[Amended by referendum 10-5-1964; amended by
referendum 11-4-2003; amended by referendum11-8-2022]
The Town of Manchester shall continue to have
and possess all the rights, powers, franchises and property, real,
personal and mixed, of the South Manchester Water Company and the
South Manchester Sanitary and Sewer District and all other property
heretofor and hereafter acquired by the Town for the purpose of supplying
water or sewer facilities and may continue to hold and operate all
of said property under such regulations and conditions as it may establish.
The South Manchester Water Company and the South Manchester Sanitary
and Sewer District shall be managed in accordance with and under the
direction of a plan established by the Town Manager with the approval
of the Board of Directors, and this Department shall be constituted
to perform such functions and have such powers and duties as are imposed
by the Connecticut General Statutes, Special Acts applicable thereto,
this Charter and ordinances approved by the Board of Directors.
[Amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1949, Sp.
No. 503, Sec. 1, 25 C.S.A. 1230, approved 7-26-1949; amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess.,
1955, Sp. No. 281, Sec. 2, 27 C.S.A. 232, approved 6-3-1955; amended by
Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1957, Sp. No. 52, Sec. 3, 28 C.S.A. 73, approved 4-8-1957; amended by
referendum 4-30-1968; amended by referendum 11-6-1973]
The Board of Directors shall establish just and equitable rates or charges for the use of the waterworks system in accordance with Chapter 102 of the Connecticut General Statutes, Revision of 1958, as amended, and for the use of the sewerage system in accordance with Chapter
103 of the Connecticut General Statutes, Revision of 1958, as amended.
[Amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1955, Sp.
No. 281, Sec. 3, 27 C.S.A. 232, approved 6-3-1955; amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sees.,
1957, Sp. No. 52, Sec. 4, 28 C.S.A. 74, approved 4-8-1957; amended by
referendum 11-4-2008; amended by referendum11-8-2022]
All bills for the use of the waterworks system
and for the use of the sewerage system and sewage treatment works
shall be prepared under the direction of the Superintendent of the
Water and Sewer Department and paid to the Collector of Revenue. Separate
accounts shall be kept of the funds derived from each of the utilities
and of the disposition thereof, which account shall be audited annually,
and the report of such audits shall be open to public inspection.
The Director of Finance of the Town shall be the custodian of such
funds, which shall be kept separate from other funds of the Town,
and shall be used for such utilities, respectively, and for no other
purpose, except that any surplus funds derived from either of said
utilities may be transferred to the general funds of the Town, on
the recommendation of the Town Manager, by a vote of the Board of
Directors, and may then be used for the general purposes of the Town.
[Amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1957, Sp.
No. 52, Sec. 28 C.S.A. 75, approved 4-8-1957; amended by referendum 4-30-1968; amended by
referendum11-8-2022]
The Town Manager shall appoint a Superintendent
of the Water and Sewer Department who at the time of their appointment
need not be a resident of the Town or state, but during the tenure
of office shall reside within the Town. The Superintendent of the
Water and Sewer Department shall be the executive head of the Department
and, as such, shall have charge and control, under the direction of
the Town Manager, of the administration and discipline of the Department
and of the buildings, machinery, equipment and property of all kinds
used by the Department. The Superintendent shall appoint, with the
approval of the Town Manager and within the limits of the appropriations
made by the Board of Directors, such employees of the Department as
they may deem necessary for its proper management and operation, and
shall fix their compensation within a scale of wage rates recommended
by the Town Manager and approved by the Board of Directors.
[Amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1965, Sp.
No. 281, Sec. 4, 27 C.S.A. 233, approved 6-3-1955; amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess.,
1957, Sp. No. 52, Sec. 6, 28 C.S.A. 75, approved 4-8-1957; amended by
referendum 1-8-1960; for No. 542 of Special Acts of 1953, see Special Acts Art. 14 in
this volume]
(1) The provisions of Chapter V and Chapter XIX of this
Charter shall apply to the water and sewer utilities and their management
and operation, and money shall be expended only in accordance therewith,
provided no money shall be appropriated for the budgets of the Water
and Sewer Department for the sewerage system or for the waterworks
system in excess of the anticipated revenues from such systems, respectively,
except that, in the event such revenues shall be insufficient therefor,
there shall be included in said budgets, respectively, such amounts
as may be required for the payment of interest on or principal of
indebtedness, other than indebtedness payable solely from such revenues,
assumed or incurred by the Town in connection with the acquisition,
construction or improvement of the sewerage system and sewage treatment
works or of the waterworks system, as the case may be. Bonds of the
Town issued pursuant to number 542 of the Special Acts of 1953 shall
be deemed to be issued to acquire the water system and for water supply
for the purposes of this Charter and of § 7-374 of the 1958
General Statutes, as they may from time to time be amended. No provision
of this Charter shall be construed to prohibit the issuing of general
obligation bonds for capital improvements relating to the water and
sewer facilities or as restricting the powers of the Town under the
provisions of Chapters 102 and 103 of the General Statutes (Rev. of
1958), as they may from time to time be amended.
(2) (a) Creation of reserve fund for Water Department. The Board of Directors, by a majority vote, may create a reserve
fund for capital and nonrecurring expenditures of the Town Water Department
to be known as the Water Department "Reserve Fund for Capital and
Nonrecurring Expenditures."
(b) Procurement of fund. The Board of Directors may authorize the payment into such reserve
fund (a) all or a part of the cash surplus of the Water Department
available at the end of any fiscal period and an appropriation in
the annual Water Department budget. All money so accumulated, together
with all interest that may accrue thereon, shall be deposited in a
separate bank account by the Director of Finance and may be invested
and reinvested from time to time in securities which are legal investments
for savings banks.
(c)
Use of fund. Upon approval
by the Board of Directors, any part or the whole of such fund may
be used for capital and nonrecurring expenditures for the Water Department,
but such use shall be restricted to the financing of all or part of
the planning, construction, reconstruction or acquisition of any specific
capital improvement or the acquisition of any specific item of equipment.
Upon the approval of any such expenditure, an appropriation account
shall be set up plainly designated for the project or acquisition
for which it has been authorized and any unexpended portion of such
appropriation shall continue until such project of acquisition is
completed. Any unexpended portion of any such appropriation remaining
after such completion shall revert to said reserve fund.
(d)
Discontinuance of reserve. Said
reserve fund may be discontinued at any time by the Board of Directors,
and the unexpended and unappropriated balance of said fund shall be
transferred to the General Fund of the Town Water Department.
(3) (a) Creation of a reserve fund for Sewer Department. The Board of Directors, by a majority vote, may create a Reserve
Fund for capital and nonrecurring expenditures of the Town Sewer Department
to be known as the Sewer Department "Reserve Fund for Capital and
Nonrecurring Expenditures."
(b) Procurement of fund. The Board of Directors may authorize the payment into such reserve
fund (a) all or a part of the cash surplus of the Sewer Department
available at the end of any fiscal period and an appropriation in
the annual Sewer Department budget. All money so accumulated, together
with all interest that may accrue thereon, shall be deposited in a
separate bank account by the Director of Finance and may be invested
and reinvested, from time to time, in securities which are legal investments
for savings banks.
(c)
Use of fund. Upon approval
by the Board of Directors, any part or the whole of such fund may
be used for capital and nonrecurring expenditures for the Sewer Department,
but such use shall be restricted to the financing of all or part of
the planning, construction, reconstruction or acquisition of any specific
capital improvement or the acquisition of any specific item of equipment.
Upon the approval of any such expenditure, an appropriation account
shall be set up plainly designated for the project or acquisition
for which it has been authorized, and any unexpended portion of such
appropriation shall continue until such project or acquisition is
completed. Any unexpended portion of any such appropriation remaining
after such completion shall revert to said Reserve Fund.
(d)
Discontinuance of reserve fund. Said reserve fund may be discontinued at any time by the Board of
Directors, and the unexpended and unappropriated balance of said fund
shall be transferred to the General Fund of the Town Sewer Department.
[Added by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1949, Sp.
No. 503, Sec. 9, 25 C.S.A. 1232, approved 7-26-1949; renumbered by referendum 11-6-1973]
The Town shall not be liable for any damage
caused by failure of the water supply, change of or lack of pressure
or the shutting off of water, with or without notice, for repairs
or other necessary operations. Water consumers shall so regulate their
installations connected with the water supply system that damage will
not occur if water is shut off without notice.
[Added by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1953, Sp.
No. 559, 26 C.S.A. 1109, approved 6-30-1953; amended by Sp. Act, Jan. Sess., 1957,
Sp. No. 52, Sec. 10, 28 C.S.A. 75, approved 4-8-1957; renumbered by referendum 11-6-1973]
Whenever in the opinion of the Board of Directors
public convenience and necessity require the addition of material,
equipment and services to the distribution system to supply water
to residents of the Town of Glastonbury served now or in the future
by the Town of Manchester, the Board of Directors may increase the
rate or charge for water to such residents of Glastonbury by an amount
necessary to amortize the cost of such additional material, payment
and services.