Del Mar Municipal Code Ch. 21.24 Administrative Enforcement

A. The City Manager may revoke or suspend a permit issued to any permittee in the event of a violation by the permittee of any provision of any of the rules and regulations adopted in the manner provided for herein.

B. In accordance with the procedures in this Chapter, the City Manager may terminate service and disconnect from the public water system any connection that is connected or used without a required permit; or constructed, connected or used contrary to any of the provisions of any applicable state, federal or local law or this Code, or the rules and regulations adopted for herein.

C. When a premise has been disconnected, it shall not be reconnected until the violation for which it was disconnected has ceased or has been remedied and a reasonable charge for such disconnection and reconnection, as established by the City Manager, has been paid.

(Ord. No. 472)

A. No earlier than 19 days following the date of mailing of the City's bill for services and before termination or disconnection of service, the City Manager shall cause to be mailed a Notice of Termination to the customer to whom the service is billed, and if there is no customer, then to the owner of the premises. The Notice of Termination shall be mailed, postage prepaid at least 15 days prior to the scheduled day of termination.

B. At least 48 hours prior to any termination of service, the City Manager shall cause to be made a reasonable good faith effort to contact by telephone or in person an adult person residing at the premises to be disconnected to provide a second Notice of Termination.

C. A Notice of Termination shall contain:

1. The customer of record's name and address;

2. The amount of the delinquency;

3. The date by which payment or arrangements for payment is required in order to avoid termination;

4. The procedure by which the customer may initiate a complaint or request an investigation concerning service or charges, except unless the bill for service contains a description of that procedure;

5. The procedure by which the customer may request amortization of the unpaid charges;

6. The procedure for the customer to obtain information on the availability for financial assistance, including private, local, state or federal sources, if applicable; and

7. The telephone number of the City Manager who can provide additional information or institute arrangements for payment.

A. The City shall not terminate residential service for nonpayment in any of the following situations:

1. During the pendency of an investigation by the City of a customer dispute or complaint;

2. When a customer has been granted an extension of the period for payment of a bill; or

3. On the certification of a licensed physician and surgeon that to do so will be life threatening to the customer, and the customer is financially unable to pay for service within the normal payment period and is willing to enter into an amortization agreement with the City pursuant to this Chapter with respect to all charges that the customer is unable to pay prior to delinquency.

B. The City shall not, by reason of delinquency in payment for service, cause cessation of the service on any Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or at any time during which the business offices of the City are not open to the public.

A. For termination of nonpayment of master-metered residential units where the owner, manager or management company is listed by the City as the customer of record, the City shall make every good faith effort to inform the actual users of the services, when the account is in arrears, by means of a notice that such users have the right to become customers of the City without being required to pay the amount due on the delinquent account.

B. The City is not required to make service available to the actual users unless each actual user agrees to the terms and conditions of service, and meets the requirements of the City's rules and tariffs. However, if one or more actual users are willing and able to assume responsibility for the entire account to the satisfaction of the City of selectively terminating service to those actual users who have not met the requirements of the City's rules and tariffs, the City shall make service available to the actual users who have met those requirements.

C. Where prior service for a period of time is a condition for establishing credit with the City, residence and proof of prompt payment of rent for that period of time is a satisfactory equivalent.

D. Any actual user who becomes a customer of the City pursuant to this Section whose periodic payments, such as rental payments, include charges for residential sewer service, where these charges are not separately stated, may deduct from the periodic payment for each payment period all reasonable charges paid to the City for those services during the preceding payment period.

A. Any residential customer who has initiated a complaint or requested an investigation within five working days of receiving the disputed bill, or who has, within 13 days of mailing of the Notice of Termination, made a request for amortization of the payment period of a bill asserted to be beyond the means of the customer to pay in full during the normal period for payment, shall be given an opportunity to have the City Manager review the complaint, the investigation, or the customer's request. The review shall include consideration of whether the customer shall be permitted to amortize the unpaid balance of the account over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months.

B. Any customer whose complaint or request for an investigation pursuant to Subsection A. of this Section has resulted in an adverse determination to the Board.

A. Any customer meeting the requirements of this Chapter shall, upon the customer's request, be permitted to amortize, over a period not to exceed 12 months, the unpaid balance of any bill asserted to be beyond the means of the customer to pay within the normal period for payment.

B. No termination of service shall be effected for any customer complying with an amortization agreement, if the customer also keeps the account current as charges accrue in each subsequent billing period.

C. If a residential customer fails to comply with an amortization agreement, the City shall not terminate service without first giving written notice to the customer, at least 48 hours prior to termination, which identifies the conditions which the customer is required to meet to avoid termination. The customer is not entitled to further investigation by the City.