It is the intention of the Town Board of the Town of Crawford, by the adoption of this Part
2, to establish and impose sewer charges for the Town of Crawford Sewer District No. 1 in which the Town Board is charged with the duty of operation and maintenance of said Sewer District.
As used or referred to in this Part
2, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACTUAL USE CHARGE
Charges paid by users for their proportionate share of operation and maintenance costs, including replacement allowances, of treatment works within the Sewer District as set forth in §
111-52A.
BENEFIT AREAS
Vacant parcels within the Sewer District, which when improved for residential or nonresidential purposes and connected to public sewers shall cause the owners thereof to become users. A "benefit area" is further defined as a parcel capable of being subdivided into two or more building lots, as such are defined in §
137-3 of Chapter
137, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Crawford. In such benefit area, the right to connect to the public sewer of the Town of Crawford Sewer District No. 1 shall be determined by the Town Board of the Town of Crawford for the protection of the public interest and the management of the Town of Crawford Sewer District No. 1, and in particular, it shall take into consideration the capacity of the collection system to receive sewage from such benefit areas within the planning period of the treatment works.
[Amended 4-9-1987 by L.L. No. 4-1987]
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE CHARGES
Includes all costs and expenses, including all costs and expenses
for replacement allowances, except it shall not include debt service payments.
RATE
Two rates of charge for the sewer district established annually by
the Town Board for the following costs and/or expenses:
[Amended 2-12-1987 by L.L. No. 1-1987]
A.
Operation and maintenance, including replacement.
REPLACEMENT ALLOWANCES
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories
or appurtenances which are necessary during the planning period of the treatment
works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works are designed
and constructed.
SEWER CHARGES
A scale of annual or other periodic charges within a calendar year established and imposed by the Town Board of the Town of Crawford for the use of the public sewer by benefit area or vacant-parcel owners and for those property owners who are not required to use the public sewer as set forth in §
111-8 of this chapter as further defined in the definition of "user charge system" below.
TAPPING FEE
A fee to help defray the costs of inspecting and testing any new
or replacement tap into the sewage collection system.
[Added 2-12-1987 by L.L. No. 1-1987]
USER
Any owner of real property within the Sewer District who is depositing
or is required to deposit sewage, either directly or indirectly, into the
public sewers, whether or not said user has a Pine Bush Water District meter
on the property.
USER CHARGE SYSTEM
A system of charges which shall be levied against users in the Sewer District, based on units as set forth in §
111-52 such that the Town may recover the cost for operation and maintenance, including replacement allowances, for the Sewer District. The system shall also include charges levied against all property owners and users for the repayment of capital debt service, as required.
VACANT-PARCEL OWNER
Any owner of vacant property within the Sewer District of the Town, who, by virtue of the parcel's proximity to public sewers, has the right to connect to the public sewers when the parcel is improved and the owner becomes a user, as defined above. The vacant property shall be that property which was both in existence at the time of the creation of the Town of Crawford Sewer District No. 1 and not capable of being subdivided into two or more building lots, as such are defined in §
137-3 of Chapter
137, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Crawford.
[Amended 4-9-1987 by L.L. No. 4-1987]
The Town Board shall review, not less often than every two years, the
wastewater contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation
and maintenance of the treatment works, and its approved user charge system.
The Town Board shall revise the charges for users or user classes to accomplish
the following:
A. To maintain the proportionate distribution of operation
and maintenance costs among users and user classes as required herein.
B. To generate sufficient revenue to pay the total operation
and maintenance costs necessary to the proper operation and maintenance, including
replacement allowances, of the treatment works.
C. To apply excess revenues collected from a class of users
to the costs of operation and maintenance attributable to that class for the
next year and adjust the rate accordingly.
User contributions for controlled discharges shall be subject to the regulations in the Town of Crawford Sewer Use Law, Article
VII, §§
111-35 and
111-36, of this chapter, including but not limited to charges to cover the increased costs of handling and treating such discharges.
The costs of all flows not directly attributable to users shall be distributed
among all users in the Sewer District in the same manner that the costs of
operation and maintenance are distributed among all users in the Sewer District
for their actual use. Any increase in the cost of managing effluent or sludge
due to the discharge of toxic pollutants shall be paid for by those users
who discharge said toxic pollutants.
Each user and vacant-parcel owner shall be notified annually, in conjunction
with a regular bill, of the rate and that portion of the user charges which
are attributable to wastewater treatment services. Such notification shall
be broken down to show separate charges and rates for operation and maintenance
and debt service repayment.
The Town Board may have preexisting agreements which address the reservation
of capacity in the Town's treatment works, or the charges to be collected
by the Town in providing wastewater treatment services or reserving capacity.
This user charge system shall take precedence over any terms or conditions
of agreements or contracts between the Town Board and users, including industrial
users, special districts, other municipalities or federal agencies or installations,
which are inconsistent with the requirements of federal regulations.
The rate shall be established annually by the Town Board of the Town
of Crawford at the time of adoption of the Town budget, except that, in its
first year of operation, the Town Board of the Town of Crawford shall have
the right to establish the rate at a time other than at the time of the adoption
of the Town budget.
All sewer charges shall be payable, collectible and enforceable in the
manner provided by law for the payment, collection and enforcement of annual
Town taxes in the Town of Crawford and, if unpaid within 30 days of the billing
date, shall constitute a lien upon the real property, and such lien shall
be proper and superior to every other lien or claim except a lien of an existing
tax, water charge or local assessment. A penalty of 10% of the amount of the
sewer charge will be added to each bill if the bill is not paid within the
thirty-day period of the billing date, such penalty to constitute part of
the sewer charge and part of the lien.
Unpaid sewer charges shall constitute a lien upon the real property
served by the sewer system or such part or parts thereof for which sewer charges
shall have been imposed on and from the first day fixed for the payment of
such sewer charges. The lien shall be prior and superior to every other lien
or other claim except the lien of an existing tax, assessment or other lawful
charge imposed by or for the State of New York or a political subdivision
or district thereof.