Council reviews draft ordinance to let town place liens, cut water for longtime delinquents

The Wallsburg Town Council reviewed a draft ordinance to establish a formal billing, collection and enforcement process for overdue water accounts and asked staff to refine language before presenting it to the full council.

The Clerk explained the draft came from a template prepared by Spencer Foster (MAG) and that she added sections for notice and service disconnection. “This is just a template that Spencer Foster came up with from MAG, and it identifies some common words and things that you would use in a lien,” the Clerk said. Council members agreed the town currently lacks an ordinance specific to water‑billing enforcement and that one is needed to make collection tools (liens and disconnections) legally enforceable.

Members discussed operational details in the draft: bills are generated on the first of the month, due on the 25th, with late fees becoming effective the following month; the draft marks accounts unpaid for 90 days as candidates for service disconnection and for certification to the county tax roll. The Clerk told the Council the county treats certified water charges the same as other property tax liens and said she would confirm whether and how the county forwards collected amounts to the town.

The council also debated notice procedures after reports of returned mail and non‑delivery to PO boxes. Members weighed options including hand delivery, certified mail or using a process server; one member suggested asking the sheriff’s office whether they will serve notices at a cost. The Chair asked council members to individually review the draft and return edits to the Clerk for revision and for staff to confirm county procedures on remitting collected funds.