[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699]
The board of water commissioners of the city of Middletown is hereby abolished and the term of office of each water commissioner and of each clerk and employee of the board of water commissioners shall terminate upon the taking effect of this act, all property real and personal, rights, powers, privileges and contracts at the time of the passage of this act, possessed, owned, occupied, exercised and enjoyed by, as well as all the duties, contracts, obligations and liabilities imposed upon the said village or city of Middletown, pursuant to an act of the legislature of the state of New York, entitled "An act to supply the village of Middletown with water for public and private purposes," passed April third, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and the several acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, are hereby transferred to, vested and imposed upon said city of Middletown; and all contracts, rates, charges, ordinances, rules and regulations of the board of water commissioners of the city of Middletown in force at the time of the passage of this act, shall be and remain valid and effectual as the ordinances, contracts, rates, charges, rules and regulations of the common council and said city, until repealed, modified or changed, subject, however, to the provisions of this act, with the same force and to the full extent as might have been done by or on the part of the said board of water commissioners and village or city or either; and the rights and privileges of all persons or parties that may have arisen or accrued under, pursuant to or by reason of any such contract, ordinance, rule or regulation, rates and charges, or otherwise, as well as any liabilities that may have arisen by reason thereof, shall remain and be the same under this act as they would have been had not this act been passed; and all rights and liabilities of said board of water commissioners of said city existing at the time of the passage of this act, shall be in no wise affected or changed hereby, except as herein specified.
[Added by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The board of estimate and apportionment shall make such rules and regulations for the preservation, management and protection of the water works and the use and control of the water, as may be deemed advisable, and prescribe the penalty for the violation thereof, which penalty, if not paid when imposed, shall constitute a lien upon the premises in like manner as unpaid water rents, and which, when ratified and approved by the common council, shall have the same force and effect as any law or ordinance by it enacted, and may alter or amend the same with the approval of the common council.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 6-1942]
The said board of estimate and apportionment by and with the consent of the common council shall establish a scale of annual rents to be charged and paid semi-annually, on May first and November first, by the owners and occupants of all buildings which shall be situated on lots adjoining any streets or avenues in said city, in which the distributing pipes are or may be laid, and from which they can be supplied with water, to be called water rents, and to be apportioned to the different classes of buildings in said city, in reference to their own dimensions, value, exposure to fire, ordinary uses for dwellings, stores, shops, private stables and other common purposes; number of families or occupants, or consumption of water, as near as may be practicable, also a scale of rates to be charged and paid for water supplied through meters and the rates to be charged and paid for water used in the erection of new buildings, which amounts shall be paid on demand by the owner or occupant of the property upon which such water shall be consumed and, from time to time, to alter, modify, amend, increase or diminish such rents in said scale, and extend it to other descriptions of buildings, establishments or uses.
[Added by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The commissioner of public works shall determine the amount of water used by hotels, factories, stables, breweries, mills, foundries, and other buildings, establishments and trades, which consume extra quantities of water, and shall have power to attach a meter to any premises when deemed advisable and all expenses of meters, their connections, setting, repairing and all water rates, including schedule and meter rates, and all other lawful charges for city water supplied in any manner shall be a charge against the property where such water is supplied.
[Added by L. 1922, Ch. 613; [1] amended L.L. No. 2-2007]
All water rents thus determined, together with all such expenses and charges, shall be payable to the Treasurer as collector, and shall constitute a lien on the property upon which such water shall be used in like manner as city taxes. All moneys so collected shall be credited to the water department fund.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended by L.L. No. 3-1981, which local law was deemed ineffective by L.L. No. 4-1983. Section I of L.L. No. 4-1983 provided as follows: "The Local Law No. 3 of 1981 is ineffective because it was never put to a mandatory public referendum. Therefore, any laws it attempted to replace remain intact and have never been changed."
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; [1] L.L. No. 2-2007]
If the said Treasurer and collector shall be unable to collect any of such water rents, he or she shall make return thereof, under oath, to the Common Council; and the Commissioner of Public Works thereupon and thereafter said Council shall have power to sue for and collect such rents, together with ten per centum thereon in addition thereto, from the persons against whom the same shall be charged in said assessment-roll as aforesaid. And the said water rents shall be liens upon the property in respect to which they are assessed, and shall be filed in the office of the Treasurer and may be collected by a sale of such property in the manner hereinbefore provided for the collection of taxes and assessments for city purposes, and the said Commissioner may also cut off the supply of water leading to the premises upon which such water rents are assessed, and prevent the further use of water from the water works of said city; until said rents, with interest and fees, be fully paid, and the charge to be fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment for shutting off and turning on the water to the occupant or occupants of said premises.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended by L.L. No. 3-1981, which local law was deemed ineffective by L.L. No. 4-1983. Section I of L.L. No. 4-1983 provided as follows: "The Local Law No. 3 of 1981 is ineffective because it was never put to a mandatory public referendum. Therefore, any laws it attempted to replace remain intact and have never been changed."
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The supply pipes leading from the buildings to the distributing pipes shall be inserted and kept in repair at the expense of the owners or occupants of the buildings, and shall not be inserted or connected with the main pipes until a permit therefor shall be obtained from the commissioner of public works or other person designated by him and all such connecting or supply pipes or fixtures shall be constructed under or according to the direction of said commissioner or his agent. The commissioner and every other person by him delegated for the purpose shall have free access at all reasonable hours to all parts of any building or premises into which the city water is delivered and consumed. He shall keep the property and works belonging to the city, and used and provided for the purpose of furnishing a supply of water, in good order and repair, and see that all proper measures are taken to preserve the purity of the water and a sufficient supply thereof. He shall, whenever the common council deems it advisable, cause the line of water pipes connected with such water works to be laid down and extended through any of the public streets, lanes or alleys, in said city, and shall superintend the laying down of the same. He shall keep a correct account of the expenses thereof, which shall be paid by the treasurer on the order of the said council, from the water department fund.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The common council is hereby authorized to levy and collect a frontage tax in each and every year on all unimproved real estate lying along or fronting on either side of any street or alley in which the water main is now laid, or may be hereafter laid, except in case of property along such mains using such water for which a rate is otherwise charged or paid, and also excepting corner lots where water pipes are laid or hereafter laid in both streets, in which cases the frontage tax shall be assessed only upon one street; said frontage tax shall be fixed by said common council, not to exceed in any one year two cents for each foot frontage, or fraction thereof, of any tracts or parcels of land lying along or fronting on either side of any such street or alley. The common council is hereby given power to levy a rate of taxation upon any improved property not using the city water where water mains are laid in the street as may in its judgment be deemed equitable and proper on account of the benefits such properties may derive from their protection against fire. Any tax so imposed or assessed upon any premises in said city shall become a lien upon such premises and bind the same in the same manner, as other city taxes are now imposed and collected; and the moneys so collected shall be credited by the treasurer of said city to the said water department fund.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613; L. 1943, Ch. 710]
The entire annual receipts for water rents, after deducting therefrom such sums as may be necessary to defray the ordinary expenses or repairs of said water works and of extending the same, and salaries of officers and employees, shall be applied to the payment of the interest on the debt contracted for furnishing the village or city of Middletown with water, and the interest on any debt that may be contracted under the provisions of the local finance law, the balance if any, may be set apart as a sinking fund to retire any outstanding bonds.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
In case the entire annual receipts for water rents, after deducting therefrom such sums as may be necessary to defray the ordinary expenses and repairs of the said works, and of extending the same, and salaries of officers and employees, shall not be sufficient in any one or more years to pay the interest on the said debt; the common council shall cause to be levied and collected from and against all the taxable property in said city, at the same time and in the same manner as other expenses of the said city are assessed, levied and collected, such sum or sums of money as said council, shall determine to be necessary to make good such deficiencies, and the sum shall be applied to the payment of such interest, and expenses.
[Repealed by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 1-2009]
The Commissioner of Public Works and his/her authorized agents or employees, are authorized in accordance with the provisions of the United States and New York Constitutions to enter on any land or water for the purpose of making surveys of such property as they may deem necessary, for the enlargement, alteration or improvement of the water works.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The common council is hereby authorized to make agreement with any owner or owners of lands, lakes, ponds, springs or streams of water or other property which may be required for the enlargement, alteration or improvement of the water works of said city, or which may be injuriously affected thereby, as to the price to be paid to such owner or owners, and may buy in the name of the city of Middletown any such lands, lakes, ponds, springs or streams of water or other property which may be so required, or any easement in any lands, for the purposes aforesaid, and any such acquisition shall be held by the said city for the purposes of the water works.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 1-2009]
In case of disagreement between the Common Council and the owner or owners of any lands, lakes, ponds, springs, easements, or streams of water or other property which may now or hereafter be required for the enlargement, alteration or improvement of said water works, as to the amount of compensation to be paid to such owner or owners, or in case any such owner shall be an infant, or insane, or absent from the state, or the owner of an uncertain or contingent interest, or in case of any other disability on the part of the owners, the Common Council may direct that such property or easement be acquired by proceedings instituted for the condemnation thereof under the Eminent Domain Procedure Law. The expenditure involved in such acquisition may be financed, in whole or in part, pursuant to the laws of the State of New York.
[Repealed by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699]
The authority of this act, conferred upon the common council of the city of Middletown to enlarge, alter and improve the water works of said city, is hereby declared to include the authority to construct such additional aqueducts and reservoirs, and to lay such additional mains and other distributing pipes, in connection with said water works, and to acquire the title to such lands, water and other property necessary thereto, as the common council of said city shall, from time to time determine to be necessary for the purposes of supplying the city of Middletown with pure and wholesome water, or for the extinguishing of fires therein.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; repealed by L.L. No. 1-2009]
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
It shall be lawful for the common council to raise by loan, for the purpose of such enlargement, alteration and improvement of the water works of said city, as provided in this act, from time to time, upon bonds of the city of Middletown, such amounts as occasion may require, which bonds shall be in the form of and disposed of as those referred to in section seventy-eight of this act.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The common council is hereby authorized to borrow money and issue new bonds from time to time as provided in this act as the water bonds heretofore issued by the village or city of Middletown, or which may hereafter be issued by said city pursuant to this act shall respectively mature and fall due, to take up and replace, or as substitutes for said water bonds, provided said city has no further funds on hand when said bonds shall from time to time mature sufficient to pay the same.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613; L. 1943, Ch. 710]
For the purpose of creating and continuing a sinking fund for the payment of the water bonds heretofore issued by the village or city of Middletown, and also for the payment of the bonds hereafter authorized to be issued the common council of said city is hereby further authorized, empowered and required to impose, levy and assess upon the taxable property of said city a direct annual tax of at least two thousand dollars in each and every year hereafter, until a sufficient sum be thus raised to pay the entire principal of such bonded indebtedness of such village, and of said city, heretofore, and hereafter authorized.
[Repealed by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
It shall be the duty of the board of estimate and apportionment to see that the proceeds of such annual tax and all moneys paid into the sinking fund are applied as soon as practicable to the payment and redemption of the water bonds of the city, and if there are no bonds on which payment can be made, it shall invest the same as provided in this act.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; repealed by L.L. No. 1-2009]
[Repealed by L. 1922, Ch. 613]
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613]
The said commissioner of public works, by order of the common council and all persons acting under his authority, shall have the right to use the ground or soil under any street, highway or road within the town of Wallkill and adjoining towns, for the purpose of introducing water into and through any portion of the city of Middletown, on condition that he shall cause the surface of said street, highway or road to be relaid and restored to its usual state, and all damages done thereto to be repaired.
[Added by L. 1936, Ch. 372]
The board of estimate and apportionment of the city may, subject to the approval of the common council, supply directly to consumers or contract to supply water to municipal corporations, water districts, fire districts, corporations or individuals in territory outside the city, under such rules and upon such rates and terms as such board may fix and prescribe. For the purpose of supplying water as provided in this section, such board shall have power and authority to extend the water mains and pipes beyond the corporate limits of the city and to lay and maintain pipes and water mains under any street, highway, road or other lands in territory outside the city; but nothing herein contained shall be deemed or construed to exempt or excuse such board from compliance with any law appertaining thereto, in using or acquiring the use of such streets, highways, roads or other lands for such purposes. The cost of such water mains, pipes and appurtenances thereto and the installation thereof may be assumed and paid by such board of estimate and apportionment from the annual receipts for water rents of the city, and if such cost be so assumed or paid, it shall be deemed an ordinary expense of the water works system of the city.
It shall not be lawful for any person to throw or deposit, or cause to be thrown or deposited into any pond, lake, spring, aqueduct or reservoir, owned or used or hereafter to be owned or used by the city of Middletown, or into any stream of water taken or to be taken, in whole or in part for the purposes of this title, any dead animal, or other offensive matter, or anything whatever; and any person offending against the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment, or both, in the discretion of the court; such fine not to exceed one hundred dollars, and such imprisonment not to exceed a period of three months.
All parts of an act, entitled "An act to supply the village of Middletown with water for public and private purposes," passed April third, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and the acts amendatory thereof, that are inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed, but such repeal shall not affect or impair any rights or liabilities heretofore acquired or imposed.