Town of Farmington, CT Article V Residential Assessments and Sewer Costs

[Adopted 5-11-2010]

§ 156-49 Benefit assessment methods for properties zoned for residential use.

A. The following table provides the maximum benefit assessments to be paid by benefiting property owners of property zoned for residential use within the Town of Farmington; provided, however, the assessment amounts contained in the table shall be updated annually by the Authority during its budget process using the Construction Cost Index set forth in the latest edition of the Engineering News Record ("ENR").

	2010 Calendar Year Assessment Amounts
	Zoning Class	Assessment Amount
	R-20 and Under	$10,000
	R-30 and R-40	$12,500
	R-80	$15,000

B. When a property owner who deferred his sewer benefit assessment requests connection or is required to connect to a public sewer system, or when persons independently connect to a developer-constructed sewer, or when the owner of a newly created lot seeks to connect to a public sewer system for which an assessment has not previously been set, the amount of the sanitary sewer connection charge for the connection shall be determined by converting the original assessment rate for that sewer to present value using the Construction Cost Index set forth by the latest edition of the Engineering News Record ("ENR").

C. In accordance with General Statutes § 7-249, the maximum amount that the Authority shall assess a benefiting property owner shall be the lesser amount of either the assessment amount as determined by the above table or the net project cost, after deduction of grants and reimbursements, divided by the number of benefiting property owners.

§ 156-50 Sewer cost responsibilities.

A. The intent of this section is to provide a guideline for the determination of the responsibility for the payment of the costs related to a non-developer sewer project and the various sources of payment of such costs by the Town (general taxpayers), the Authority and a benefiting property owner:

(1) Town of Farmington.

(a) Funding source.

[1] General obligation bonds paid by general taxpayers.

(b) Cost responsibilities.

[1] Water treatment plant upgrades.

[2] New pumping stations and other new collection system improvements (e.g., interceptors).

[3] Portion of mainline/lateral extension costs not covered by sewer assessments (e.g., neighborhood sewer projects).

(2) Water Pollution Control Authority.

(a) Funding source.

[1] Sewer use fees paid by all users of system.

(b) Cost responsibilities.

[1] Operation and maintenance of treatment plant.

[2] Basic and routine maintenance, repairs and upgrades to town-wide system.

[3] Replacement and upgrades to pumping stations and other collection system improvements (e.g., interceptors).

[4] Studies and engineering work.

(3) Benefiting property owners.

(a) Funding source.

[1] Private sources.

(b) Cost responsibilities.

[1] Assessable portion of neighborhood mainline/lateral extensions costs.

[2] Costs and expenses incidental to the installation of sewer lines from property line to property owner's residence and related costs (Town of Farmington Code §§ 156-24 and 156-46).

B. The following definitions are provided herein as a guideline with respect to certain terms referenced in this chapter with respect to a sewer system:

BENEFIT ASSESSMENT

A benefit assessment is the charge a municipality or wastewater district places against a property to recover the cost of capital expenditures for the acquisition, construction, or upgrading or wastewater collection, conveyance, or treatment facilities. ("Methods of Capital Cost Recovery on Water Pollution Control Projects," published January 1997 by CT-DEP).

CONNECTION CHARGE

A connection charge, referenced in C.G.S. § 7-255, may be levied at the time of connection with the sewer and is generally in addition to the benefit assessment. Connection charges take basically two forms. The first, which exists while the debt for the sewer system is still active, generally covers the municipal cost of processing a permit to connect, including the inspection of the connection. The second, which usually occurs after the capital debt for the sewer has been paid off, covers both the permit processing costs and a lump sum payment in lieu of a benefit assessment. ("Methods of Capital Cost Recovery on Water Pollution Control Projects," published January 1997 by CT-DEP).

USER CHARGE

A sewer use charge is designed to recover the operating costs of the wastewater treatment system (operations, maintenance and limited component replacement) and is charged only to those properties which actually discharge to the sewer system. ("Methods of Capital Cost Recovery on Water Pollution Control Projects," published January 1997 by CT DEP).

§ 156-51 Authority's power to mandate sewer projects.

A. Pursuant to Title 7, Chapter 103 of the General Statutes, and Chapter 68 of the Town of Farmington Municipal Code, the power to acquire, construct and operate a sewerage system or systems within the Town of Farmington rests with the Authority.

B. The Authority may, within its discretion, deem it necessary to construct a sewer system and mandate that such system be constructed. Such construction shall be carried out in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes. Such sewer projects will be assessed to the individual homeowners within the project in accordance with § 156-49.

C. If an existing development or neighborhood which the Authority has not yet mandated to have a sewerage system wishes to construct a sewerage system, the construction of the system shall be considered a developer-built project under a developer permit agreement. The existing development or neighborhood shall be considered the developer in accordance with § 156-14. In the event that an existing development or neighborhood elects to construct a sewerage system, the property owners within the scope of said project shall be responsible for all costs not excepted by § 156-12D or § 156-14.