Section 18.120.000 Penalty

Any person, corporation, trust, unincorporated association, or other party who fails to pay any service charge or business license fee when due under this Title 18 of the Columbia Municipal Code, shall be subject to one or more of the following penalties:

1. Late payment of City service charges or business license fee shall be subject to payment of a delinquency charge (also known as a late payment penalty) of one percent (1%) of the amount of the delinquent payment due for each month (or part thereof) the late payment is overdue and owing;

2. The violator shall be subject to civil suit by the City in a court of competent jurisdiction to collect the service charge and/or business license fee due, plus any late payment penalty due;

3. The violator shall be guilty of an ordinance violation and upon conviction shall be fined not less than seventy-five dollars ($75.00), nor more than the maximum fine authorized by Section 1-2-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended, (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1), which maximum fine on the date hereof is seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). Each day for which a delinquency in payment exists shall be a separate offense for which a separate and additional fine may be assessed upon conviction.

4. Following any such delinquency in payment, the City may decline to perform any City services or issue any business license for which a charge is to be assessed under Title 18 of the City's Municipal Code until all delinquent license fees and/or service charges and late payment penalties due from the violator have been fully paid and satisfied, (except where prohibited by law, such as disconnection of water service prior to compliance with prior notice and other state law requirements pertaining thereto).

The penalties provided for in this Chapter 18.120.00 of Title 18 of the City's Municipal Code shall be cumulative and shall not be exclusive of one another.