[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Nutley 1-16-2024 by Ord. No. 3536. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
There is hereby established a combined water and sewer utility
to be called the "Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility" in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40:62-47 et seq.[1] and 40A:26A-1 et seq., and all other enabling legislation,
regulations and codes. The Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility
shall be responsible for the operation, functioning and maintenance
of the Township water and sewerage systems; shall be empowered to
make such improvements as may be necessary to effectuate the foregoing
and have the authority to establish, charge and collect fees for connections,
usage and services for direct or indirect use of the water and sewerage
systems; and shall have all such other powers and duties as may be
specified and prescribed.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 40:62-47 was repealed by P.L.
1989, c. 109, § 1. See now N.J.S.A. 40A:31-1 et seq.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Township of
Nutley Water and Sewer Utility shall operate as a division within
the Department of Public Works. The Director of Public Works shall
select a Superintendent for the Water and Sewer Utility Division,
who shall serve at the pleasure of the Director. The Superintendent
of the Water and Sewer Utility Division shall report to the Director
of Public Works and shall receive such compensation as established
by the Board of Commissioners. Additional Water and Sewer Utility
Division staff may be hired in accordance with normal Township procedures
and in accordance with the Department of Public Works budget. The
Water and Sewer Utility Division may retain consulting professionals
as deemed necessary by the Director. The organization of the Water
and Sewer Utility Division and its function shall be in accordance
with the organizational chart, which shall be filed with the Township
Clerk, and shall be updated by resolution of the Director of Public
Works as required.
All billing and collection of water and sewer rents, rates and
charges on behalf of the Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility
shall be performed by the Department of Revenue and Finance as authorized
by its Director. Billing and collection operations shall be overseen
by the Tax Collector in coordination with the Chief Financial Officer.
The Chief Financial Officer shall provide reports on a regular basis,
but not less frequently than once per fiscal quarter, containing all
collections, revenues, expenses and balances of the Township of Nutley
Water and Sewer Utility. All such reports shall be circulated to the
Director of the Department of Public Works, the Director of the Department
of Revenue and Finance, and the Superintendent of the Sewer Utility
Division and the Board of Commissioners.
Rates for the connections, user fees and services are set by
separate ordinances of the Township, which are herein incorporated
by reference. Such rates, including but not limited to connections,
meters, and usage, may be subject to periodic review and change as
recommended by the Director and Superintendent of the Water and Sewer
Utility Division.
The anticipated revenues from the operation of the Township
of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility and the appropriations therefor
shall be set forth in a separate section of the Township budget and
maintained in the Water and Sewer Utility Fund as established by ordinance.
Dedicated revenues shall not be stated in the Township budget in an
amount which is in excess of the appropriation therein for the purposes
to which the same are applicable, or in excess of the amount actually
realized in cash from the same source during the preceding fiscal
year, unless the Director of the Division of Local Government Services
shall, upon application to the Board of Commissioners, determine that
the facts clearly warrant the expectation that such excess amount
will actually be realized in cash during the fiscal year and shall
certify such determination in writing to the Township.
Appropriations for the Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility
shall be in the form and detail prescribed by the regulations of the
Township and in accordance with the Local Finance Board and the Division
of Local Government Services and shall include, at least:
If in any year as a result of operations of such utility there
shall be a surplus, or such surplus can be reasonably anticipated,
then such surplus, when authorized by the Board of Commissioners,
may be included in the budget as an item of miscellaneous revenue,
under the caption of "Surplus from the Township of Nutley Water and
Sewer Utility." Any such surplus may be transferred to the general
fund upon the recommendation and approval of the Director of Revenue
and Finance in coordination with the Director of the Department of
Public Works. If in any year, as result of such operation, there shall
be a deficit or anticipated deficit, then an appropriation for such
deficit shall be included in the budget under the caption "Deficit
of the Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility." If any anticipated
deficit shall exceed the appropriation therefor, the excess shall
be provided in the budget for the following year. This section shall
not, however, supersede the specific dedication of receipts from the
Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility as provided in any law
which authorizes the establishment or creation of such utility unless
so directed by the Board of Commissioners.
[Added 1-16-2024 by Ord.
No. 3537]
The moneys derived from the operations of the sewer utility
known as the "Township of Nutley Water and Sewer Utility" and any
other moneys applicable to its support shall be segregated by the
Township and held in a separate fund to be known as the "Nutley Township
Water and Sewer Utility Fund" as prescribed by N.J.S.A. 40A:4-62 of
the Local Budget Law and shall be applied by the Township as provided
in said N.J.S.A. 40A:4-62. The Township Chief Financial Officer and
such other person as may be designated by the Commissioner of Revenue
and Finance are hereby authorized and directed to take such action
and prepare such documentation as shall be necessary or appropriate
to effect the establishment of the Nutley Township Water and Sewer
Utility Fund. Transfer of revenues to the Nutley Township Water and
Sewer Utility Fund shall occur over a six-month period from July 1,
2024, through December 31, 2024, and then over a one-year period from
January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025, pursuant to a plan to
be developed by the Township Board of Commissioners.
[Added 1-16-2024 by Ord.
No. 3537]
As required by N.J.S.A. 40A:4-63 of the Local Budget Law, moneys
held in the Nutley Township Water and Sewer Utility Fund shall be
treated by Township officials as moneys held in trust for the purposes
for which the Nutley Township Water and Sewer Utility Fund was created,
and no banking institution accepting the Nutley Township Water and
Sewer Utility Fund shall divert the moneys therein to any other purpose.
