(a)   No prepayment required. Those individuals with a history of no late payments in the last 12 billing cycles of their municipal utility account would be considered in “good standing” and would not require advance payment.

(b)   Three months prepayment required. Those individuals with a history of disconnection of service and or delinquent accounts of their municipal utility account would be required to pay in advance the value of their estimated first bill, plus two additional billing cycles, including any taxes, fees, and one time charges. This deposit not to exceed $600.

(c)   Two hundred dollar deposit required. Where the individual has no previous account history or credit established, a cash deposit for utility service shall be $200.

(d)   Information. City of Oberlin Municipal Utility customers shall provide their full name, current address, phone number, date of birth, driver’s license number, and social security number upon registering for services. Said information shall be kept confidential and only be used in the regular course of the City of Oberlin Municipal Utility Office business services. Applicants that do not own the home or building that is to receive service must acquire written approval from the landlord before the City of Oberlin Municipal Utility Department will perform the installation. Residential Utility applicant is required to provide the names of all adults, eighteen years or older, residing at the said residence.

(e)   Disposition of deposits. In the event that utility service shall be disconnected or discontinued for failure to pay any bill due the city for such utility, such cash deposit shall be applied as a credit against all amounts due from the customer to the city, and if there shall remain any surplus of such deposit, the same shall be returned to the customer.

(f)   Governance. Deposits collected pursuant to this section shall be governed by the provisions of K.S.A. 12-822 as amended.

(g)   Deposits. Deposits will be returned upon a showing that there are 12 consecutive months of good payment history, which is defined as having been paid in full each month with no returned checks or payments and no late fees.

(h)   Credit scores. No policy shall be enforced that allows the use of a credit score to benefit or penalize an individual based upon that score.

(i)    Proration. Electrical demand, water base, sewer, and trash charges may be prorated to reflect the timeframe these services are being used.

(Prior Code § 17-101; Ord. 880; Ord. 916)

(a)   It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, other than a duly authorized city official or employee, to turn utilities on or off at any location in any manner, without first obtaining written permission from the city.

(b)   It shall be unlawful for any person except authorized employees of the city to break the seal of any utility meter, to alter the register or mechanism of any meter, or to make any outlet or connection in any manner so that utilities supplied by the city may be used without being metered and/or paid for.

(c)   In addition to any criminal penalties which have been heretofore provided for, a fee of $500 shall be charged to the occupant and/or owner of the property where any of the actions outlined in subsections (a) or (b) above have occurred, regardless of who has tampered with the utility connection. No city utilities shall be restored to the location until the fee is paid and no utilities shall be provided to the person, firm or corporation that either occupies the location where the tempering occurred or at any other location until the fee is paid.

(Prior Code § 17-102; Ord. 862)

(a)   Bill; payable. All bills for furnishing utilities by the city shall become due and payable on the first day of each month. If payment is not received by the fifteenth of the month, 5% of the amount owed shall be added to the amount originally payable; and, unless such bills are paid on or before the fifteenth day of each month, service shall be discontinued as provided herein. All bills are payable to the City Clerk’s office. No monies are to be collected by the Electric Department or other city staff.

(b)   Notice; hearing.

(1)   A delinquency and termination notice shall be issued by the City Clerk on or after the sixteenth day of the month when the account has not been paid. It shall be mailed to the customer at their last known address.

(2)   The notice shall state:

(A)  The amount due, plus late payment charge;

(B)  Notice that service will be terminated if the amount sue is not paid within seven days from the date of the notice;

(C)  Notice that the customer has the right to a hearing before the governing body prior to services being terminated;

(D)  Notice that the request for a hearing must be in writing and filed with the City Clerk not later than the date proposed for termination of service.

(3)   Upon receipt of a request for hearing, the City Clerk shall advise the customer of the date, time and place of the hearing which shall be held at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. At the hearing, the City Council may extend the date for payment and extend the time of termination of service for good cause shown.

(Prior Code § 17-205:206; Ord. 825; Ord. 828; Ord. 837)

No connections or attachments of service to new residential dwellings or new commercial buildings shall be made by a city utility until such utility has received a certificate of compliance from the owner that the residential dwelling or commercial building meets the standards set forth herein. Such certificate of compliance shall include supporting statements from the architect and/or contractor, if either or both such persons were employed in the design and construction of the new residential dwelling or new commercial building. Receipt by the city utility of such certificate of compliance shall be required for permanent utility service.

(Prior Code § 17-211)

In addition to all other charges levied by the city for utilities, the city shall charge an additional $6.00 per month on each utility billing within the city limits which shall be deposited in the Gateway Fund for operations of the Gateway Civic Center, excluding accounts classified as the following: Churches, Governmental Units, Hospitals and Nursing Homes, and Public Schools.

(Ord. 932; Ord. 948; Code 2024)