[Amended last 12-20-1983 by L.L. No. 5-1983]
Except as herein otherwise provided in this
section, the initial rates, fees and other charges (herein sometimes
called the "sewage disposal charges" or "sewer rents") for use of
and for the services and facilities furnished or to be furnished by
the sewage disposal system, to be paid by the owner, tenant, or occupant
of each lot or parcel of land which may be connected with or may use
the sewage disposal system, by or through any part of the sewer system
of the City, shall be based or computed upon the quantity of water
used on or about such lots or parcels of land as determined by gauging
or metering, and shall be as follows:
A. Sewage disposal charges.
(1) The sewage disposal charges, for other than significant
industrial uses, to be paid by the owner, tenant or occupant of each
lot or parcel which may be connected with or may use the sewage disposal
system and to whom a bill shall be rendered for water furnished by
the Water Department of the City of Oneida or whose sewage is otherwise
metered or measured, shall be in accordance with such a rate as may
be established from time to time by resolution of the Common Council.
A sewage meter shall be installed at the request of either the consumer
or the City Engineer's office, the expense thereof to be borne by
the consumer.
[Amended 4-16-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002; 4-19-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
(2) Significant industrial user charges shall be according to the charges in Part
3 of this chapter.
B. Water furnished by any other water plant and entering
the sewer system.
(1) In the event that metered water shall be furnished
by any plant or system other than the waterworks system of the City
of Oneida for use on any such lot or parcel, bills for sewage disposal
charges shall be computed on the basis of what the water bill would
be if the same quantity of water had been furnished by the Water Department
of the City.
(2) In the event that unmetered water shall be furnished
by any plant or system (including any privately owned plant) other
than the waterworks system of the City for use on any such lot or
parcel, the owner, tenant or occupant of such lot or parcel shall
install at his own expense a meter acceptable to the Superintendent
of the Department of Water for measuring the quantity of water so
used, and bills for sewage disposal charges shall be rendered quarterly
and such bills shall be computed on the basis of what the quarterly
water bill would be if the same quantity of water should be furnished
by the waterworks system of the City. Pending the installation of
such meter, the Superintendent of the Department of Water shall estimate
the quantity of water used on such lot or parcel and render bills
to the owner, tenant or occupant for sewage disposal charges computed
on the basis of what the quarterly water bill would be if such estimated
quantity of water should be furnished by the waterworks system of
the City.
(3) Charges paid by City and other public bodies or agencies.
There shall be no free services rendered by the sewage disposal system
to any other political subdivision or any department, agency or instrumentality
thereof, and if the state or federal government shall avail itself
of the services and facilities of the sewage disposal system, it shall
pay for the use of such services and facilities at the established
rates.
C. Industrial use of water:
(1) In cases where the character of sewage from any manufacturing
or industrial plant, building or premises shall be such as to impose
a burden upon the sewage disposal system in addition to the burden
imposed by the average sewage entering the sewer system of the City,
such additional sewage disposal charges shall be made therefor as
the Common Council shall deem to be fair and equitable to meet the
additional cost of collection, treatment and disposal of such sewage;
or the Common Council may, if it deems it advisable, compel the owner,
tenant or occupant of such manufacturing or industrial plant, building
or premises to treat such sewage in such manner as shall be specified
by the Common Council before discharging such sewage into the sewer
system of the City.
(2) In the case of an industry where a substantial amount
of the water purchased is consumed and not discharged into the municipal
sewer system, the customer, with the consent of the Common Council,
may elect to install a sewage flow meter at the expense of said customer.
Said meter shall be of a type acceptable to the City and said customer
shall be billed separately for a sewage disposal charge computed upon
the flow through such meter and based upon the same volumetric rates
as hereinbefore set forth.
D. Collection of sewage disposal charges:
(1) The sewage disposal charges shall apply to each lot
or parcel of land which may be connected with or may use the sewer
system of the City. In all cases where water is furnished by the waterworks
system of the City, the amount of sewage disposal charges shall be
included in the bills for water rendered by the City; provided, however,
that each such bill shall show separately the amount of the sewage
disposal charges and the amount of the bill for water. In all cases
where water is furnished by any plant or system (including any privately
owned plant) other than the waterworks system of the City, bills shall
be rendered for the amount of such sewage disposal charges in the
same manner as bills are rendered for water furnished by the waterworks
system of the City.
(2) If any bill for such sewage disposal charges with
respect to any premises connected with the waterworks system of the
City or any other plant or system shall not be paid within 30 days
from the rendition of such bill, the City or the person furnishing
water for use on such premises shall discontinue furnishing water
for use on such premises and shall disconnect the same from the waterworks
system of the City or from such other plant or system and the City
shall proceed forthwith to recover the amount of such sewage disposal
charges with a penalty at the rate of 10% in such lawful manner as
it may deem advisable.
(3) All sewer rents plus accrued penalties due and unpaid
as of December 1 of each year shall be added to, assessed and levied
as part of the real property tax of the City against the premises
served by such sewer connection, and it shall be collected in the
same manner and at the same time as the general property tax assessed
against such property.
The sewage disposal charges herein referred
to have no application to the Kenwood Sanitary Sewer District of the
City of Oneida, which conducts sewage wastes to the City of Sherrill
municipal sewage treatment plant.
Such sewage disposal charges and rents shall
be used for the payment of principal and interest on the obligations
issued or to be issued by the City to finance the construction of
the sewage treatment plant and any subsequent improvements therein
and its share of the cost of operation and maintenance of said sewage
treatment plant.