ORDINANCE NO 10 - 2026   AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF OOLITIC INDIANA. AMENDING RATES AND CHARGES IN TITLE V: PUBLIC WORKS; CHAPTER 50 GENERAL PROVISIONS; SECTION 50.04 Disconnect Notice and SECTION 50.05 Reconnection Fee OF THE OOLITIC TOWN CODE   WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Oolitic, Indiana has the responsibility of and authority over fees changes for the Town owned utilities.   WHEREAS, the Town of Oolitic, Indiana ("Town") operates a waterworks utility for the benefit of its citizens and the surrounding area;   WHEREAS, various ordinances have been adopted from time to time regarding policies and procedures for the waterworks and the establishment of waterworks rates, fees, and charges;   WHEREAS, the reconnection charges in USD of $50 during normal business hours and $75 after normal business hours was, passed in Ordinance 4-2026 Section 51.08 in February of 2026 and advertised as set forth in the State Statute;   WHEREAS, it has been determined by the Town the existing water reconnection fee process and language last changed in Ordinance 2-2010, needs updating. AND;   NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF OOLITIC, as follows:   § 50.04 DISCONNECT NOTICE 1 TERMINATION OF WATER SERVICE. A. After the bill becomes past due, the monthly billing card is updated to reflect a past due account and separate disconnect notices are mailed out. If these notices are disregarded, the water service shall be disconnected.   B. Customers with accounts that have an outstanding balance and therefore qualify for the water to shut off have been mailed two(2) regular monthly bill cards and two(2) shut off notices stating past due amount(s) with the upcoming action and appropriate reconnect fees communicated. These attempts are the collection of debt owed to the Oolitic Water Works and will be treated as such under the law.   C. Offers, by customers, of partial payment, other than under a deferred payment plan provided for in this section, or at the discretion of the Utility Clerks understanding of special circumstances on behalf of the water customer, shall be rejected. If the Utility Clerk receives payment of the entire amount shown on the account prior to the date of termination, the payment shall be considered timely and shall halt the termination process.   D. On disconnect day all payments received in the office by Bam will be processed. After all accounts are updated The Utility Clerk will generate the shut-off list at which time the disconnect / reconnect fee of $50 USD will be added to the account; said list will be given to Street / Utilities Superintendent or their designee; they will visit said addresses, turning the water off at the meter and installing a lock, to prevent a resident or property owner from turning the water back on.   E. It is not the function / job of the Utility Superintendent or their designee, to notify the residents or property owners, in any manner, of the pending shut off. If a resident approaches the shut-off crew with questions or a request not to perform shut down, the shut-off crew is to refer the resident or property owner to the Utility Clerk at Town Hall   F. Residents or property owners must call the Utility Clerk on 812.275.6813 to discuss payment; pay in person; pay by credit or debit card over the phone the outstanding charge(s) or set up an agreed, in writing a legally binding payment plan. When the appropriate payment is made the proper disconnect / reconnect fee(s) will have been added to the account and the account must be paid in full. The disconnect / reconnect fee(s) are outlined in Section .05 of Chapter 50 of the Oolitic Code.   § 50.05 RECONNECTION FEE. A. After a water and sewer service has been disconnected due to an unpaid bill, before service may be restored, the customer must pay the bill in full plus a $50 USD penalty for the disconnect / reconnecting of the service, if the reconnect is performed within the regular business hours of the Oolitic Water Works business office hours. If the reconnection is ordered / requested after the Oolitic Water Works normal business office hours a $25 USD fee will be assessed to the account in question. The penalties paid shall be divided equally between the water utility and the sewer utility.   B. The customer shall not, under any circumstance, alter, modify, damage, or otherwise change the town's water meter to receive water without said water being measured by the meter. The customer shall not remove a lock placed on the meter for purposes of disconnecting service for failure to pay a bill or otherwise reconnect the water service without the town's permission.   C. The fee is assessed due to the extra effort in the front office involved in tracking overdue accounts; such as extra accounting; creating additional notices; postage, etc.   This Ordinance shall be in effect on and after its passage and publication as required by law. All prior Ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent with any provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.   This Ordinance and the provisions herein are hereby adopted, passed, and signed at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Oolitic, Indiana, this 13th day of July 2026 to be in effect and charges applied approximately two weeks after verification that this ordinance and notice of changes are published in the local newspaper.                                                                          AYE          NAY /s/ Brenda Corey                                            x Brenda Corey, President    /s/ Jon Broglin                                                 x Jon Broglin, Vice-President   /s/ Steve Kerr                                                   x Steve Kerr, Council Member at large   /s/ John B Dillion                                             x John B Dillion, Council Member at large   /s/ Carl Baker                                                   x Carl Baker, Council Member at large   Attest: /s/ Annette Norrick C.T. Annette Norrick, Clerk-Treasurer