This policy is adopted pursuant to RSA 38:28, RSA 38:27 and RSA 149-I:7 and Chapters
398 and
477 of the Town Code.
The Board of Selectmen realizes the broad scope of the water
and sewer system projects throughout the community and the need to
continually manage, construct, enlarge, acquire, extend, and make
improvements to the systems for continued reliability and availability
of the systems to provide special benefit to those who are and may
be served by such utility systems. Further the Board recognizes the
general benefit to the customers of the municipal utility systems
of sharing in the cost of extending system services to areas of the
community not yet serviced and the resulting benefit provided to landowners
by the availability of municipal water and sewer service. Therefore
the purpose of this chapter is to provide high-quality, available
and reasonably reliable water and sewer resources, to the benefit
of current and future users, as funded through the combination of
the user rate and reasonable and equitable assessments across all
user types, by assessing those creating a new demand through new connections
and/or modifying the demand of an existing connection to the Town
of Salem public water system and/or the public sanitary sewer system.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AVAILABILITY
The presence of a reasonably reliable and quality water and
sewer system to the extent that such system provides special benefit
and is made or can be made available to those who are or will benefit
from such systems. The obligation to provide accessibility to the
water and sewer systems shall not solely be the obligation of the
Town.
BENEFIT
The advantage, enhancement, and/or facilitation of use or
development derived from the availability of sewer and water services
throughout the community and specifically to parcels that currently
or in the future will be permitted to connect to the sewer and water
system.
CONSTRUCTION COSTS
The sum of all costs incurred for the utility extension,
including design, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, construction,
construction supervision, traffic control, legal and bonding expenses,
interest on debt and other reasonable ancillary expenses.
COST OF DEMAND AND AVAILABILITY
The cost of the increase in demand and to provide reasonable
availability as expressed by the projects in the document "Town of
Salem, NH Town-wide Sewer and Water Buildout Estimated Costs and Demand
Flows." This document represents the estimated total cost of projects
and the estimated increases in capacity to allow for demand and provide
for reasonable and continual availability. The document may be amended
from time to time as projects are amended, completed, or added to
the document. The document represents projects that have been, are
or will be planned as part of a Town-wide plan for the water and sewer
systems and not the sole limit of the possible use of revenues generated
by this chapter.
DEMAND
The projected flow/discharge of water or sewer to/from a
particular land use as indicated by the document titled "Town of Salem
Flow Demand and Benefit Values." Where a use is proposed that is not
listed in the document, the Town may determine that the use is similar
to a use listed in the document or the Town may use national or other
reasonable standards to make such determination.
NOT BUILDABLE
Not eligible for a building permit at the time a utility
extension occurs.
PARCEL
A parcel of land, otherwise known as a "lot," that is privately
owned and segregated by deed from adjacent properties.
SERVICE
A waterline extending from a water distribution main, or
a sewer line ("stub") extending from a sewer collector main, to a
point at or near the property line of a parcel.
SEWER DEMAND AND BENEFIT ASSESSMENT
The revenue collected from those who derive special benefit
from the sewer system to pay for the cost of the demand on, and provide
availability to, the Town of Salem's sewer system, including the management,
creation, improvement, extension and expansion of wastewater collection
and treatment, pumping, and all other facilities that generally provide
for collection and treatment of sewage.
SYSTEM-WIDE BENEFIT
Benefit derived from projects, construction, enhancements,
expansion, utility extensions or other improvements which can be attributed
to the entire water and/or sewer system and are distinguishable from
improvements which are attributable to the planned improvements made
for the benefit of a parcel or parcels. The Town may determine and
allocate a portion of the value of improvements to a system-wide benefit.
TOWN
The Town of Salem, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, a municipality
of the State of New Hampshire, acting by and through its Selectmen
with the Town Manager serving as their designee.
USER FEES
Fees charged to individual customers for their measured use
of a service or consumption of a product.
UTILITY EXTENSION
Extension of an existing water or sewer main beyond the then
current extent of the system so as to make service available to the
abutters to the extension.
WATER DEMAND AND BENEFIT ASSESSMENT
The revenue collected from those who derive special benefit
from the sewer system to pay for the cost of the demand on, and availability
of, the Town of Salem's water facilities, including the management,
creation, improvement, extension and expansion of treatment, pumping,
storage, protection of supply, and transmission facilities that generally
provide water to the local distribution networks.