§ 14.4. Collection Of Municipal Utility Rates And Charges.

(a) The council shall provide by ordinance for the collection of rates and charges for public utility services furnished by the city. When any person fails or refuses to pay to the city any sums due on utility bills, the service upon which such delinquency exists may be discontinued and suit may be brought for the collection thereof.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, the city shall have a lien upon the premises to which utility services are supplied and, for such purposes, shall have all the powers granted to cities by law. The lien shall become effective immediately on the distribution or supplying of utility services to such premises. In each case where a lien to secure the payment of utility charges is not available to the city by operation of law or otherwise, the council shall require that an adequate deposit be made by the person to whom city utility services are furnished, for the purpose of guaranteeing the collection of charges for such utility services.

(c) All unpaid charges for utility services to any such premises, which, on the thirty-first (31st) day of March of each year, have remained unpaid for a period of six (6) months or more, shall be reported to the council by the city manager and the council at the first meeting thereof in the month of April. The council thereupon shall order the publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city of notice that all such unpaid utility charges not paid by the thirtieth (30th) day of April will be spread upon the city’s tax roll against the premises to which such utility services were supplied or furnished, and such charges shall to the extent authorized by law then be spread upon the city’s tax roll and shall be collected in the same manner as the city taxes.