Melbourne, IA

FAQ

CITY OF MELBOURNE WATER & SEWER POLICY

WE ARE GLAD TO HAVE YOU LIVING HERE AND HOPE YOU WILL FIND MELBOURNE A PLEASANT PLACE TO LIVE. THE ENCLOSED INFORMATION CONSISTS OF SOME THINGS YOU MAY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MELBOURNE.

Consumer Deposit:

A Consumer deposit in the amount of $200 is required for all water and sewer accounts. The deposit must be paid before service is provided. The deposit can be transferred when moving to a new location within the city.

Billing Process:

  • Bills are mailed on the 1st of each month. All payments must be received in City Hall by the 15th to avoid the penalty charge. A Delinquent Notice will be mailed to all past due accounts on the 17th providing another 8 days to pay and a penalty charge of 10% is assessed at that time. If payment is not made by the due date on the Delinquent Notice, a second notice will be hung on the front door of the property providing the account holder 24 hours’ notice to pay the past due amount in full. A fee of $15 will be added to the account for this door posting. If the payment is not received within the 24 hours, the water service will be turned off and a $50 disconnect fee will be added to the account. Once the water service is turned off, it will not be turned on until all past due amounts including penalty fees, door posting fees and the disconnect fee of $50 are paid in full. Accounts that have been turned off and have not responded, will receive a letter giving the account holder five (5) days to respond. If no response is made within 5 days, the delinquent accounts will be turned over to the Income Offset Program through the State or a lien may be placed against the property. Please understand that if you are renting, your landlord may request information or be notified of the status of your account at any time.
  • WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE U.S. MAIL DELIVERY. FAILURE TO RECEIVE BILL DOES NOT EXCUSE NON-PAYMENT

The City of Melbourne is also a member of the Income Offset program of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services. This program is used to collect money owed to the State and it’s cities under Chapter 8A.504 of the Code of Iowa. They then can collect the debt from tax refunds, vendor payments, Iowa Treasure Hunt payments, and Iowa Lottery winnings. We will send any unpaid utility bills to this program when possible.

ACH:

Customers of MidWestOne Bank may sign up to pay their water/sewer bill automatically from a checking or savings account. Forms may be obtained at City Hall or online at melbourneiowa.com.

MISC:

Checks or Money Orders should be made out to the City of Melbourne for the exact amount due, unless paying extra on bill, as the City does not give change back. If paying in cash please bring exact change for the same reason. You can pay any extra toward the bill but we do not make change. We do not keep cash in the office. The City will add a fee of $25.00 to the bill if an on-site collection is required.

Payment Arrangements:

Customers may sign a payment agreement for a past due bill. Call or drop by City Hall to make payment arrangements. All requests will be considered based on previous payment history and seriousness of circumstances. City Hall reserves the right to deny any request for payment arrangements subject to customer’s previous payment history.

NSF:

Any check or automatic payment (ACH) returned for Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) will be assessed an additional $30 fee. A notice will be sent. The account holder must pay the returned item amount, the $30 NSF fee and the $8 fee from the bank to the City to avoid having the water service turned off. If the water service is turned off, a $50 reconnect fee plus all other fees mentioned, must be paid to reinstate the water service. If a second returned CHECK or ACH payment is received, the City will no longer accept CHECK or ACH payments on the account for a 12 month period from the date of the receipt of the 2nd returned item. The account holder will need to pay with cash or money order during that period.

Other Information:

If you have any other questions about our community, please call City Hall at 641-482-3338.

Mary Pothast, Melbourne City Clerk.

Services Who to Contact  Phone #
Before you dig (48 hours) Iowa One Call 800-292-8989
(or 811)
Water/Sewer City Hall 641-482-3338
Electric / Natural Gas Alliant Energy 800-822-4348
Telephone / Cable TV  / Internet / DSL Partner Communications 877-433-7701
Mail Delivery (P O Box) Melbourne Post Office 641-482-3157
School West Marshall Community School District located in State Center
Bus Garage 641-483-2684
Superintendent’s Office 641-483-2660
Elementary School 641-483-2671
Middle School 641-483-2165
High School 641-483-2136
MidWestOne Bank 641-482-3105
MidWestOne Insurance 641-482-3107
Melbourne Rec. Center/Pool 641-482-9497
(Rec. Center is available for rent for many functions, Call City Hall for available dates and rates)
Melbourne Public Library Brittany Brewer, Lib. Director 641-482-3115
Solid Waste Hauler Stone Sanitation 641-752-7165
LeGrand Sanitation 641-479-2615
Jerry’s Sanitation 641-487-7288
THE CITY REQUIRES THAT EACH HOUSEHOLD HAVE GARBAGE SERVICE AND RECYCLING

There are two churches in Melbourne:

St. John’s United Church of Christ, 207 4th Avenue and

New Horizons United Methodist Church, 224 Main Street.

CITY HALL HOURS:
Monday–Wednesday 7 am to 4 pm
Thursday – Friday 7 am to 1 am

Mailing address: City of Melbourne,

111 1st St., P O Box 37, Melbourne, IA, 50162

Our phone is 641-482-3338 and you are welcome to leave a message on our answering machine after hours. We will return calls as soon as possible. If it is an emergency, you can reach the Clerk at 641-750-0735. There is a payment slot on the front door of City Hall for payment of utility bills. Make sure it drops down through the door into the box inside the office.

Persons seeking public records within the control of the City of Melbourne may examine such records at the city offices during regular business hours under the supervision of staff. Any copies must be requested in writing. Records can be copied by staff at a rate of $0.25 per page; cost shall be computed and paid in advance. Staff shall be afforded sufficient time to make copies, i.e.:

  1. 1-10 pages, (1) full business day
  2. 11-25 pages, (2) full business days
  3. 26-100 pages, (3) full business days

Although these records are deemed to be “public records” under Iowa Law, you are hereby advised that your use of this information must comply with all local, state and federal laws including but not limited to laws relating to privacy, harassment, discrimination, debt collection, libel, slander and tort. Misuse of said information by you in violation of the law is exclusively your responsibility. City of Melbourne hereby denies any and all responsibility for how this information is used by you. If any third party makes a claim against City of Melbourne for misuse of this information attributed to you, City of Melbourne shall pursue all available legal remedies against you. Let it be known that the request for public records and by whom they are requested also becomes part of the public record.

DOG ORDINANCE – It is unlawful for any owner to allow an animal to run at large within the corporate limits of the City–MUST BE TIED, LEASHED, OR FENCED.  It is unlawful for the owner of an animal to allow or permit their pet to cause serious annoyance or disturbance to any person by frequent and habitual howling, yelping, barking, or otherwise, or by running after or chasing persons, bicycles, automobiles or other vehicles. CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR ANIMAL WHEN OUT WALKING.

When an animal has been apprehended and impounded, every effort will be made to determine where the animal belongs. Impounded animals may be recovered by the owner upon payment of impounding costs, and if an unvaccinated dog, by having it immediately vaccinated.

The following animals may be owned per property as pets under the following conditions:

  1. A total of six cats and dogs, not more than three of which may be dogs, and maintained in compliance with the sections of this chapter relating to such animals.
  2. Rabbits not to exceed three in number, maintained in a hutch or other type of enclosure.
  3. The young produced by any pets permitted herein may be maintained with the parent animal for a period of approximately eight weeks but in no case longer than ten weeks.
  4. Dog kennels and the boarding or raising of dogs for sale, as a business or for profit are prohibited.
  5. A waiver of the three dog limit set in subsection 1 of this section may be granted to his/her designee, to allow for one additional dog under the following conditions.
  6.   The dog’s full grown weight is not more than 20 pounds as certified by a veterinarian;
  7.   The owner provides a current rabies vaccination certificate for the dog;
  8.   The owner provides proof the dog has been spayed or neutered; and
  9.   No more than two cats are owned on property subject to the waiver.

Vicious dogs—Any dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked as evidenced by its habitual or repeated chasing, snapping, or barking at human beings or domestic animals so as to potentially cause injury or to otherwise endanger their safety or any dog that has attacked or bitten any person without provocation; or when a propensity to attack or bite persons exists and is known or ought reasonably to be known to the owner.

No person owning, possessing, harboring or having the care or control of a vicious dog shall permit such animal to go unconfined upon the premises of such person and shall not permit the dog to go beyond the premises unless the dog is securely leashed and securely muzzled.

INSURANCE—any owner of a vicious dog shall provide to the Clerk the following:

  1. An insurance policy or certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State, providing personal liability insurance coverage as in a homeowner’s policy, with a minimum liability of $100,000, for the injury or death of any person, for damage to property of others and for acts of negligence by the owner or agent in the negligent keeping of such dog.
  2. The insurance policy or certificate of insurance shall provide that it cannot be canceled or terminated until ten days’ notice by registered mail of such cancellation or termination shall have been received by the Clerk.
  3. The cancellation or other termination of any insurance policy issued in compliance with this section shall be a violation of this chapter unless another policy complying with this section shall be provided and in effect at the time of such cancellation or termination. The Clerk shall immediately issue written notification of the violation of this chapter to the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall prosecute all violations of this chapter.

IMPOUNDMENT   All dogs found in violation of this chapter shall be seized, impounded and disposed of pursuant to Sections 55.12, 55.13 and 55.14 of this Code of Ordinances.

HEIGHT OF GRASS     Any property which is not mowed by the 15th day of the month of April, and continuing for the months of May, June, July, August, September and October of each year may be mowed by the City of Melbourne and or their agents, and a charge of $200 per hour for such mowing.

WINTER WEATHER—City ordinance requires that each resident keep sidewalks free of snow and ice. If you have a fire hydrant on your corner, please scoop out around it to make it accessible for firefighters.

SNOW REMOVAL—Please do not park cars on the street during any amount of snow fall, this will help crews do a better job at plowing. We ask that residents park their vehicles off the street during snow removal operations. City ordinance prohibits the parking of vehicles on public streets when the snow ordinance is in effect. They must remain off the street until snow is removed from curb to curb and snow has stopped falling. Make plans now where to put your vehicle while the streets are being plowed.  Vehicles not moved can, and will, be towed at owner’s expense. Fewer cars on streets will quicken plowing

JUNK VEHICLES—Junk vehicles are not allowed within the City limits.

REC CENTER—The Rec Center is available for rent for family or group functions. For information or to make a reservation, call City Hall at 641-482-3338 or check our website at www.melbourneiowa.com.

Complete copies of all ordinances may be found at City Hall and the Library.