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Council approves ordinance shortening shutoff timeline, adds trash suspension for delinquent HOA meters
Summary
Nibley City adopted changes to its utility code to shorten the delinquency/shutoff timeline and allow suspension of city-provided trash service where a single meter serves multiple units and HOA accounts are delinquent, with staff emphasizing protections and outreach.
Nibley City adopted Ordinance 25-10 on second reading March 13 to amend municipal code provisions governing delinquent utility accounts and shutoff procedures. The changes shorten the time before an account becomes eligible for shutoff and add a mechanism allowing the city to request suspension of trash and recycling service when a single master meter serving multiple units (for example, an HOA-managed townhouse complex) is delinquent.
Wendy, a utilities staff member, presented the ordinance on behalf of the public works billing team and described its purpose: to reduce the period delinquent accounts carry large outstanding balances, to encourage more timely payment, and to provide options for collecting when units are served by a single meter. Wendy said the change will not increase penalties but will give residents struggling with past-due balances shorter, more structured repayment periods to avoid repeated build-up of charges. She said the city assesses a 1.75% penalty on past-due balances and that the proposed adjustment would move shutoff-eligibility earlier in the billing cycle, with a 3-month repayment window offered in the new schedule and targeted notification to accounts at risk of shutoff.
Councilmembers asked whether low-income assistance programs exist; staff replied there is no current program in Nibley for water assistance though community agencies sometimes assist electricity or heat bills. Council asked how many actual shutoffs occur per month and per year: staff estimated 2—3 shutoffs per month on average historically, with about 25—30 shutoffs per year, but noted that recent outreach had avoided shutoffs this month.
The ordinance includes language allowing staff to contact the city's waste-management contractor to suspend garbage and recycling service where an entire building shares one culinary meter and the property-level account is delinquent. Staff said the measure is designed to create collection leverage where single-meter arrangements otherwise make direct shutoffs impractical.
Council voted to adopt the ordinance on second reading; staff said they would issue informational letters to accounts on the shutoff list to explain the shortened timeline and offer the new repayment window. Council asked staff to continue outreach and to provide information about any assistance programs available regionally.
Formal action: the council adopted Ordinance 25-10 on second reading (vote recorded as passed; transcript shows unanimous voice vote).
