county for collection with the following year's property tax levy. If it is deemed more appropriate to discontinue utility service by reason of nonpayment of bills, it is the policy of the city to discontinue utility service to customers only after notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard on disputed bills. The city's form for application for utility service and all bills shall contain, in addition to the title, address, and telephone number of the official in charge of billing, clearly visible and easily readable provisions to the effect: a. That all bills are due and payable on or before the date set forth on the bill; § 2.04.250 b. That if any bill is not paid by or before that date, a second bill will be mailed containing a cutoff notice that if the bill is not paid within ten days of the mailing of the second bill, service will be discontinued for nonpayment; and C. That any customer disputing the correctness of his or her bill shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may be represented in person and by counsel or any other person of his or her choosing and may present orally or in writing his or her complaint and conten- tions to the city official in charge of utility billing. This official shall be authorized to order that the customer's service not be discontinued and shall have the authority to make a final determina- tion of the customer's complaint. (2) Requests for delays or waiver of payment will not be entertained; only questions of proper and correct billing will be considered. In the absence of payment of the bill rendered or resort to the hearing procedure provided herein, service will be discontinued at the time specified, but in no event until the charges have been due and unpaid for at least 30 days. (3) When it becomes necessary for the city to discontinue utility service to a customer for nonpayment of bills, service will be reinstated only after all bills for service then due have been paid, and must be in accordance with section 2.04.280, as that section may be amended from time to time. (c) Cold weather rule. Pursuant to Minn. Stats. § 216B.097, as it may be amended from time to time, no service of a residential customer shall be disconnected if the disconnection affects the primary heat source for the residential unit when the disconnection would occur during the period between October 1 and April 30, the customer has declared inability to pay on forms provided by the city, the household income of the CD2:7