[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1982, ref. date 11-7-1982; 5-3-1983 by L.L. No. 1-1983,; 3-20-1984 by L.L. No.
1-1984; 10-2-1984 by L.L. No. 5-1984; by L.L. No. 12-1989, ref. date 11-7-1989]
There shall be a division of the Department
of Public Works known as "Water and Sanitary Sewers," which shall
be under the supervision of the City Engineer. This division shall
be constituted and empowered to operate the water filtration and sewage
disposal plants and other related facilities and equipment and to
install, maintain and replace all City-owned water and sanitary sewer
lines.
The Common Council shall establish rules and
regulations relating to the operations, preservation, protection and
care of the water and sanitary sewer systems for the utilization thereof
by all users, individual or corporate, and shall prescribe penalties
for violation of said rules and regulations. Upon publication in the
official newspaper of the City, said rules and regulations shall have
the force and effect of law.
The Common Council shall fix and determine water
and sewer rents and all other charges and penalties to be paid by
the users of the Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems and shall provide
for the enforcement and collection thereof and for the control, protection
and regulation of such facilities and the use thereof. The water and
sewer rents shall be sufficient to provide all costs of operation
and maintenance of the Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems, including,
without limitation thereto, reasonable reserves for repairs, replacements
and extensions and for working capital, the payment of principal and
interest of bonds and other obligations issued for water and sanitary
purposes and any sinking fund or reserve required thereby, the costs
of surveys, plans and specifications and other such and different
costs and expenses as it may deem allocable to said systems. Water
and sewer rents which have not been paid within the period of 30 days
from the due date, together with interest and penalties computed to
the 30th day of June, shall become a lien against real property tax
roll. The Council shall authorize the City Engineer to shut off the
supply of water to users who are delinquent in their payments, and
the costs of shutting off and turning on said water shall be added
to the delinquent payments and/or included in the penalties and charges
assessed.
A.
The Common Council in authorization of the sale of
water and/or sewage services for users outside of the City as provided
for herein shall do so by a unanimous vote of the Common Council less
one vote.
B.
Provided that the needs of the citizens of Amsterdam
for a pure and adequate supply of water are being met and provided
that the sale can produce a reasonable profit, the Common Council
may authorize said division to contract to sell any surplus or part
of said surplus to any municipal or other corporation, company or
individual or water district the right to connect with City-owned
distribution lines and thereby utilize City water.
C.
Subject to Common Council authorization, the division
of Water and Sanitary Sewers may extend the pipes and lines of the
Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems into, under and through any of the
streets, highways, alleys, lands or other public places of the City,
provided that the surface of such places be restored to their usual
state and all damages be repaired; said division shall maintain and,
if necessary, extend the water distribution and supply system and
protect the supply and sources of water against contamination and
for these purposes shall acquire the necessary property and supplies
to repair and construct or have repaired and constructed needed dams,
reservoirs, buildings, mains, laterals and other equipment.
D.
Said division shall also maintain and, if necessary,
extend the Sanitary Sewer System and to this purpose acquire the needed
pipes, equipment and other related facilities. Provided that the needs
of the Citizens of Amsterdam for sanitary waste disposal are being
met and provided that the sale can produce a reasonable profit, the
Common Council may authorize said division to contract to sell the
right for any municipal or other corporation, company or individual
or sewer district to connect with and use the sanitary sewer lines
and sewage disposal facilities in the City.
E.
The Common Council may further authorize said division
to acquire real estate or interests therein, in fee simple or less
than fee, for any purpose aforesaid of, in compensation cannot be
agreed upon, by condemnation in the manner provided by Eminent Domain
Procedure Law.[1]
F.
Payment of water and sewer rents due and owning by
users outside the boundaries of the City of Amsterdam shall be guaranteed
by such users either by filing a security bond for payment with the
City in an amount set by the Common Council or by depositing with
the Controller of the City a cash deposit in an amount set by the
Common Council which account shall be maintained by the controller
as an escrow account.
[Amended 10-5-1999 by L.L. No. 1-1999]
A.
It shall be the responsibility of the Department of
Public Works, once it has actual notice of the problem, to undertake
and bear the full cost of maintenance, repair and replacement of residential
and commercial water mains and laterals up to and including one inch
in diameter, and residential and commercial sanitary sewer mains and
laterals from the main sewer or water line to the lot line.
B.
Industrial users shall bear the full cost of maintenance,
repair and replacement of water mains and laterals and of sanitary
sewer mains and laterals from the main water or sewer line to the
lot line.
[Amended 3-21-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000[1]]
The tentative water, sewer and sanitation rolls
shall be prepared and completed by the Office of the Assessor on or
before January 1 and shall be available for public inspection at the
office of the Assessor after January 1 during regular business hours
until the third Tuesday in January, on which day the Common Council
or a grievance committee designated by it shall meet to hear complaints
in relation to water, sewer and sanitation rolls.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that
it take effect 6-1-2000.
[Amended 3-21-2000 by L.L. No. 2-2000[1]]
The City Assessor, on or before the first day
of March, shall file the final water, sewer and sanitation rolls,
in duplicate, in the office of the City Clerk and shall cause a notice
to be published in the official newspaper of the City stating that
the water, sewer and sanitation rolls have been completed and have
been filed in the office of the City Clerk for public investigation.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that
it take effect 6-1-2000.
[Added 3-21-2000 by L.L. No. 3-2000[1]]
A.
The City of Amsterdam assesses service charges for
water, sewer and sanitation services each year as of July 1, the date
the tax/service bill is effective for the fiscal year.
B.
December 1 of the current fiscal year is the deadline
for adding or subtracting water, sewer and/or sanitation fees to the
tentative assessment roll for the next fiscal year, which begins on
July 1 and ends on June 30.
C.
The Assessor shall prepare and publish the tentative
assessment roll no later than January 1 of the current fiscal year.
D.
Any member of the public may inspect the tentative
assessment roll from January 2 through and including the third Tuesday
in January of the current fiscal year.
E.
Any member of the public may file a grievance concerning
the tentative assessment roll for water, sewer and sanitation between
January 2 and the third Tuesday in January. The grievance must be
filed on a form approved by the Common Council. Those grievance forms
are available in the Assessor's office at City Hall.
F.
The Grievance Board to hear grievances concerning
water, sewer and sanitation assessments shall consist of the Plumbing
Inspector, the Senior Engineering Aide and the Senior Housing Inspector.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that
it take effect 6-1-2000.
[Amended 4-18-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
The entire annual receipts for water and sewer
rents, after deducting therefrom such sums as may be necessary to
defray the expenses of departmental operations, capital maintenance
and replacement and any transfer to the general fund as provided by
New York State General Municipal Law § 94, shall be applied
to payment of interest on the debt contracted for building and construction
of the water and sanitary sewer systems and the Interest of any debt
which has been contracted by the City of Amsterdam for like purposes;
if any surplus shall remain it shall be set apart and invested by
the Controller as a sinking fund or reserve for the payment of such
debts.
[Amended 4-18-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
A.
There shall be established and maintained by the Controller
a special revenue fund for the water system, into which revenues raised
through its operations shall be deposited. Said revenues shall be
used solely for the operations, maintenance and facilities of the
water system and for transfers to the general fund as provided by
New York State General Municipal Law § 94. A record of all
expenses associated with the operations of the water system shall
be forwarded to the Controller's office as they are incurred. Transactions
conducted between said fund and the general fund or between said fund
and another special revenue fund shall be billed and vouchered through
the Controller's office.
B.
There shall be established and maintained by the Controller
a special revenue fund for the sanitary sewer system, into which revenues
raised through its operations shall be deposited. Said revenues shall
be used solely for the operations, maintenance and facilities of the
sanitary sewer system and for transfers to the general fund as provided
by New York State Law. A record of all expenses associated with the
operations of the sanitary sewer system shall be forwarded to the
Controller's office as they are incurred. Transactions conducted between
said fund and the general fund or between said fund mid another special
revenue fund shall be billed and vouchered through the Controller's
office.
[Amended 6-17-2015 by L.L. No. 6-2015]
C.
The water and sanitary sewer systems shall each be
independently self-sustaining through revenues. As regards operations,
capital improvements, debt redemption and all other related costs
and expenses, the general fund shall not subsidize the water and/or
sanitary sewer funds nor shall either of said funds subsidize the
other. Interfund borrowing shall only occur if the Mayor, upon recommendation
of the Controller, shall declare a fiscal emergency or need to exist
in one or the other of the funds mentioned above and the Common Council
concurs by a four-fifths vote. All interfund loans shall be repaid
within the period of one year from the date they were made.
There shall be an Advisory Commission for the
division of Water and Sanitary Sewers which shall be empowered to
ascertain the needs and problems of said Department and, in consultation
with the City Engineer and with the Mayor, to draw up short and long-range
proposals and plans for modification, improvements and extension of
the water and sewage systems. The Commission shall consist of three
members appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Common Council
for terms of three years each. The three persons first appointed to
the Commission following the adoption of this amendment shall draw
lots to determine which of their number shall serve one-, two- or
three-year terms. The members shall select one of their number to
serve as Chairman for a term of one year, and all members shall serve
without compensation; appointees shall have demonstrated an interest
in water and sewage operations and facilities.
