13.04.109 Customer Dispute and Hearing.
(A) At any time before the date of termination of utility service for nonpayment of the amount(s) shown on a utility bill, a notice of rejection or a notice of termination, a customer may dispute the correctness of all or part of the amount(s) shown in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A customer cannot dispute the correctness of all or part of the amount(s) if all or part of the amount(s) was (were) the subject of a previous dispute under this section.
(B) The procedure for customer disputes shall be as follows:
(1) Before the date of termination, the customer shall notify the City’s Utility Customer Service Center, orally or in writing, of any disputes to all or part of the amount(s) shown on a utility bill, a notice of rejection or a notice of termination, stating as completely as possible the basis for the dispute.
(2) If the City determines that the present dispute is untimely or that the customer previously disputed the correctness of all or part of the amounts(s) shown, the City will notify the customer that the present dispute is untimely or invalid. The City will then proceed as if the customer had not notified the City of the present dispute.
(3) If the City determines that the present dispute is not untimely or invalid under this section, the City, within five (5) days after receipt of the customer’s notice, will arrange an informal meeting between an official representative of the City and the customer.
(4) Based on the City’s records, the customer’s allegations and all other relevant materials available to the official, the official will attempt to resolve the dispute, attempting to do so in a manner satisfactory to both the City and the customer.
(5) Within five (5) days of completion of the meeting, the official will send to the customer a copy of the decision resolving the dispute.
(6) If the decision is unsatisfactory to the customer, the customer, within five (5) days of the receipt of the official’s decision, may request, in writing, a formal hearing before a third-party utility hearing examiner.
(7) The formal hearing before the examiner shall be held within ten (10) days of the City’s receipt of the customer’s written request.
(8) At the hearing the City and the customer shall be entitled to present all evidence that is, in the hearing examiner’s view, relevant and material to the dispute, and to examine and cross-examine witnesses. An audio, video, or stenographic record of the hearing shall be maintained.
(9) Based on the record established at the hearing, the examiner, within five (5) days of the completion of the hearing, shall issue a written decision formally resolved in the dispute. The decision shall be final and binding on the utility and the customer.
(C) Utilization of this dispute procedure shall not relieve a customer of the obligation to timely and completely pay all other undisputed utility charges, and the undisputed portion(s) of the amount(s) which is (are) the subject of the present dispute. Notwithstanding subsection (D), failure to timely and completely pay all such undisputed amounts shall subject the customer to termination of utility service in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(D) Until the date of the hearing examiner’s or the City official’s decision, whichever is later, the City may not terminate the utility service of this customer and may not issue a notice of termination solely for nonpayment of the disputed amount(s). If it is determined that the customer must pay some or all of the disputed amount(s), the City will promptly provide the customer a notice of termination, which will contain the following:
(1) The amount to be paid;
(2) The date of the notice of termination;
(3) The date of termination, which shall be at least seven (7) days after the date of the notice of termination;
(4) Notice that unless the City receives complete payment of the amount shown prior to the date of termination, utility service will be terminated, under Section 13.04.106(D);
(5) Notice that in lieu of paying the amount shown, an eligible customer, prior to the date of termination, may request the establishment of a deferred payment plan. (Ord. 21-44 § 15, 2021; Ord. 86-15 § 2, 1986.)