[Adopted 12-12-2019 by Ord. No. 19-24]
There is hereby created and established in the Borough, and in accordance with New Jersey statutes, a public utility for budgetary purposes. The name by which this utility shall be known is the "Borough of Carteret Sewer Utility" (hereinafter, the "utility"). For budgetary and accounting purposes, the utility shall be a separate entity.
The utility, which constitutes an agency of the Borough, exercising public and essential governmental functions, shall have all the powers necessary and convenient to carry out and effectuate the purpose and the provisions of the New Jersey statutes.
It shall be the function of the utility to budget and account for the system; to enforce the Borough's laws and regulations concerning sewer service; to raise money necessary to pay for the lands, buildings, equipment and facilities or other rights or interest therein acquired for the system, and for improving and equipping the same; to construct, reconstruct, alter, provide, renew and maintain the system or other structures and equipment and provide for the care, custody and control thereof in the operation of the utility; to pay or make provision for the payment of the reasonable expenses in each fiscal year of the utility; and to pay to those persons entitled (hereto the interest and principal on notes and bonds of the utility, and to deposit and accumulate reserve funds or reserves. The utility shall monitor the system operator's responsibilities to preserve, care for, lay out, construct, maintain, improve and operate lands, buildings, equipment and facilities used for the provision of the system.
The utility shall be governed by and in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey, the ordinances, the Borough Code, and the resolutions adopted by the Borough, and administrative directives. The Borough shall amend its ordinances to effectuate the establishment of a sewer utility.
The financial affairs of the utility shall be governed in accordance with the statutes applying to the financial affairs of a municipality and utilities in general.
The utility may, from time to time, acquire such real property and/or equipment in the name of the Borough as may be authorized by the Borough Council in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey.
The Borough shall have the full authority to appoint and employ all necessary employees for the utility. Salaries of the employees will be in accordance with classification and salary ordinances duly adopted by the Borough Council. Portions of salaries of existing employees may be prorated based on the amount of time spent on system operations compared to the employees' full-time Borough responsibilities.
The utility shall have authority to charge and collect monies for the use of the system, whether they be user charges, rental fees, or lease payments, and to use these monies to defray the cost of acquisition of lands, buildings, equipment and facilities, rights and interests therein, to equip the facilities, to pay the utility's current expenses and to pay the interest and principal on notes and bonds, and to establish a surplus in an amount sufficient to provide for the reasonable anticipation of any contingency that may affect the operating of the utility.
The utility shall be under the administration, operation and control of the Superintendent of the Department of Sewerage.