[Amended 5-2-1973 by Res. No. 1, 1973]
The Commissioners of Hebron are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to construct and establish a sewerage system and sewage treatment plant for the Town of Hebron, and, for the purpose of providing funds therefor, the Commissioners of Hebron are hereby authorized and empowered to borrow from time to time a sum or sums of money as said Commissioners may deem to be necessary to carry out such projects and to issue bonds upon the full faith and credit of the Town of Hebron. Said bonds shall be serial bonds issued upon a serial maturing plan and in such denominations as shall be determined by the Commissioners. Said bonds may be redeemable before maturity at the option of the Commissioners at such price and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Commissioners prior to the issuance of said bonds, shall bear interest at a rate per annum to be determined by said Commissioners, said interest being payable semiannually, shall mature in no more than forty (40) years after date of issue and shall be forever exempt from state, county and municipal taxation. The issuance of such bonds shall not be subject to any limitation or conditions contained in any other law, and the Commissioners shall sell said bonds by solicitation for competitive bids at public sale after the publication of the notice of sale in a newspaper of general circulation in said town and such other publication as said Commissioners may specify, in the form prescribed by resolution of said Commissioners, by two (2) insertions thereof over a period of not less than ten (10) days next preceding the date fixed for such sale.
[Added 5-2-1973 by Res. No. 2, 1973]
A. 
Benefit assessments. For the purpose of paying the interest and principal of the bonds issued by the Commissioners, as provided in § HC10-1 of this Article, to pay for the sewerage system and sewage treatment plant for the Town of Hebron, the Commissioners are hereby authorized and directed to fix an annual assessment on all properties, improved or unimproved, which are directly benefited by the installation. The annual assessment shall be made upon the front-foot basis, and the first payment shall be collected during the fiscal year of said town in which the construction is completed.
B. 
Classifications. All property subject to benefit assessments for said sewer shall be divided into four (4) classes: agricultural, industrial, commercial and residential. The Commissioners shall, in writing, notify all owners of said properties of which class their respective properties fall into and of the charge determined therefor, naming also in said notice a time and place when and at which said owner will be heard. Such notice may be mailed to the last known address of the owner or served in person upon any adult occupying the premises or, in the case of vacant or unimproved property, posted upon the premises. The classification of and the benefit assessed against any property as made by the Commissioners shall be final, subject only to revision at said hearing. The Commissioners may change the classification of property from time to time as said properties change in the uses to which they are put. Benefit charges shall be as nearly uniform as is reasonably practical for each class of property for any one (1) year.
C. 
Method of fixing benefit charges. Benefit charges for sewerage construction shall be based for each class of property upon the number of front feet abutting upon the street, lane, road, alley or right-of-way in which the sewer is placed; provided, however, that in the case of any irregular-shaped lot abutting upon a street, lane, road, alley or right-of-way in which there is or is being constructed a sewer at any point, said lot shall be assessed for such frontage as the Commission may determine to be reasonable and fair, provided further that no lot in a subdivision property shall be assessed on more than one (1) side unless said lot abuts upon two (2) parallel streets, and provided further that corner lots may be averaged or assessed upon such frontage as the Commissioners may deem reasonable and fair. When land is assessed as agricultural land, no assessment shall be made even though a sewer is constructed through it or in front of it until such time as the sewer connection is made, and, when so made, every connection shall become liable to a front-foot assessment as may be determined by said Commissioners for agricultural land.
D. 
Duration and reduction. The annual amount of any benefit charge may be reduced from time to time by the Commissioners in their discretion if costs and conditions are deemed by them to justify such reduction. Said benefit charges shall be paid annually by all properties against which a benefit has been assessed as long as any of the bonds remain outstanding for payment of which the benefit charge was originally imposed. The Commissioners shall at any time permit a connection with the sewer by a property owner whose property does not abut on said sewer and who had not previously thereto paid a benefit charge for the construction of said sewer, provided that said Commissioners shall classify said property and determine a front-foot charge to be paid by said property owner as though his or her property abutted on said sewer; and, in the event of such connection being made, said property owner and said property as to all charges, rates and benefits shall stand in every respect in the same position as if said property abutted upon a sewer line.
E. 
Collection and liens of benefit charges. All benefit assessments shall be payable to the Treasurer of the Commissioners of Hebron immediately upon being levied and shall be overdue and in default after sixty (60) days from that date, at which time the Treasurer of said town may proceed to enforce payment thereof, and the said benefit charge or any judgment or decree obtained as a result of defaults in payment thereof shall bear interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month from and after said time that the benefit assessment or other charges are in default. Annual benefit assessments or charges shall be a first lien upon the property against which they are assessed, until paid, any statute of limitations to the contrary notwithstanding, subject only to prior state, county and town taxes; and, if any property shall be sold for state, county and/or town taxes or all three (3) by the Director of Finance of Wicomico County, Maryland, as provided in Article 81 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1969 Edition) and the amendments thereto, said Director shall collect said benefit charges. If any liens, benefit assessments or other charges remain unpaid for sixty (60) days after becoming due, they may be collected by an action of assumpsit or by a bill in equity to enforce such liens, and any judgment or decree obtained where the defendants have been served by subpoena or in any other manner provided by law shall have the force and effect of a judgment in personam; and the Treasurer, on behalf of the Commissioners, may sue for collection of town taxes and such benefit charges. Any judgment or decree obtained by the Town Treasurer shall have the same priority as the charge or assessment for which it was obtained. In addition to any other methods of collection herein provided, the Town Treasurer shall have the right to enforce collection of any benefit assessments or ad valorem taxes in the same method and manner and by the same procedure provided for the collection of state, county and town taxes.
The Commissioners of Hebron shall annually levy upon all assessable property liable to taxation in the Town of Hebron at the regular tax-levying period an amount sufficient to meet and pay the interest on said bonds so issued and outstanding and to meet and pay the principal of said bonds as they shall become due, which tax shall be levied and collected and shall have the same priority rights, bear the same interest and penalties and in every respect be treated as other town taxes now are. Said amount so levied and collected shall be kept in a separate fund for the payment of said interest and principal and for no other purpose whatsoever.
The said Commissioners shall have authority to design, construct, maintain and operate a sewerage system and sewage treatment plant and to acquire by gift, purchase, lease or condemnation all lands, either in fee or as an easement, improvements, watercourses and water rights necessary therefor.
The said Commissioners shall cause surveys, studies, plans, specifications and estimates to be made for the establishment and construction of a sewerage system and a sewage treatment plant, including sewer trunk lines, force mains, lateral sewers, intercepting sewers and pumping stations. The sewage treatment plant may be located within or outside the corporate limits. Whenever plans shall have been completed for this project or any part thereof and the said Commissioners shall have decided to proceed with the construction thereof, they shall advertise by notice in such newspapers as they may deem proper for bids for the construction of said work, in part or as a whole, as in their judgment shall appear advisable. The contract shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder or the Commissioners may reject any and all bids, and if, in their discretion, the prices quoted are unreasonable, they may readvertise the work or any part thereof or may do any part or all of the work by day labor. All contracts shall be protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions as the said Commissioners shall require, all of which shall be enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
For the purpose of providing funds for maintaining and operating the sewerage system and sewage treatment plant contemplated by this Article, including overhead expense and depreciation allowance, the Commissioners of Hebron are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to make such service rates or charges as may be necessary, chargeable against all properties having a connection with any water pipe or sewer main under the ownership of the said Commissioners. Said rates shall be uniform throughout the Town of Hebron, but subject to change from time to time as necessary. These rates and charges shall be in addition to the rates, rents or charges for the furnishing of water or other municipal services.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 162, which immediately followed this section, concerning referendum on bonds, was repealed 5-2-1973 by Res. No. 3, 1973.