Sec. 5-15021. Rules and regulations; liens; discontinuance of service.
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Sec. 5-15021. Rules and regulations; liens; discontinuance of service. Rules and regulations governing the maintenance and operation of the waterworks properties, or sewage facilities, or waste management facilities, as the case may be, shall be established from time to time by ordinance, and rates and charges for use and service for all purposes, including charges to connect to such properties or facilities, and which may include the imposition of interest and penalties for failure to make payments when due, except for charges or rates established by contract for a wholesale supply of water as herein authorized shall be established, revised, maintained, be due and payable, and be in force as the county board may determine by separate ordinances, and rates or charges established by the board shall not be subject to any statutory regulations covering rates and charges for similar service by privately owned waterworks, sewage facilities or waste management facilities.
Any ordinance establishing rules and regulations or rates or charges for the use and service shall be published within 30 days after its adoption in a newspaper published and of general circulation in the county, and if there be no such newspaper then such ordinance shall be posted in not less than 10 of the most public places in the county, and shall become effective 10 days after such publication or posting as the case may be.
Rates and charges for the use and service of the county's waterworks properties and sewage facilities (except for rates or charges for a wholesale supply of water or wholesale sewerage service as herein authorized) shall be liens upon the real estate to which water or sewerage service is supplied whenever the rates or charges become delinquent as provided by an ordinance of the county fixing a delinquency date. A lien is created under the preceding sentence only if the county sends to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number,
(i)a copy of each delinquency notice sent to the person who is delinquent in paying the charges or rates or other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners of record, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number, that the charges or rates have become delinquent and
(ii)a notice that unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on the real estate under this Section. The county shall have no preference in any such lien over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor or any lien holder arising prior to the notice of filing of such lien in the office of the recorder of the county in which the real estate is located. This notice shall consist of a statement sworn to by an authorized officer or employee of the county setting out
(1)a description of such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof,
(2)the amount of money due for such water or sewerage service and
(3)the date when such amount became delinquent. The county shall send a copy of the notice of the lien to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number. The county shall have the power to foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.
The payment of rates and charges for water services to any premises may be enforced by discontinuing the water service to such premises, and the payment of charges for sewerage service to any premises may be enforced by discontinuing either the water service or the sewerage service to such premises, or both. Any public or municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State furnishing water service to a premises shall discontinue such service upon receiving written notice from the county that a rate or charge for sewerage service has become delinquent, and shall not resume water service until receiving a like notice that such delinquency has been removed.
The county shall reimburse any such public or municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State for the reasonable cost of any such discontinuance and resumption of water service. The county may contract with any privately owned public utility for the discontinuance of water service to a premises on account of which a rate or charge for sewerage service has become delinquent.