The Derry Town Council shall, as necessary,
pursuant to RSA 149-I:8, make such assessments, charges and/or fees
as may be required to raise the necessary revenue in order to pay
all operation, maintenance and replacement charges, to pay any interest
on bonds or other indebtedness, to repay the principal on bonds or
other indebtedness and to enforce this chapter.
The funds received from the collection of sewer
rents, Town inspection fees and permit fees shall be kept as a separate
and distinct fund which shall be known as the "Sewer Fund." Any surplus
in such fund may, as determined by the Town Council, be used for capital
improvements to the public sewer system and/or POTW. Sewer funds may
be used to pay for previous expansion or improvements of wastewater
treatment facilities.
Sewer rent for residential premises, commercial
establishments and industrial establishments shall be paid by the
owner of the real estate having any structure which may discharge
into the Town's sewer system. Sewer rent is composed of minimum charges
and use charges.
Minimum charges shall be payable by the owner
of the real estate whether or not the premises are occupied. Minimum
charges are a base charge for each living unit for resident users
or metered unit for commercial and industrial users regardless of
use quantities. All service charges shall be at the rate determined
by the Town Council. In the case of structures containing more than
one living unit, a separate charge shall be payable for each such
unit. (See Appendix A[1] for minimum charge rates.)
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
Use charges for all customer units shall be
based on the consumption of water on the premises connected with the
Town sewer system. Such charges will be computed by the Town at a
rate per 100 cubic feet of water consumed on the premises, as determined
by the customer's water meter and billed quarterly. In the case of
nonmetered premises, the Town's average consumption of comparable
structures shall be used as a basis for billing. Such owners may,
at their own expense, have approved metering facilities installed.
A.
B.
In the case of nonmetered premises, a flat charge
per quarter shall be made unless a higher or lesser rate is deemed
more equitable by the Town Council. Flat charges for unmetered customers
shall be in accordance with Appendix A, Section C.
C.
In all other instances where the foregoing sections
of this chapter cannot reasonably be applied, an adjustment as to
sewer rents may be made by the execution of a contract between the
owner or owners and the Town Council.
D.
In the event a premises discharges into the sewer
system wastewater which, in the opinion of the Director, contains
unduly high concentrations of any substances which add to the normal
costs of the POTW or public sewer, then the Town Council may elect
to establish special rates or charges based on the quantity of these
concentrations. In all instances of metering other than by Water Division
meters, the owner or owners of the premises shall furnish a meter
acceptable to the Director at their expense.
Any owner may place on his premises, at his
own expense, a meter which shall be approved by the Director to measure
the amount of water used on the premises which does not enter the
sewer system, and an adjustment of the rent shall be made in conformance
with said metered use.
Quarterly (includes 500 cubic feet of use):
see Appendix A, Section IA.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
B.
The number of bedrooms assessed for wastewater accessibility
fees shall be consistent with the Tax Assessor's record.
(1)
Volume of discharge assessed for wastewater accessibility
fees shall be in accordance with the Division's design standards as
detailed in Appendix B unless documentation of the applicant's historical
discharges (or consumption) from a facility similar in nature is provided.[2] The Town Administrator may then assess a fee based upon
the more precise estimate.
[2]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
(2)
Exceeding permitted allocations shall be deemed a
violation of the user's discharge permit and this chapter.
(3)
The payment of wastewater accessibility fees as approved
by the Town is applicable to the building lot from which the applicant
is proposing to discharge at the time of approval.
(4)
The receipts from the wastewater accessibility fees
shall be recorded and accounted for and restricted to payments for
wastewater facility capital improvements. Release of money from this
special revenue fund must be authorized by the Town administration
with a two-thirds vote of the Town Council.
C.
Such wastewater accessibility fees will be applied
by a 2/3 vote of the Town Council to the construction of improved
wastewater treatment capacity at the plant and other sewer works.
Upon payment of the wastewater accessibility fee, the Town Council
would commit or reserve sufficient treatment plant capacity to accommodate
the applicant and reserve the same for five years. If unusual circumstances
prohibit the project completion within this five-year period, the
applicant may request a one-year extension. The applicant shall submit
the request in writing to the Town Administrator at least 30 days
prior to the expiration date. The Town Administrator shall review
the circumstances and either deny, approve or conditionally approve
the extension request. The Town Administrator shall, in his sole discretion,
determine the feasibility of allowing a sewer extension and the reservation
of capacity. If a change in the use of the property occurs which will
increase the water consumption/sewer discharge after the wastewater
accessibility fee (WAF) has been paid, the additional use must be
paid. Wastewater accessibility fees paid will not be refunded as a
result of changes in use which reduce water consumption/sewer usage.
The Town Administrator reserves the right to void the reservation
of treatment plant capacity for projects not completed within the
specified period of time, and furthermore, the Town is not obligated
to refund any previously submitted wastewater accessibility fees.
Sewer rent billing shall be quarterly based
upon the same billing period of the Waste Division serving the customer.
A.
The following rules and regulations shall apply to
the collection of sewer rents:
(1)
All bills shall be payable on or before the due date
specified on the bill. Balances outstanding over 30 days shall be
subject to a finance charge of 1 1/2% per month.
(2)
Remittances by mail are at the risk of the sender
and should be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope, if
return of receipt is desired.
(3)
In case of a meter stopping or failing to register,
the quantity of water used shall be estimated as the average quarterly
amount which ordinarily passes through the meter when the meter is
in operation or a quantity estimated by the Director.
B.
All charges for sewer rents become a lien upon the
real estate served by the Derry Wastewater Division in accordance
with the terms of RSA 149-I:11.
C.
Upon petition to the Town Council not later than 90
days after the sewer rent due date, the Town Council may, for good
cause shown, abate in whole or in part any sewer rent. Adjustments
may be made for billing periods no more than 90 days prior to appeal.
D.
No person, firm or corporation shall do any act or
commit any deed to obstruct or interfere with the proper measurement
of water.
Donations made to the Town Council which are
not related to rents, charges, fees or costs shall be considered as
gifts. Gifts shall be managed by the Town Council separately from
the Sewer Fund. Grants are moneys received from state, federal, or
other governmental units for the operation, expansion, maintenance
and/or repair of the Town's wastewater treatment facilities and systems.
Applications for permits required by this chapter
shall be accompanied by a permit application fee in accordance with
Appendix A, Section III.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
The owner/applicant shall pay all costs related
to inspection of new services, sewer extension, etc. The fee for inspection
by the Wastewater Division shall be in accordance with Appendix A,
Section V.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
The Town of Derry may utilize a consultant for
design review, construction inspection, and other related issues where
deemed appropriate due to the nature of the proposed work. The applicant/owner
shall be responsible for the payment of all related costs plus an
administrative charge of 10% of the consultant's direct costs.
A.
Users will be notified annually of operation and maintenance
costs and debt service breakdown.
B.
Any user which discharges wastewater in which BOD,
COD, or suspended solids concentration is in excess of 300 mg/l may
be charged a surcharge in addition to the base charge described in
Appendix A.[1] Any user which discharges wastes may be required to sample and monitor flows as described in Article V.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
office of the Town Clerk.
C.
The rates as indicated in Appendix A shall be on public
record at the Derry Public Works Department or the Finance Department.
Any user which is dissatisfied with its bill
may file an appeal to the Town Council in accordance with RSA 149-I:14.
If the appeal to the Town Council fails to produce satisfactory answers
and/or results, the user may then make an appeal in accordance with
RSA 149-I:15.
A.
Sewers constructed by the Town.
(1)
Special betterment assessments. A system of special
betterment assessments is hereby imposed, to be administered by the
Town of Derry in accordance with RSA 149-I and other provisions of
state law so as to allow for the recovery of the capital costs of
all public sewer projects. For the purposes of this section, public
sewer projects are those constructed by or for the Town of Derry after
the effective date of this chapter.
(2)
Imposition of assessment. Every parcel of real property then designated as a separate buildable lot by the Derry Tax Map and pursuant to Chapter 165, Zoning, and to which sewer service is made available directly or indirectly by a public sewer project shall be subject to a special assessment in an amount determined by the Town Council in its discretion after hearing and based upon the actual cost of the public sewer project. Notwithstanding the foregoing, special assessments under this section shall not be imposed with respect to projects where the article authorizing funding for the project specifically so provides.
(3)
Calculation of assessment. The special betterment
assessment with respect to a particular parcel of real property shall
be calculated so as to apportion equitably the cost of the project
among the various parcels served thereby. For the purposes of this
section, project cost shall include all interest cost and carrying
charges associated with any borrowing or bond issue which funds the
project.
(a)
Those parcels to which a sewer service connection
is made immediately available by virtue of a project shall be deemed
to be directly benefited. The special betterment assessments on directly
benefited parcels shall be based upon that portion of the project
cost directly related to such parcels and shall be imposed on each
parcel on a per-living-unit basis (vacant lots shall be considered
as one living unit for the purpose of this section).
(b)
Any additional buildable lots created subsequent
to the construction of such public sewers by subdivision, approval
of variance, etc., shall be subject to the same assessment as those
parcels existing at the time of construction. Assessments collected
shall be used to offset capital costs directly benefiting the parcels
assessed.
(c)
Those parcels within the drainage basin of a
public sewer project but with respect to which a lateral or connecting
sewer is required in order to connect to the public sewer project
shall be deemed to be indirectly benefited. The special betterment
assessments made with respect to indirectly benefited parcels shall
be based upon that portion of the public sewer project cost occasioned
by the provision of capacity for such indirectly benefited parcels
and shall be determined as to each parcel in the manner described
above.
(4)
Collection of assessments. Special betterment assessments
shall be payable in quarterly installments for the life of the bond
issue or any other borrowing by the Town funding the cost of the sewer
project. In cases where no bond issue is made, the Council shall determine
whether and for what period of time special betterment assessments
may be paid in quarterly installments. Special betterment assessments
shall be subject to collection by the office responsible for the collection
of taxes in the Town of Derry and shall be subject to the accrual
of interest and lien procedure for nonpayment as provided by law.
Notices of such assessments may be recorded on each parcel at the
Rockingham County Registry of Deeds.
