Queen Annes County, MD Charges and Rates

The County shall establish connection charges.

The charges may be based on whatever reasonable classifications as the County may determine and whatever classifications may vary within any water, sewerage, and drainage system and among any such systems depending on any special circumstances that the County finds exist.

The charges may not be limited to the costs to the County for making the connections.

Manner of payment. The County may determine the manner in which these charges are payable.

Use of funds. The funds derived from these charges may be used for:

Payment of principal of and interest on bonds;

Accumulating funds for capital improvements, for acquisition and construction of water and drainage sewer systems, and for the operation and maintenance of water and drainage sewer systems; and

The purchase of equipment and supplies necessary to the operation of the County.

§ 24-38 Other charges.

Purpose of charges. The County may make the charges stated in this section to provide funds for:

Maintaining, repairing, and operating its water supply, sewerage, solid waste, and drainage systems;

The County's operation and other expenses, including property depreciation allowances; and

Interest on the retirement of bonds under this Part 1.

Water, sewer, and solid waste service.

The rates for water, solid waste, and sewer service shall consist of a minimum or ready-to-serve charge.

These rates shall be uniform throughout each system operated by the County for each class of property, but the County may make whatever classifications as it considers advisable within each system.

Bills for water, sewer, solid waste, or drainage systems shall be sent monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually, as the County may determine, to each property served and shall be payable at any place that the County may designate.

(4)

If any bill remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of sending, the County, after written notice is left on the premises or mailed to the last known address of the owner, shall cease to serve the property.

(5)

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Queen Anne’s County Sanitary Commission shall exempt any property from ready-to-serve charges where all owners of such property have adjusted gross annual household income for federal income tax purposes of $30,000 or below. Beginning January 1, 2019, and on January 1 of each subsequent year, the adjusted gross annual household income shall be increased (but not decreased) by an amount which shall reflect the increase, if any, in the cost of living during the preceding 12 months by adding to the gross annual household income an amount computed by multiplying such amount for the preceding year by the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as reported on January 1 of the new year by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor has increased over its level as of January 1 of the prior year. In order to qualify for such exemption, the owner or owners of a property must furnish satisfactory proof of actual gross adjusted income for federal income tax purposes to the Chief Sanitary Engineer of the Queen Anne’s County Sanitary District or his designee who may adopt any reasonable rules and regulations and promulgate any forms necessary to carry out these provisions. Any exemption granted hereunder shall be effective on the first day of the billing quarter immediately following the qualification and shall be valid for a period of three years. Thereafter, the owner or owners must reapply and qualify for a continued exemption under these provisions.

[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. 09-02; amended 8-25-2009 by Ord. No. 09-14; 8-14-2018 by Ord. No. 18-09]

Construction and upkeep of drainage system and water and sewerage system.

The charge for the construction and upkeep of the drainage system and the water sewer system, if any, shall be:

(a)

Made on whatever reasonable basis as the County may determine;

(b)

Collected in whatever reasonable manner the County may determine; and

(c)

A lien against the property.

These charges shall be based on whatever classifications as the County, from time to time, may establish and shall be uniform throughout each sanitary system within the classification.

§ 24-39 Liens.

[Amended by Ord. No. 91-05]

In general. Front-foot benefit assessments, solid waste systems assessments, water, sewer and solid waste upkeep charges, connection charges, drainage charges, and other charges that the County may make under this Part 1 shall be liens against the property served or benefited.

Collection. The County may enforce a lien under this section by:

An action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the property served or benefited; or

Collecting the lien in the same manner that County taxes are collected, subject to Article V of this Part 1.

Priority of lien. A lien under this section is subject only to liens for state and County taxes.

Due date; interest.

Charges under this section are due on the first day of the month within which they are made and shall bear interest at the rate of 1.5% per month from the first day of the following month until paid.

[Amended 3-21-2006 by Ord. No. 06-01]