§ 98-65. Liens.

(a)

Water. Liens for unpaid water charges shall be filed according to the following:

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water pursuant to subsection 98-62(i) or after the city terminates water service at the customer's request, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien on the property served by the terminated water service and in the amount the customer whose service was terminated owed to the city for water service at the time of the termination of services.

(2)

If a property receives water services illegally, without having an account with the city utility billing division, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the proper charge for the water actually used or, if there is no way of determining the amount of water used, in the amount of the minimum monthly water charge that would have been charged to that property had a legitimate account been opened, multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally received such water services.

(b)

Garbage collection. Liens for unpaid garbage collection service shall be filed as follows:

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water service pursuant to subsection 98-59(i) or after the city terminates water service or garbage service at the customer's request or after a customer without water service becomes more than $50.00 delinquent for garbage service alone, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien on the property serviced by garbage collection service and in the amount the customer whose service was terminated owed to the city for garbage collection service at the time of the termination of services.

(2)

If a property receives garbage collection services illegally, without having an account with the city utility billing division, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the minimum monthly garbage collection charge that would have been charged to that property had a legitimate account been opened, multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally received such garbage collection services.

(c)

Sewer service. Liens for unpaid sewer service shall be filed as follows:

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water service pursuant to subsection 98-62(i) or after the city terminates water service or sewer service at the customer's request or after a customer without water service becomes more than $50.00 delinquent in payment for sewer charges alone to the city, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien on the property served by the water service and in the amount the customer whose service was terminated owed to the city for sewer service at the time of the termination of services or the accumulation of the delinquency in payment for sewer services.

(2)

If a property receives sewer services illegally, without having an account with the city utility billing division, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall file a lien against that property in the amount of the minimum monthly sewer charge that would be have been charged to that property had a legitimate account been opened, multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally received such sewer services.

(d)

Exemptions. No lien for water charges, garbage collection charges, or sewer charges shall be placed on a property if:

(1)

A customer owes less than $50.00 for the aggregate sum of water charges, garbage collection charges and sewer charges;

(2)

The customer is not delinquent in payment for water charges, garbage collection charges, or sewer charges;

(3)

The city knows the property to be a homestead as defined by the state constitution; or

(4)

The city knows the property to be a single-family dwelling house and the delinquent water charges, garbage collection charges, or sewer charges to be for services provided to a residential consumer who is not the owner of the property.

(e)

Filing procedures. Any lien authorized by this section shall be filed with the county clerk or with the county clerk of the county in which the property to which the lien will be attached is located. The city shall then have a privileged lien on as many lots or pieces of property as the terminated services previously served and are described on the lien instrument by metes and bounds or by city lot and block description or by any other adequate description. The lien shall secure the charges made by the city for the services rendered to that property. Such a lien shall be filed pursuant to the authority granted in Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 1175, § 11; V.T.C.A., Local Government Code §§ 51.072 and 402.017; and state constitution article XI, section 5. The lien shall bear interest at a rate of ten percent per annum. The supervisor of the utility billing division shall add to any lien filed pursuant to this section that amount of the filing fee charged by the county clerk for filing that lien. The lien shall be effective against that property if the account holder or user of services at that property was either the owner of that property, a tenant of that property or a permissive holder of that property or an adverse possessor of that property. For any charges for which the lien authorized by this section is designed to secure, suit may be instituted and recovery in the foreclosure of that lien may be had in the name of the city. The city attorney is authorized to file such suits in a state court of competent jurisdiction.

(f)

Notice and hearing. After the filing of a lien pursuant to this section, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall within 30 days of the filing of that lien give the owner of that property and the account holder notice that such a lien has been filed on that property and shall inform the owner and account holder of their rights of appeal. Within 30 days of the postmark of the notice sent to the property owner or account holder, the property owner or account holder may appeal the decision to impose the lien on that property to the city manager or any fair and impartial person whom the city manager may designate. The city manager shall authorize the release of the lien if the property owner or account holder shows that no bill for the services to this property encumbered by the lien is owing or if the property owner shows that the encumbered property is and at all times, from the hour of filing of the lien until the time of the appeal, has been a homestead as defined by the state constitution. The city manager may modify or release the lien to reflect the true amount of delinquency in payment for services to the property if the owner or account holder demonstrates that a lesser bill is owing than the lien alleged or if the supervisor of the utility billing division cannot show that all the lien alleged is owing. The person last listed on the tax records of the county in which the property is located as being the owner of any given piece of property shall be presumed to be the owner for purposes of this subsection, and the address listed for the owner on the tax records shall be presumed to be the address of the owner.

(g)

Reconnection of services. No water, garbage or sewer services shall be provided to property encumbered by a lien filed pursuant to this section, except as otherwise required by V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 552.0025. Notwithstanding this prohibition, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall be authorized to reconnect water, garbage and wastewater services if the customer agrees in writing to pay the accrued water and wastewater charges for such property in accordance with a payment schedule acceptable to the supervisor of the utility billing division and the customer also agrees to pay all current and future water and wastewater charges as they come due.

(h)

Release. Whenever a person pays all principal, interest and the filing fee of a lien validly filed pursuant to this section, the supervisor of the utility billing division shall execute a release of that lien and surrender it to the paying party. The release shall be prepared and approved as to form by the city attorney and shall be duly notarized. The city shall not be responsible for filing that release.

(i)

Effect of section. This section is cumulative of any other remedies, methods of collection or security available to the city under the Charter and city ordinances or under state law.

(Code 1967, § 31-63; Ord. No. 6005, § 4, 9-26-91; Ord. No. 11,624, § 1, 4-14-11; Ord. No. 11,646, §§ 2—4, 5-26-11; Ord. No. 11,893, § 1, 3-8-12)