The purpose of this sewer benefit assessment policy is to provide
the basis for levying sewer benefit assessments against properties
located in the Town, as authorized by Chapter 103 of the Connecticut
General Statutes.
There is hereby established the title of Collector of Water
Pollution Control Revenues (CWPCR). The CWPCR is hereby designated
as the person entitled and empowered to prepare and cause to be recorded
in the Marlborough Land Records all notices of assessments, notices
of installment payment of assessment, notices of deferred assessment
and notices continuing liens for unpaid and delinquent assessments.
Said CWPCR is hereby empowered to collect sewer assessments in accordance
with any provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes for the collection
of property taxes. Said CWPCR is further designated the person who
is empowered to collect all sewer use and connection charges in accordance
with the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes.
A.
Residential properties, year-round or seasonal occupancy, shall include:
B.
Commercial/industrial property includes properties used for commercial and industrial purposes, excluding residential use classified under Subsection A above and excluding restaurant properties classified under Subsection C below, and shall include but are not limited to:
(1)
Retail. Including properties used for all common retail operations,
including, but not limited to, grocery and convenience stores, gas
stations, nurseries, beauty salons, pharmacies, florists and kennels.
(2)
Professional offices include, but are not limited to, banks, post
offices, medical offices and law offices.
(3)
Light industrial includes, but is not limited to, machine shops and
automotive repair garages.
(4)
Motel, hotel and rooming house. Buildings normally operated for commercial
purposes, providing rooms, toilet facilities, and may include dining
and other facilities.
E.
Mixed-use properties shall include:
(1)
Residential/commercial, residential/restaurant, commercial/restaurant.
F.
Any other use of property benefiting from the availability of public
sewers.
The minimum base assessment to be levied against all properties
is to recover capital expenditures in a reasonable manner based on
the value of having the benefit of public sewers. The minimum base
assessment amount is subject to change by action of the MWPCA as the
rates of inflation, prices and costs increase or decrease. As provided
below, the equivalent-dwelling-unit charge may be modified depending
on the particular use classification of the property.
A.
In accordance with C.G.S. § 7-249, as amended, the MWPCA
will determine the sewer benefit assessment. The total benefit amount
is determined by taking the minimum base assessment rate and multiplying
it by the EDUs for the applicable property. In accordance with C.G.S.
§ 7-250 as amended, the MWPCA shall hold a public hearing
on the assessment and send notice of said public hearing and assessment
amount to any affected property owner. Appeals of assessments are
to be made to the Superior Court Judicial District at Hartford, County
of Hartford within the time frame specified in C.G.S. § 7-250,
as amended.
B.
In addition to and in recognition of the appreciated value of the
availability of public sewers by reason of inflation and property
appreciation and the costs of financing the original sewer construction
loans and carrying such loans for the benefit of subsequent users,
the minimum base assessment rate computed for future users of the
system, in accordance with the herein-outlined assessment policy,
shall be subject to yearly increases.
Vacant residential land will not be assessed by the MWPCA until such time as it is developed and derives a direct benefit from the public sewer. Vacant commercial or industrial land will be assessed one EDU. The assessment of vacant land and the assessment of building or structures constructed or expanded after the initial assessment shall be subject to the provisions of §§ 410-70 and 410-71 below.
Sewer assessments for public properties may be deferred. Assessments
so deferred shall be assumed by the Town and not assumed by the other
property owners using the public sewer. Record of said deferment and
the amount of assessment shall be kept at the office of the Town Clerk
and, should the ownership of said property be changed or should public
property be used for other purposes, the assessment will become due
and payable.
A.
Sewer assessments for private properties may be deferred if the property
contains a one-hundred-percent fully code-compliant septic system,
including one-hundred-percent reserve area, and the septic system
was installed after September 1, 2004.
B.
If the property owner seeks a connection to the public sewer, then
the full assessment will become due and payable prior to issuance
of a permit to connect.
The amount of a deferred assessment shall be calculated at the time a connection is sought as described in § 410-70A of these regulations.
In general, the following rule or method for determining a special
connection charge shall be used as the basis for assessing properties
previously deferred or unassessed for their share of benefits derived
from the construction of local sewers and for the apportionment of
sanitary sewers built by developers and for properties previously
assessed which have or will have a greater intensity of use in accordance
with the Connecticut General Statutes.
A.
Deferred assessments. Wherever an assessment has been deferred and
a connection to the sewer system is sought, a deferred assessment
charge shall be imposed. Calculation of the deferred assessment charge
shall be determined by taking the minimum base assessment rate and
multiplying it by the EDUs for the applicable property. The minimum
base assessment used for the calculation is the applicable rate for
the year the deferment is sought.
B.
Sewers built by developers or other owners.
(1)
Wherever a developer has installed a local sewer passing through land owned by others in accordance with the provisions of § 410-55 of these regulations, a special connection charge shall be imposed, consisting of the connection charge applicable at the time the connection is sought and any other MWPCA charge that is a part of a particular developer's agreement.
(2)
For the purposes of the remainder of this section of the regulations
with regard to a parcel of property, a "developer," "an owner" or
an "owner's agent" will be referred to as an "owner" or "owners."
The owner of another property related to that of an owner only by
proximity will be referred to as an "owner of other property."
(3)
When a sewer has been built for the MWPCA under a developer's
permit agreement and passes land owned by an owner of other property
who may request a house connection to the sewer, no connection shall
be permitted by the MWPCA unless:
C.
Assessment of properties not previously assessed. Whenever a sewer
has been laid out and constructed by the MWPCA after the initial construction
phase to serve a particular section of highway or a particular area,
no connection will be permitted thereto for any property which has
not been previously assessed. The MWPCA may, by appropriate vote,
permit payment of said assessment over a period to be determined by
the MWPCA.
D.
Charges for industrial users of federally financed sewage systems.
Industrial cost-recovery payments required by the EPA and the Commissioner
shall be determined, billed and paid for in accordance with the most
current and applicable federal rules and regulations, as published
and amended. Disbursement of the funds recovered from industrial users
shall also be made by the Town in accordance with the same rules and
regulations.
Wherever an assessment has been levied against a property and
an increased intensity of use has taken or will take place, such as
construction of new or expanded buildings or structures or a substantial
change in use after the initial assessment has been levied, a supplemental
sewer connection charge may be imposed. The MWPCA, in such cases,
shall determine the amount of the additional connection charge to
be levied against such land in accordance with the increased intensity
of use and in accordance with the established formula for levying
such charges, which shall take into consideration any previous assessment
charges levied. No building permit shall be granted for said construction
until the special connection charge so levied by the MWPCA has been
paid or until an agreement providing for the payment of said charge
over a period of time, executed by the landowner and suitable for
recording on the Land Records, has been completed and delivered to
the MWPCA.
When a deferred assessment is declared due and payable, it shall be collectible in the same manner and in the same amount as defined in § 410-64 of these regulations.
In all cases in which the MWPCA has constructed or caused to be constructed through a developer's agreement a public sanitary sewer or sewers through any public highway or highways within its territorial limits or its jurisdiction, for which no assessment of benefits and damages has been made, the MWPCA may establish special connection charges as defined in § 410-70 of these regulations. If the MWPCA elects to extend the payment of the assessment over a period of years, as provided in § 410-75 of these regulations, the special connection charges may be payable in equal annual installments until such time as the equitable cost of installing such sewer has been paid by the property owner or owners whose property has been benefited by the construction and use of such sewer.
Special rates may be established where unusual conditions exist,
at the discretion of the MWPCA. Minimum charges may also be adopted.
A.
Sewer benefit assessments levied as part of any future construction
of Marlborough's sewerage system may be payable over a period
of years, not to exceed 20 years, as determined by the MWPCA. The
unpaid balance of a benefit assessment may be assumed by any subsequent
owner of the property on transfer of the property.
B.
The MWPCA may adopt a plan subject to the limitations of C.G.S. § 7-253a,
which allows for the deferral of principal payments for those elderly
taxpayers eligible for property tax relief under the provisions of
C.G.S. §§ 12-129b and 12-170a.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: C.G.S. § 12-170a was repealed in 1985.
C.
The MWPCA may levy sewer benefit assessments under the terms of developer's
agreements that are generally in accordance with the provisions of
the policy. Details of such payment terms are available from the Administrator
of the MWPCA.
D.
Assessments for public properties may be deferred. Any deferred assessments
shall be assumed by the Town and not assumed solely by the property
owners within the sewer service district. At such time that the public
property is transferred to a private entity, the benefit assessment
will be applied to the property.
