[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 301]
1.
There is hereby imposed upon the owners of each property upon which a building is connected to the Stroudsburg sanitary sewerage system a quarterly service charge. The quarterly rental shall be based upon the quantity of water use, as evidenced by meter readings of water meters installed and maintained by the Stroudsburg Municipal Authority for the purpose of measuring water purchased from the Authority. If a building is connected to the sanitary sewerage system and is not connected to the Authority's water system, see § 18-203 of this Part 2. The quantity of water recorded by a meter shall be conclusive on both the user and Borough, except when the meter has been found to be registering inaccurately or has ceased to register. In such cases, the quantity shall be determined by the average of the two previous quarters' registration when the meter recorded accurately. The quarterly service charge shall be an amount fixed by the Borough Council (§ 18-202, Subsection 2) and determined for individual properties by § 18-201, Subsection 3.
2.
A quarterly rental and service charge shall be paid for all buildings connected to the Stroudsburg sanitary sewerage system. The owner of a vacant building may discontinue quarterly sewer rental and service charge payments only by physically disconnecting the building from the Stroudsburg sanitary sewerage system and Stroudsburg Municipal Authority water system at the curb line. If the owner later connects to the sanitary sewerage system, he/she shall not be required to pay the capital contribution charge required by § 18-205 of this Part 2; however, connection fees shall be paid.
3.
When sanitary sewer service is provided through one sanitary sewer
lateral to a mixed use building, apartment house, group of house trailers,
or to any building having more than one unit (each trailer, store,
apartment, office, shop, manufacturing establishment, or other similar
use being hereby designated as a unit), each such unit shall be subject
to the same charges (rental and service charge) as would be applied
if separate connections had been made to each such unit. In those
instances in which separate connections do not exist, the service
charge shall be determined by multiplying the quarterly service charge
by the total number of units contained in the building or located
on the lot serviced.
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 302; as amended by Ord. 831, 1/8/2003, § 1;
by Ord. 868, 12/20/2006; by Ord. 881, 12/19/2007; by Ord. 896, 12/18/2008;
by Ord. 937, 12/16/2010; by Ord. 952, 1/3/2012, by Ord. 958, 12/5/2012;
by Ord. 981, 12/18/2013; by Ord. 996, 12/16/2014; by Ord. 1011, 12/1/2015;
by Ord. No. 1047, 1/16/2018; by Ord. No. 1062, 12/18/2018; by Ord. No. 1099, 12/1/2020; by Ord. No. 1118, 1/18/2022; by Ord. No. 1161, 1/2/2024]
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 303]
If any building or group of buildings serviced by the Stroudsburg
sanitary sewerage system obtains part or all water used from a source
other than the Stroudsburg Municipal Authority, then such water supply
or source shall be metered in a manner acceptable to the Borough.
All meters not provided by the Authority but required by this section
shall be furnished, installed, and maintained at the owner's expense
with installation approved by the Borough.
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 304; as amended by Ord. 774. 4/7/1999; by Ord. No. 1166, 4/2/2024]
1.
All bills for sewer rental and quarterly service charges shall be
dated and shall be due and payable within 15 days of the date thereof.
For any sewer rental or quarterly service charge not paid within 15
days of the date thereof, interest at the rate of 10% per annum shall
be added to the total amount due until payment is tendered.
2.
If any person refuses or neglects to pay charges for sewer rental
or quarterly services charges as provided herein within 90 days of
the date of such bill, the Borough may collect the amount of the bill
together with accrued interest thereon in any manner provided by law,
including by the filing of a lien in the nature of a municipal lien,
which shall be collected in the manner provide by law for the collection
of such liens. The Borough may elect to collect the charges by assigning
its claim to a collection agent and/or may cause water service to
the property to be discontinued. With respect to accounts remaining
unpaid for 90 days, the procedure set forth below shall be followed:
A.
Delinquencies Without Payment Agreements.
(1)
All notices or demands sent by the Borough pursuant to this Subsection 2 shall be sent by certified mail to the property owner. Copies of any such notices or demands shall be sent to any tenants or other residents of the affected property.
(2)
The Borough Manager or his or her agent shall notify the property
owner, in writing, of the total amount due, demanding that payment
be made in full within 30 days. A copy of the letter shall be sent
to any tenants or other residents of the affected property. If the
property owner has not paid the account by the end of the thirty-day
period, the Borough may file a lien according to the following procedures:
(a)
The total amount due to the Borough will be calculated, including interest charges as imposed pursuant to Subsection 1 above, as well as the costs to file and satisfy the lien, and the lien will be filed in the office of the Monroe County Prothonotary.
(b)
Another demand for payment will be sent to the property owner
after the lien has been filed. Payment will be required within 10
days of the demand letter, which will be sent by certified mail.
(c)
The lien will be removed only upon payment-in-full of the lien
amount, together with additional accrued interest.
B.
Delinquencies with a Payment Agreement.
(1)
The Borough may enter into a payment agreement for a delinquent
account, providing for installment payments of the delinquent amounts
over a period not to exceed one year.
(2)
During the term of any payment agreement, the property owner
must make timely payments thereunder, as well as make timely payments
of current charges.
(3)
If the account holder fails to make two consecutive payments,
the Borough Manager or his or her agent will send a letter via certified
mail to the account holder requesting payment of missed payments within
10 days.
C.
Owners in Bankruptcy.
(1)
An owner in bankruptcy is responsible for paying sewer rental
charges for the periods subsequent to the date of the filing of the
petition in bankruptcy. During the pendency of a bankruptcy, the owner's
property will not be liened without court approval, nor will court
action to collect the delinquency be initiated. However, other remedies
available to the Borough with respect to delinquent accounts may be
exercised with respect to accounts of owners in bankruptcy for post-petition
delinquencies. The Bankruptcy Code[1] permits the Borough, in specified circumstances, to require
payment of security deposits. Accordingly, if the account of an owner
in bankruptcy was already delinquent at the time the petition in bankruptcy
was filed, then at any time after 20 days after the petition was filed,
the Borough may require the owner to pay a security deposit for continued
service in an amount equal to the average of the last four quarterly
bills. The security deposit shall be refunded upon the owner's
making timely payment of four successive quarterly bills.
[1]
Editor's Note: See U.S.C. Title II.
(2)
If the account of an owner in bankruptcy becomes delinquent
post-petition, the Borough may also follow its usual procedures to
terminate water service to the owner's property, and notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary, action may be taken to collect post-petition
debt as may be authorized under law.
3.
If any sewer rental and quarterly service charge is not paid within
90 days of said bill, the Borough may disconnect water service to
the property charged. Water service to the charged property shall
not be restored until all delinquent bills and penalties against the
same are paid in full. In addition, prior to restoring service, the
Borough may require the property owner to pay a security deposit,
which shall be in the amount of two times the amount of the last quarterly
sewer bill. If the Borough elects to disconnect water service, the
procedures set forth below shall be followed:
A.
If the account is delinquent for a period in excess of 90 days and
the property owner or tenant thereof has not entered into a satisfactory
payment agreement, then the Borough, shall assign that claim to the
Brodhead Creek Regional Authority.
B.
The Brodhead Creek Regional Authority will follow its established
procedures for service disconnection, which procedures shall comply
with 53 P.S. § 2261[2] and shall include not less than 10 days' notice of
shutoff, which notice shall be given by both mail and posting in accordance
with law.
[2]
Editor's Note: 53 P.S. § 2261 was repealed.
See now 53 P.S. § 3102.502.
C.
Upon payment of the delinquent amounts, together with penalties,
the Borough shall advise the owner whether and in what amount a security
deposit shall be required prior to reconnection of water service.
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 305]
Whenever sewer service begins after the first day or terminates
before the last day of any calendar quarter or whenever ownership
of a serviced property is changed during a calendar quarter, the quarterly
service charge shall be determined by multiplying the amount of the
quarterly service charge by a fraction having the total number of
days in the quarter as a denominator and the number of days sewer
service was provided as a numerator.
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 306; as amended by Ord. 705, 6/12/1991, § 1]
1.
The owner or owners of property are responsible for all quarterly
service charges and for all sewer rentals rendered to any tenant or
occupant.
2.
All owners and persons occupying property connected to the sewer
system shall give the Borough their correct address. Failure to receive
bills shall not be considered an excuse for nonpayment nor permit
for extension of a period during which bills are payable at their
face value.
3.
The owner or owners of properties connected to the sewer system shall
be responsible for ascertaining the accuracy of the quarterly sewer
bills, including the number of units billed under the quarterly service
charge. When an owner or owners pay an incorrect quarterly service
charge, the Borough shall not reimburse the owner or owners for the
overbilling. Conversely, when the Borough discovers it underbilled
an owner or owners for the number of units billed for quarterly service
charges, the Borough shall not back-charge the owner or owners. All
owners must inform the Borough of changes in the number of units at
their properties.
[Ord. 649, 5/31/1988,
§ 307]
Includes offices, retail and wholesale establishments, automobile
service stations, laundromats, hotels, churches, schools, and non-profit
agencies, provided each office, store, or place of business is considered
a separate unit even though such units are contained in one building.
Includes factories, mills, manufacturers, assemblers, and
warehouses, provided each factory, mill, manufacturer, assembler,
or warehouse is considered a separate unit even when contained in
one building.
A building or portion thereof with exclusive culinary and/or
sanitary facilities designed for occupancy by one person or one family
(household).
