§ 11-141-16 — Powers; particular locality

If after the public hearing the corporate authorities of the municipality adopt a resolution to proceed with the construction or acquisition of the project, the corporate authorities may make and enforce all needful rules and regulations in connection with the construction, acquisition, improvement, or extension, and with the management and maintenance of the project to be constructed or acquired. The corporate authorities also may establish the rate or charge to each user of the sewerage system or improvement or extension at a rate which will be sufficient to pay the principal and interest of any bonds, issued to pay the cost thereof, maintenance, and operation of the system, improvement, or extension and may provide an adequate depreciation fund therefor. Charges or rates shall be established, revised, and maintained by ordinance and become payable as the corporate authorities may determine by ordinance. Such charges or rates are liens upon the real estate upon or for which sewerage service is supplied whenever the charges or rates become delinquent as provided by the ordinance of the municipality fixing a delinquency date. A lien is created under the preceding sentence only if the municipality 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. However, the municipality has no preference over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lien holder arising prior to the filing of the notice of such a lien in the office of the recorder of the county in which such real estate is located or in the office of the registrar of titles of such county if the property affected is registered under "An Act concerning land titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended. This notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof, (2) the amount of money due for such sewerage service, and (3) the date when such amount became delinquent, (4) the owner of record of the premises. The municipality 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 municipality may foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate. Except in counties with a population of more than 250,000 where the majority of the municipal sewerage system users are located outside of the municipality's corporate limits, the payment of delinquent charges for sewerage service to any premises may be enforced by discontinuing either the water service or the sewerage service to that premises, or both. A rate or charge is delinquent if it is more than 30 days overdue. Any public or municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State furnishing water service to a premises (i) shall discontinue that service upon receiving written notice from the municipality providing sewerage service that payment of the rate or charge for sewerage service to the premises has become delinquent and (ii) shall not resume water service until receiving a similar notice that the delinquency has been removed. The provider of sewerage service shall not request discontinuation of water service before sending a notice of the delinquency to the sewer user and affording the user an opportunity to be heard. An investor-owned public utility providing water service within a municipality that provides sewerage service may contract with the municipality to discontinue water service to a premises with respect to which the payment of a rate or charge for sewerage service has become delinquent. The municipality shall reimburse the privately owned public utility, public or municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State for the reasonable cost of the discontinuance and the resumption of water service, any lost water service revenues, and the costs of discontinuing water service. The municipality shall indemnify the privately owned public utility, public or municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State for any judgment and related attorney's fees resulting from an action based on any provision of this paragraph. The municipality also may, from time to time, sue the occupant or user of the real estate in a civil action to recover the money due for sewerage services, plus a reasonable attorney's fee, to be fixed by the court. However, whenever a judgment is entered in such a civil action, the foregoing provision in this section with respect to filing sworn statements of such delinquencies in the office of the recorder and creating a lien against the real estate shall not be effective as to the charges sued upon and no lien shall exist thereafter against the real estate for that delinquency. Judgment in such a civil action operates as a release and waiver of the lien upon the real estate for the amount of the judgment. The charge provided in this section to be made against each user of an improvement or extension shall be in addition to the charge, if any, made of all users of the system under Section 11-141-7 and shall be kept separate and distinct therefrom. This amendatory Act of 1975 is not a limit on any municipality which is a home rule unit.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 93-500, eff. 6-1-04 .)