The Village hereby establishes and imposes sewer rents for the
use of the Village's sewer system or any part or parts thereof. The
calculation of sewer rents to be paid by all users of the Village's
sewer system shall be based upon the consumption of water on the premises
served by the Village's sewer system. Pursuant to the aforementioned
laws, the Village Board shall from time to time by local law establish
the rate at which such sewer rents are calculated. Such local laws
shall be adopted after a public hearing upon five days' public notice.
The charges for sewer rents shall equal the current rate charged
by the Village for sewer usage multiplied by the quantity of sewer
usage calculated for different types of users of the Village's sewer
system as follows:
A. Any property improved by not more than one single-family residential
structure connected, or to be connected, to the Village's sewer system
shall be charged for a quantity of sewer usage equal to the quantity
of water usage that is attributed to such property for billing purposes
in accordance with the formula employed by the Southern Cayuga Lake
Intermunicipal Water Commission ("SCLIWC"), including the formula's
method for calculating the minimum base charge for water usage, but
excluding the component of such formula relating to meter size;
B. Any property improved by a two-family residential structure, an apartment
building or buildings or any other multiple residential dwelling,
other than a fraternity house, sorority house or dormitory, connected,
or to be connected, to the Village's sewer system shall be charged
for a quantity of sewer usage equal to the quantity of water usage
that is attributed to such property for billing purposes in accordance
with the formula employed by the SCLIWC, including the formula's method
for calculating the minimum base charge for water usage, but excluding
the component of such formula relating to meter size, except that
such charges for sewer usage will be calculated for each dwelling
unit on such property, notwithstanding that SCLIWC's formula for billing
purposes treats residential properties with two dwelling units as
having one dwelling unit; and
C. Any other property, including, but not limited to, any property improved
by a fraternity house, sorority house, dormitory, or any commercial,
business or industrial property, including, but not limited to, any
school, place of worship, office, gas station or store, shall be charged
for a quantity of sewer usage equal to the quantity of water usage
that is attributed to such property for billing purposes in accordance
with the formula employed by SCLIWC, including the formula's method
for calculating the minimum base charge for water usage, but excluding
the component of such formula relating to meter size, and excluding
any portion of the property's wastewater that is not discharged into
the Village's sewer system in accordance with a special permit for
such property.
The Village Engineer may require each owner and/or occupant
of real property within the Village connected to the Village's sewer
system, as well as any other user of the Village's sewer system, to
furnish such information as may be necessary and reasonable in order
to carry out the provisions of this Part. Any duly authorized officer,
employee, contractor, or agent of the Village or other person duly
authorized by the Village, including employees and contractors of,
and persons authorized by, the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal
Water Commission, shall have authority to enter upon any property
connected to the Village's sewer system, or any property the waste
from which is transported through the Village's sewer system or treated
at the Village's wastewater treatment plant, at reasonable hours for
the purpose of reading meters, inspecting, disconnecting or repairing
such meters or connections to the Village's sewer system, or for any
other purposes reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions or
purposes of this Part.
Any costs and expenses or other charges other than those hereinbefore
described, incurred by the Village because of any repair or other
work to the Village's sewer system or otherwise for which the owner
of any property served by or connected with the Village's sewer system
is obligated under this Part or any other local law, ordinance, statute
or provision of law, shall be collected in the manner provided for
the collection of sewer rents in this Part, and shall be a lien upon
the property and enforceable in accordance with the provisions of
this Part or any other applicable provision of law.
The Village shall charge for treatment of trucked or hauled
waste accepted for treatment and disposal at the Village's wastewater
treatment plant on the basis of the actual quantity of such waste;
however, if such actual quantity is less than 10,000 gallons, then
there shall be imposed a minimum charge equal to sewer rents calculated
on the basis of 10,000 gallons of water consumption. Any such treatment
of trucked or hauled waste must be separately permitted by the Village
Board and must comply with all rules and regulations of the Village
and the State of New York.
If any owner of real property on which a sewer rent has been
imposed deems himself or herself aggrieved because such real property
is not served by the sewer system or an error has been made in computing
such sewer rent, he or she may file an application for a refund of
all or part of such sewer rent. Such application shall be verified
by the owner and shall set forth the amount of refund sought and the
grounds therefor. Such application shall be presented to the Village's
Board of Trustees, which may refund all or part of such sewer rent.
Any such application shall be filed within 60 days of the time the
applicant learns of the claimed error, and in any event within four
months of the date of the bill claimed to be in error. The Village
Board may, for good cause shown, extend the time for the filing of
such application if circumstances demonstrate that the charges are
patently unfair and that the applicant had a reasonable basis for
not timely filing the application for correction of the error.
Any revenues derived by the Village from sewer rents, including
penalties and interest, shall be deposited in a special fund to be
known as the "Sewer Rent Fund." Monies in such fund shall be used
for the payment of the necessary management, maintenance, operation,
repair and financing of any sewer improvement or service provided
by the Village, including any payment required to be made by the Village
to any contracting municipality for such purposes, including interest
and penalties. Except as otherwise stated in this Part, at any time,
any surcharges on said sewer rents shall be used for the costs of
sewer operations as above defined and shall be specifically designated
for such purpose in the Sewer Rent Fund. Moneys in the fund shall
be used to pay the Village's share of the operating and maintenance
costs and capital costs, to the extent authorized by law and the Village
Board, related to collection, transmission and treatment of sewage
and for any other purpose authorized by General Municipal Law § 453
as the same may be amended from time to time.
This Part shall apply to all properties in the Village as well as to all users of the Village's sewer system and the municipalities in which such users are located. Sewer rents shall not be charged against properties granted special permit under Article
I of this chapter or against properties connected to any other municipal system, except against those properties where the Village pays the rent of such a connection.