§ 30-25. Utility liens.

(a)

Water.

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water service pursuant to the requirements of section 30-24 of this chapter, or after the city terminates water service at a customer's request, the city's utility billing supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the terminated water service served and in the amount that 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 department, then the utility billing supervisor 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 there multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally received such water services.

(b)

Garbage collection.

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water service pursuant to the requirements of section 30-24 of this chapter, 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 fifty dollars ($50.00) delinquent for garbage service alone, the city's utility billing supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the terminated garbage service served and in the amount that 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 department, then the utility billing supervisor 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 there multiplied by the number of months during which that property illegally received such garbage collection services.

(c)

Sewerage.

(1)

After the city has terminated a customer's water service pursuant to the requirements of section 30-24 of this chapter, or after the city terminates water service or sewer service at the customer's request, or after a customer without water service becomes more then fifty dollars ($50.00) delinquent in payment for sewerage charges alone to the city, the city's utility billing supervisor shall file a lien on the property which the terminated water service served and in the amount that the customer whose service was terminated owed to the city for sewerage service at the time of the termination of services or the accumulation of the aforementioned delinquency in payment for sewerage services.

(2)

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

(d)

[Exceptions.] If a customer owes less then fifty dollars ($50.00) for the aggregate sum of water charges, garbage collection charges, and sewerage charges at the time of termination of any of those services, no lien shall be filed against the property served by those services. If the customer is not delinquent in payment at the time of termination of any of the services, no lien shall be filed until that customer becomes delinquent in payment. No lien shall be filed on any property that the city knows to be a homestead as defined by the Texas Constitution.

(e)

[Filing of lien; interest; filing fees, etc.] Any lien authorized by this section shall be filed with the County Clerk of Brazoria County, Texas, 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 to these above discussed services rendered to that property. Such a lien shall be filed pursuant to the authority granted in Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. Art. 1175 § 11 (Vernon 1963) and Tex. Const. Art. XI, § 5. The lien shall bear ten (10) percent per annum interest. The utility billing supervisor shall add to any lien filed pursuant to this section the 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 of 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. It is further provided that 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.

(f)

Notice and hearing. After the filing of a lien pursuant to this section, the city secretary shall within thirty (30) days of the filing of that lien give the owner of the property and the account holder notice that such a lien or liens have been filed on that property and inform the owner and account holder of their rights of appeal. Within thirty (30) days of the post mark 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 the city manager may designate. The city manager or his designee shall authorize the release of the lien if the property owner or account holder shows that no bill for the above mentioned services to his property encumbered by the lien or liens is owing, or if the property owner shows that the encumbered property is and at all times from the hour of the filing of the lien or liens until the time of the appeal has been a homestead as defined by the Texas Constitution. The city manager or his designee 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 utility billing supervisor cannot show that all the lien alleged is owing. The person last listed on the Brazoria County tax records 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 Brazoria County tax records shall be presumed to be the address of the owner.

(g)

[Release of lien.] Whenever a person or entity pays all principal, interest, and the filing fee of a lien validly filed pursuant to this section, the utility billing supervisor shall execute a release of that lien and surrender it to the paying party. The city shall not be responsible for filing that release.

(h)

Declaration of rental property.

(1)

The owner of any property, which property is rented to another and such tenant carries city water, sewer, or garbage collection services in the tenant's name, may prevent the city from using that property as security for the water, sewer, and garbage.

(2)

When such a declaration has been filed with the city prior to the time the account holder begins to receive services, the city shall collect a deposit in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200.00) if the property to receive services is a single family residence, or two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) if the property to receive services is a business or commercial establishment. If a property owner wishes to declare in regard to the bill of a person or entity already receiving services at a particular property, that declaration shall not be effective until the posting of a deposit in the appropriate amounts as described above.

(3)

Paragraph (h)(2) of this subsection notwithstanding, an owner of property who files the above described declaration on property, which is rented to another and the tenant is carrying the city water, sewer, or garbage collection services in the tenant's name at the time of the passage of this section, then such declaration shall become immediately effective without the posting of a deposit in the amounts set forth in paragraph (2). However, if water service is terminated to that tenant for delinquency in payment, a deposit in the appropriate amount as described above shall be collected before such city water, sewer, or garbage collection service is resumed. Any service account for water, sewer, or garbage collection service established after the passage of this section shall be subject to paragraphs (h)(1) and (2) above of this subsection.

(4)

The declaration of rental property shall be valid only so long as the person making such declaration owns such property, rents such property to another, and the tenant of such property carries city water, sewer, or garbage collection services in the tenant's name. The owner may revoke the declaration of rental property at any time by so notifying the city in writing.

(Ord. No. 220-8, § 6, 2-14-00; Ord. No. 220-10, § 1, 2-28-11)