Borough of Hightstown, NJ Charges and Rents

Quarterly base charge for sewage connections (per connection unit) whether or not any water is used during the quarter: $91.85 per unit.

Sewage usage charge per each 100 cubic feet of metered water usage (all account types): $5.04.

Rates for Subsection A(1) and (2) above shall increase by 1% every January 1, starting on January 1, 2024.

No petroleum oil or grease from mineral sources will be accepted at the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The term "calendar year" as used in this section shall be the period between January 1 and December 31.

§ 19-2-4 Supplying Water and Sewer Services Outside Borough.

[1991 Code § 227-10; Ord. No. 836; Ord. No. 1995-11; Ord. No. 1996-20]

The charges for supplying water and sewer service outside the corporate limits of the Borough shall be the same as set forth in §§ 19-2-2 and 19-2-3.

§ 19-2-5 Formula for Billing.

[1991 Code § 227-11; Ord. No. 857; Ord. No. 1996-20; Ord. No. 2002-24]

For sewer service where non-Borough water is used, the quarterly base charge shall be the same as set forth in § 19-2-3A and the charge per each 100 cubic feet of metered sewage flow shall be the same as set forth in § 19-2-3B.

Each dwelling unit and each business unit with water and sewer in a building or structure shall be considered as a separate entity for rate purposes. If a water meter or sewage flow meter is provided for each dwelling unit and for each business unit, the rate set forth above shall prevail. Otherwise, each dwelling unit and business unit shall be billed in accordance with the following formula:

For business units except restaurants, billing for base charges shall be determined by the number of fixtures within the business unit. Every 10 fixtures or fraction thereof shall constitute one base charge.. The determination of the number of fixtures in a business unit shall be made by the Water Plant Operator.

Restaurants shall be billed at the rate of one base charge for each restaurant plus an additional 1/4 base charge for each 10 seats or fraction thereof.

Dwelling Units. Each dwelling unit as defined herein shall constitute one base charge.

(4)

The minimum rate shall apply to each dwelling unit and each business unit, and to that rate shall be added the average rate of water or sewer used according to the meter divided by the number of dwelling units and business units. In any event, the bill for each quarter shall not be less than the total of the minimum rates for each dwelling unit and each business unit.

(5)

"Business unit" shall mean any place of business of whatever nature using water and sewer fixtures within its own floor space.

(6)

"Dwelling unit" shall mean any room or group of rooms located within a building and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or can be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.

(7)

"Fixture" shall mean a toilet, sink, urinal, shower, washing machine, dishwasher or swimming pool.

Separate Water Meters.

A property owner may install a separate water meter, located on the owner's premises before the point of the water meter serving the premises, provided that none of the water flowing through the separate meter is ultimately discharged into the Borough's sanitary sewer system. The quantity of water so used and not discharged into the Borough's sewer system shall not be used to calculate sewer charges and rents.

The aforesaid separate meter shall be furnished to the property owner by the Borough; upon receipt of the meter, the property owner shall reimburse the Borough for the cost of the meter. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to obtain any necessary permit, and to have the meter properly installed and located in accordance with the requirements of the Plumbing Subcode Official. The cost of the permit, installation and inspection of the meter and any related work shall be borne by the property owner.

The Borough shall retain ownership of the separate water meter and shall maintain it in the same manner as the principal water meter on the owner's premises. The Borough shall have no responsibility for maintenance or repair of any equipment other than the meter itself. The responsibilities of the property owner and the Borough shall be as set forth in § 19-2-9.

(4)

A separate Borough water account shall be established for a property owner who installs a separate water meter, and the property owner shall be billed for water usage through the separate meter as set forth in §§ 19-2-1 and 19-2-2. Provided the water flowing through the meter is not discharged into the Borough's sewer system, the water usage shall not be used to calculate sewer charges and rents.

(5)

Any property owner or other person or entity who discharges into the Borough's sewer system any of the water which has passed through the separate water meter shall be subject to one or more of the following:

(a)

Calculation of sewer charges and rents based upon part or all of the water flowing through the separate water meter;

(b)

Removal of the separate water meter by the Borough at the property owner's expense;

(c)

Termination of the separate water account;

(d)

Imposition of the penalties as set forth in Article 19-4.

The final determination with respect to action under Subsections A, B and C hereof shall rest with the Mayor and Council.

§ 19-2-6 Connections to Be Supervised; Application.

[1991 Code § 227-12; Ord. No. 2002-24]

No connection or tapping of the Borough water or sewer lines shall be made except by or under the supervision of the Borough Engineer, the Superintendent of Public Works, the Superintendent of the Sewer Department, Water Department or the Plumbing Subcode Official.

All connections shall be made by application to the Superintendent of the Public Works Department for approval, who shall notify the Borough Engineer and Plumbing Subcode Official of each application.

§ 19-2-7 Connection Charge.

[1991 Code § 227-13; Ord. No. 820; Ord. No. 2002-24; Ord. No. 2003-18; Ord. No. 2004-07; Ord. No. 2005-05; Ord. No. 2006-11; Ord. No. 2007-03; Ord. No. 2008-08; Ord. No. 2009-07; Ord. No. 2010-10]

Whenever a service connection to a water or sewer main is made, or when a property is redeveloped and/or an increase in water or sewage usage is requested, the owner of the property for whose benefit the connection is made shall pay a charge therefor.

For purposes of this section, the term "redeveloped" shall include, but not be limited to, circumstances where the use of a property is changed or the intensity of the use of a property is increased. A connection unit, which shall be the basic unit upon which user fees and rates are established, shall be equivalent to usage of 300 gallons per day (g.p.d.). Each dwelling unit shall be assigned one water and one sewer connection unit. The number of water and sewer connection units to be assigned to each business unit, excluding industrial users, shall be based on the projected flow for such unit calculated in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:14A-23.3.

For each connection unit, a connection fee shall be paid as follows:

(a)

Water connection fee: $4,232.

(b)

Sewer connection fee: $2,177.

Connection fees shall be paid at the rate in effect at the time that the connection is made. The fee shall be due and payable upon presentation of the approved application to the Department of Public Works, who shall issue the permit upon receipt of the fee. Payment shall be made prior to the issuance of a temporary or regular certificate of occupancy. All such fees collected by the Public Works Department shall be turned over by that Department to the Borough Treasurer on a daily basis.

If the Borough finds it necessary to make a new connection with the water or sewer main in front of any property for the benefit of the property, the connection shall be deemed necessary for the proper functioning of the water and sewer utility system in connection with service to the property, and if the fee aforesaid shall not be paid, the stated fee shall be a lien upon the house, tenement, building or lot until paid and satisfied and, after notice thereof by registered mail to the owner, shall carry interest at the rate of 8% until paid and satisfied.

The property owner shall be responsible for the cost of installation and repair of sewer and water lines as follows:

Water lines: from (but not including) the curb stop located in the Borough right-of-way to the house, tenement, building, structure or lot, or if there is no curb stop, from a point two feet beyond the edge of the Borough's cartway to the house, tenement, building, structure or lot.

Sewer lines: from a point two feet beyond the edge of the Borough's cartway to the house, tenement, building, structure or lot.

The connection charges shall be in accordance with the foregoing Subsection A(1) through (3), inclusive. Prior to any such installation or repair, the property owner shall coordinate such activity with the Superintendent of the Public Works Department, and shall obtain any required permits. Each such owner shall indemnify and save harmless the Borough from any and all loss or damage that may be occasioned, directly or indirectly, as a result of construction or repair of such sewer or water lines.

§ 19-2-8 Billing.

[1991 Code § 227-14; Ord. No. 827; Ord. No. 855; Ord. No. 1997-34; Ord. No. 2002-24; Ord. No. 2003-01; Ord. No. 2004-10; Ord. No. 2013-18]

Billing to owners. Billing by the Borough water and sewer utility office shall be to the record owners of the lot served by the utility.

Reimbursement for errors in billing. It is the record owner(s)' responsibility to monitor their water and sewer bills and inform the Borough immediately if an error is detected or suspected. If an error in billing is discovered, involving amounts that were either under-billed or over-billed to the record owner(s)' account, the Borough's liability and responsibility to correct the error shall be limited to providing a credit or debit, as applicable, to the record owner(s)' account for amounts covering up to (a maximum of) the last four billing cycles from the time when the billing error was brought to the Borough's attention.

[Added 9-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-15[1]]

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsections B through D as Subsections C through E, respectively.

Procedure for unpaid bills. Use charges for water and sewer service shall be a first lien or charge against the property benefitted therefrom. The liens shall be enforceable in the manner provided for real property tax liens in Chapter 5 of Title 54 of the New Jersey Revised Statutes. Unpaid water and sewer charges shall be subject to an interest charge in the same manner as past-due real property taxes in the Borough.

Discontinuance of service.

Discontinuance of service due to nonpayment of charges. The Borough Administrator may discontinue water and/or sewer service to any property if any water and/or sewer charges for such property are more than 45 days in arrears for residential or nonresidential properties, if written notice of the proposed discontinuance of service and of the reasons therefor is given to the owner of record of the property at least 15 calendar days prior to the date of discontinuance. The notice shall be deemed complete if it is 1) mailed by regular mail to the last known address of the owner of record, 2) mailed by regular mail for information purposes to any known occupant, 3) postmarked at least 15 days prior to the date of discontinuance, and 4) posted in a conspicuous manner at the property at least 15 days prior to the date of discontinuance.

Discontinuance of service at request of property owner. Water and/or sewer service may be temporarily discontinued to any property at the request of the property owner, provided that the property is unoccupied. Such requests for temporary discontinuation of service shall be made in writing, signed by the property owner, and shall certify that the property is unoccupied. Accounts for which service has been temporarily discontinued in accordance with this article shall continue to accrue quarterly base charges for water and sewer as set forth in § 19-2-2, and the property owner will continue to bear full responsibility for payment of same as set forth in Subsections A and B above.

In the event that the Borough discontinues water service, whether or not at the request of the property owner, a fee of $50 shall be charged for reestablishment of water service. Billing of the charge and the procedure for unpaid bills shall be as set forth in Subsections A and B above.

Disputed bills related to water leaks. Water charges will not be waived if a leak occurs in the waterline leading into the home at any point past the water meter. Sewer charges may be waived if the water plant operator can verify that the water which leaked did not enter the sewer system, or if a licensed plumber provides written verification that the water which leaked did not enter the sewer system.

[Amended 9-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-15]

§ 19-2-9 Water Meters; Accessibility; Repairs; Line Maintenance.

[1991 Code § 227-15; Ord. No. 2002-11; Ord. No. 2004-10; Ord. No. 2006-20]

Water Meters to Be Furnished by Borough. All water meters shall be furnished to the property owner by the Borough. For all new water meters and for replacement meters installed due to damage or neglect by the property owner, the property owner shall reimburse the Borough for the cost of the meter. The charges for such meter shall, if not paid, become a lien upon the property and be collected as other water and sewer utility liens may be collected by law. Installation after the effective date of this chapter of any water meter not furnished by the Borough shall constitute a violation of this Code.

Permitting and Installation of Meters to be Responsibility of Property Owner. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to obtain any necessary permit, and to have the meter properly installed and located in accordance with the requirements of the Plumbing Subcode Official. The cost of the permit, installation and inspection of the meter and any related work shall be borne by the property owner.

Water Meters to Be Accessible. All water meters shall be accessible to the meter reader during the Borough's regular hours of operation as established annually by Resolution of the Borough Council. Notice may be given by the Superintendent of Public Works, the Borough Water Department, the Borough Administrator or by any official duly authorized by the Borough Council to any property owner advising that the location of the water meter is not satisfactory to the Borough because of inaccessibility and directing that the meter be relocated at a place approved by the Borough. Such notice shall be deemed to be complete if it is mailed by the Borough via regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, to the property owner of record. A reasonable time to accomplish the removal of any meter to a new location shall be afforded but shall be not less than 30 days. If the meter is not relocated in accordance with the notice, the Borough may relocate the meter and charge the cost of relocation to the owner of the property to be collected at such time as water and sewer utility bills are issued. The responsible charges for such location shall, if not paid, become a lien upon the property and be collected as other water and sewer utility liens may be collected by law.

Replacement of Water Meters. In the event that a water meter is not working properly, or if the Borough requires replacement of the meter for any other reason, written notice may be given by the Superintendent of Public Works, the Borough Water Department or the Borough Administrator or by any official duly authorized by the Borough Council to any property owner directing that the meter be replaced. Such notice shall be deemed to be complete if it is mailed by the Borough via regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, to the property owner of record. The property owner shall contact the Borough Water Department within 30 days of the date of notice to arrange for replacement by the Borough of the meter. If there is no response by the property owner within such time, or if property owner fails to make the meter accessible as provided in Subsection C above within such time, service shall be immediately discontinued, with the exception of any development where water service is shared by more than one property owner. In those cases, service shall not be discontinued; however, the property owner shall be subject to fines and/or penalties as set forth in § 19-4-1 of this chapter.

Costs and Repairs to Water Meters. All costs of or repairs to water meters which become necessary by reason of damage or neglect by the property owner or his tenant or occupant, including allowing the meter to freeze, shall be charged against the owner of the premises whose neglect or whose tenant's or occupant's neglect is responsible therefor. Charges shall be reasonable and shall include the cost of labor and materials as certified by the Superintendent of Public Works, and shall be billed to the owner on whose property the damaged meter is located. In the event of failure to pay when billed, such reasonable charges shall become a lien upon the premises and be collected as other water and sewer utility liens are collected by law.

Responsibility; for Maintenance of Meters and Line to Premises; Ownership of Meters.

The Borough shall retain ownership of all water meters.

The Borough shall be responsible for routine maintenance of all water meters up to 5/8 inch. The Borough shall have no responsibility for maintenance or repair of any equipment other than the meter itself.