A user charge is hereby imposed upon the owner of each improved property which shall be connected to the sewer system, and any other user, for use of the sewer system, whether such use is direct or indirect, and for services rendered by the Township in connection therewith, and shall be payable as provided herein. At the discretion of the Township, such user charge may be imposed upon the owner of an improved property or other user who fails to timely connect such improved property to the sewer system in violation of the Connection Ordinance, as compensation for the availability of service by the Township in connection with the sewer system.
The user charge shall be payable by the owner of each improved property or other user commencing the earlier of:
A. 
The date of actual, physical connection of an improved property to the sewer system; or
B. 
The date specified in the notice to connect, as described in the Connection Ordinance and in ordinances, resolutions or regulations adopted by the Township, or such later date established by the Township for commencement of the payment of the user charge.
A. 
The user charge applicable to any improved property shall be calculated, imposed and collected according to a flat-rate or EDU basis as determined and applied by the Township.
B. 
An improved property billed on a flat-rate basis shall be charged a user charge as a specific amount per equivalent dwelling unit applicable to such improved property, as determined by the Township, from time to time. The number of equivalent dwelling units applicable to each improved property shall be determined as follows:
Description of Improved Property
Unit of Measurement
Number of EDUs
Per Unit of Measurement
Residential dwelling unit (year-round or seasonal, individual or multifamily)
Each single-family dwelling, apartment or half of duplex
1
Retail store, professional offices or other commercial or industrial establishment
1 to 10 employees
1
Each additional 10 employees or fraction thereof
1
Hotel, motel, bed and breakfast or boarding house (not including restaurant facilities)
1 to 4 rental rooms
1
Each additional 4 rooms or fraction thereof
1
Restaurant, club, tavern or other retail food or drink establishment
1 to 10 customer seats
1
Each additional 10 seats or fraction thereof
1
Laundromat
1 to 2 washing machines
1
Each additional 2 machines or fraction thereof
1
Automobile service station or commercial vehicle repair shop
1 or 2 bays
1
Each additional 2 bays or fraction thereof
1
Car wash
1 or 2 bays
1
Each additional 2 bays or fraction thereof
1
Beauty parlor or barber shop (if attached to or part of a dwelling unit)
1 to 3 chairs
1
Each 3 additional chairs
1
Beauty parlor or barber shop (if not attached to or part of a dwelling unit)
1 to 3 chairs
1
Each 3 additional chairs
1
Education/institutional establishment
Per each 20 pupils, faculty, administrators and staff or fraction thereof
1
Church
Each property
1
Fire company/ambulance club
Each property
1
Community hall
Each property
1
Funeral home
Each property
1
Post office
Each property
1
Mobile home park
Each mobile home pad or lot
1
C. 
The number of equivalent dwelling units applicable to commercial establishments shall be computed on the basis of the average daily number of full and part-time employees [including the owners or employer(s)] for the calendar quarter preceding the date of the quarterly billing. The owners of such facilities shall be responsible for advising the Township in writing of the number of employees upon connection to the sewer system and upon request of the Township. The number of equivalent dwelling units applicable to educational and institutional establishments shall be computed on the highest quarterly average daily attendance of pupils (plus faculty, administrators and staff) during the 12 months preceding the date of the quarterly billing. The owners of such facilities shall be responsible for advising the Township in writing of the number of pupils, faculty, administrators and staff in attendance as an average daily figure upon request of the Township. Water consumption to determine the number of equivalent dwelling units for industrial establishments shall be read by the Township from water metering devices installed by the owner of such improved property and approved by the Township, quarterly, in March, June, September and December of each year.
D. 
If the use or classification of any improved property changes within a billing period, the user charge for such billing period may be prorated by the Township. The owner of the improved property shall be responsible for advising the Township in writing of any such change affecting the user charge payable hereunder. The appropriate credit or additional charge shall appear on the statement for the next succeeding billing period.
E. 
Except as provided in § 148-33 hereof, the quarterly flat-rate user charge payable per equivalent dwelling unit shall be $275 per calendar quarter, billed in advance. A discount of $25 shall be deducted from the quarterly bill if the bill is paid within 30 days of the due date.
F. 
User charges for any improved property, in the sole discretion of the Township, may be determined on a metered-rate basis calculated according to actual metered, permitted or estimated volume of wastewater discharged by the improved property into the sewer system. In such case, the number of equivalent dwelling units shall be the average daily wastewater discharged during the three consecutive months with the highest wastewater flow by such improved property divided by 280 gallons per day (gpd).
In the case of a multiple-use improved property sharing a common connection to the sewer system or a common structure, each such classification of improved property shall pay a separate user charge, as though it were housed in a separate structure and had a direct and separate connection to the sewer system, computed in accordance with § 148-25 of this chapter.
A. 
The owner of any improved property which shall discharge domestic sanitary sewage or industrial wastes into the sewer system determined or estimated by the Township to be in excess of a total flow of 280 gallons per day per equivalent dwelling unit with a peak flow rate in excess of 560 gallons per day for any ten-minute period, per equivalent dwelling unit, as determined or reasonably estimated by the Township, shall pay a volume surcharge. The owner of any improved property which shall discharge domestic sanitary sewage or industrial wastes to the sewer system having a B.O.D. greater than 200 ppm, or a suspended solids content greater than 300 ppm, or a dissolved solids content greater than 500 ppm, or a total solids content greater than 800 ppm, or a total phosphorus as P content greater than 10 ppm, or an ammonia nitrogen as N content greater than 20 ppm, shall pay a strength of waste surcharge, in addition to the applicable user charges.
B. 
Surcharges shall be paid in addition to all user charges computed in accordance with provisions of this Article V and shall be computed on such basis as the Township may from time to time adopt. The strength of domestic sanitary sewage or industrial wastes to be used for establishing the amount of surcharge shall be determined by the Township periodically in the discretion of the Township either by suitable sampling and analysis by the Township of such wastes for a consecutive three-day period during a time of normal plant operation; or from estimates made by the Township; or from known relationships of products produced to strengths of such wastes for those industries where such factors have been established. In establishing such waste strengths for surcharge purposes by analysis, analyses shall be made in accordance with procedures outlined in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
A. 
The owner of any improved property discharging domestic sanitary sewage or industrial wastes into the sewer system shall furnish to the Township, including by way of the application for permit described in the Connection Ordinance, all information deemed essential or appropriate by the Township for the determination of all applicable user charges and surcharges. The costs of obtaining such information shall be borne by such owner of the improved property.
B. 
In the event of the failure of the owner to provide adequate information, the Township shall estimate the applicable user charge and surcharges based upon available information until such time as adequate information is received. There shall be no rebate of past payments if the owner's refusal to provide such information results in overpayment.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit this Township from entering into separate or special agreements with any owners of improved property with respect to the user charge or surcharge to be imposed in those cases where, due to special or unusual circumstances, the user charge set forth herein shall be deemed by this Township, in its sole discretion, to be inequitable, or where it is in the best interests of this Township to do so.
User charges and surcharges, as applicable, shall be payable on a quarterly basis, on the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1) and shall cover a billing period consisting of the immediately following quarter. Owners of improved property that shall be first connected to the sewer system during any quarterly period may pay a prorated user charge, determined by the Township, for service for the balance of the quarterly period, plus any applicable surcharges.
A. 
Payments of user charges and any applicable surcharges shall be due and payable upon the applicable billing date, at the office of the Treasurer or other designated representative of the Township, in the appropriate amount, computed in accordance with this chapter, which shall constitute the net bill.
B. 
If any user charge or any applicable surcharge is not paid within 10 calendar days after the applicable due date, an additional sum of 10% shall be added to such net bill, which net bill, plus such additional sum, shall constitute the gross bill. Payment made or mailed and postmarked on or before the last day of such ten-calendar-day period shall constitute payment within such period. If the end of any such pay period shall fall on a legal holiday or on a Sunday, then payment made on or mailed and postmarked on the next succeeding business day which is not a legal holiday shall constitute payment within such period. Interest shall accrue on any delinquent account at the maximum rate permitted by law.
C. 
Any and all payments received on account of delinquent accounts shall be applied first to interest accrued on such account, then to the oldest outstanding gross bill, including any accumulated late fee, and each remaining gross bill thereafter in chronological order.
D. 
If any user charge or any applicable surcharge is not paid within 30 days, then sewer and/or water service provided to such property may be terminated by appropriate authorities.
E. 
If the Township is required to take any effort to collect user charges or other charges due and owing to it, then the Township shall be entitled to recover all costs incurred, including reasonable attorney's fees (at the current rate paid by the Township), filing fees and postage costs. Additionally, the Township shall be entitled to recover those monies by filing a municipal claim in accordance with applicable state law.
F. 
In addition, the Township shall be entitled to take action including the filing of a municipal claim as noted above or the filing of an appropriate action to obtain personal judgment and thereafter executing on same.
It shall be the responsibility of each owner of an improved property to provide the Township with, and thereafter keep the Township continuously advised of, the correct mailing address of such owner. Failure of any owner to receive a bill for charges due and payable shall not be considered an excuse for nonpayment, nor shall such failure result in an extension of the period of time during which any bill shall be payable.
A. 
No officer or employee of the Township is authorized to reduce, vary or exempt charges imposed herein or other provisions of this chapter without official action by the Board of this Township.
B. 
Every owner of improved property shall remain liable for the payment of user charges and surcharges until the later of the receipt by the Township of written notice by such owner that the property has been sold, containing the correct name and mailing address of the new owner, or the date on which title to the improved property is transferred to a new owner. Failure to provide notice renders an owner continuously liable for any charges that may accrue until such time as the Township has been properly notified of any change in ownership as described above.