City of Oneida, NY Part 2 Rates and Charges

[Adopted 12-21-1982 as Art. II of Ch. 3-16 of the 1982 Code]

Article II Collection

§ 139-8 Sewage disposal charges; collection.

[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[1]; 4-19-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]

[1] Editor's Note: This local law provided that it take effect 6-1-2002.

(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.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions).

(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.

§ 139-9 Nonapplicability to Kenwood Sanitary Sewer District.

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.

§ 139-10 Use of charges and rents.

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.