Utility Services

All customers requesting water, sewer and garbage service, hereafter referred to as “utilities,” from the City of Mitchell must make application in person to the City Finance Office at 612 North Main, Mitchell, South Dakota. Utilities will not be furnished to a customer until a proper application and the appropriate fee is received by the City. “Proper Application” shall mean an application and contract furnished by the City with all appropriate information provided as requested on the application form and signed by the applicant requesting the utility service. No service will be granted to customers with a delinquent account from a prior residence.

Fees

All customers requesting utility service from the City are required to pay a hookup fee as set forth below:

• Basic fee for existing water meters $50
• New connection fees:

All Meters Remain Property of the City

Service calls to turn on or turn off water will be $50 per call and charged to the customer’s account. This charge does not apply to maintenance calls at the City’s discretion.

Charges

 Water bills will reflect units used (1 unit = 750 gallons). The charge is $13.00 per month plus $5.10 per unit used.

 Sewer charges for residential users will be based on the winter quarter and should remain constant for the year. The sewer charge is $29.05 per month plus $4.00 per unit. Commercial customers will be billed the same usage for sewer as water unless a separate meter is installed to regulate sprinkler usage. Sprinkler meters will not be charged for sewer.  If one meter is servicing multiple units, it will be considered a commercial account.

Garbage

The fees for residential users placing garbage containers curbside are as follows:

• $12 for a 60 gal container or 90 gal container, plus 6.2% state and city tax per month

 Recycling: Fee is $4.00 per month per family dwelling plus 6.2% state and city tax.

 Compost: There is a 1-time fee of $70 to purchase a compost container.

A monthly charge of $4 for the months of April through October will be implemented for the collection of compost. If compost service is stopped by the customer at any time and the customer wants to re-establish service, there will be an additional charge of $20 assessed to re-establish service.

Landlord-Tenant

It shall be the responsibility of the property owner and/or landlord to assure the application and proper payment of fees has been made to the City of Mitchell Finance Office when there is a change in tenant. It shall be the discretion of the landlord to request the disconnection of service of any tenant.

Delinquent Accounts

Utility bill payments are due and payable within 20 days after the billing date. Any utility bill unpaid after the 20 day period shall be considered delinquent. A penalty of 2.00% per month will be charged on delinquent billings. Failure to receive a bill shall not be an excuse for non-payment.

After a period of approximately 30 days from the billing date the customer will be notified by first-class mail of account delinquency. If the account remains delinquent 60 days after the billing date, the customer will receive a second notice of delinquency with a disconnection date stated on the notice. The disconnection date shall be 10-15 days from the date of notice. To avoid disconnection the account must be paid in full prior to the disconnection date stated on the delinquency notice. If the customer cannot pay the account in full, 50% of the balance owing must be paid with an agreement signed by the customer agreeing to pay the remaining balance within 3 months along with their current bill each month.

Returned Payments/Non-Sufficient Funds

If utility payments are returned as non-sufficient funds from a financial institution to the Finance Office, water will be turned off immediately. A reconnection fee of $50 to turn the water back on must be paid along with a $40 non-sufficient funds fee and the billed utility charges. Future payments may be on a “cash-only” basis. The customer may be taken off bank payment if the bank has denied the utility account payment.