The lamp district and the water district as now established
in said city shall continue, but subject to the powers of the Common
Council to enlarge, alter or discontinue the same or any part of either
thereof. The Common Council shall have power to prescribe the boundaries
of the lamp and water districts and to alter and extend them from
time to time, and to discontinue any that may have been erected. Said
districts shall consist of such territory within said city as the
Common Council shall deem to be benefited by the lamps or waterworks
respectively. It shall cause descriptions of the boundaries of all
such districts, and of the alterations and extensions thereof, to
be made, and copies thereof to be filed with the City Clerk. [§ 190, L. 1911, c. 870]
No lamp or water district shall be erected, altered, extended,
or discontinued, except by a vote of 2/3 of the members elected to
the Council; nor shall the Council finally act in such matter, without
a previous notice of six days in the city paper of its intention so
to do, and it shall allow all parties interested a hearing before
its final action. [§ 191, L. 1911, c. 870]
When a lamp district has been extended, the expenses of the
city of the extension and of the necessary materials, fixtures and
labor expended in the organization of the new portion of the district,
and of lighting such portion, until the first day of June thereafter,
shall be assessed upon the real estate of such new portion as though
it was a district by itself, and the same shall be assessed and collected
as provided in this act in respect to assessments for local improvements. [§ 192, L. 1911, c. 870]
The Common Council shall cause the lamp districts to be lighted
when necessary for the convenience of the inhabitants of said city
and may contract with any person or corporation for the lighting of
said district or any part thereof with oil, illuminating gas, electricity
or other material or system, on such terms and for such time, not
exceeding three years, as it may deem for the best interests of the
city. For all the expenses of light, lighting, care, materials, repairs,
maintenance and all other expenses of the lamp district, the Common
Council shall not expend in any fiscal year a sum exceeding the amount
fixed in the tax budget as confirmed by the Common Council for such
fiscal year. Provided, however, nothing herein contained shall prevent
the city from making sums available for any of such purposes pursuant
to § 29.00 of the Local Finance Law. [§ 193,
L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L. 1943, c. 710]
The Common Council shall annually cause 1/2 of the sum necessary
to be paid for lighting the lamp district, and all other expenses
of maintaining it, to be assessed upon the taxable property in said
district, as the same shall exist on the first day of June in each
year, which tax shall be assessed by the Board of Assessors; and all
such assessments shall be entered in a separate column upon the general
tax rolls of the year, and shall be levied, collected and paid into
the treasury, in the same manner as the general city tax. [§ 194,
L. 1911, c. 870]
Whenever the lamp or water district shall be extended over the
whole city, the expense of the maintenance and supply thereof shall
become a charge upon the city, and the local district assessment therefor
shall cease. [§ 195, L. 1911, c. 870]
The Common Council shall have power to pass such ordinance as
it may deem necessary for the care and protection of the public lamps
and all appurtenances thereof, or apparatus or machinery whatsoever
connected or used therewith, and may provide for punishing any person
willfully interfering with or injuring or destroying the same, or
any thereof, by penalty, fine or imprisonment, or any or all thereof.
But for any one offense such penalty or fine shall not exceed the
sum of $100, nor such imprisonment exceed the term of six months.
Any such penalty, fine or imprisonment imposed under this section
shall be in addition to any other punishment or liability provided
by law. [§ 196, L. 1911, c. 870]
The city may purchase, construct, maintain, and regulate waterworks
for supplying said city and its inhabitants with water and may purchase,
lease or otherwise acquire such lands, easements, property, tenements,
hereditaments, rights, privileges and franchises, as may be required
therefor, within the Counties of Niagara, Erie and Genesee; and in
case the city is unable to agree upon the terms of purchase or lease
of such property, it may acquire the same by condemnation proceedings.
For the purpose of securing a supply of pure and wholesome water in
and for said city for public and domestic purposes, the Common Council
may and it is hereby authorized to acquire, construct, maintain, control,
and operate a system of waterworks, with pumping stations, conduits,
reservoirs and other requisites to furnish the City of Lockport with
water from any source in Niagara, Erie or Genesee Counties, or any
body of water adjacent thereto. The Common Council and all persons
acting under its authority and direction shall have the right to enter,
appropriate, occupy and use any public street, highway, avenue, road
or other public ground, for the purpose of constructing, maintaining
and operating such waterworks in the counties aforesaid, but shall,
in all cases, restore the same to its former state of usefulness.
A contract or agreement shall not be entered into under this section
which shall require an expenditure of more than $500, without first
advertising for at least 60 days for proposals to enter into contract
for the work or materials required, and all such contracts shall be
let to the lowest bidder, who shall furnish such security for faithful
performance as shall be approved by the Council, and the Council may
reject bids, in its discretion, and readvertise for proposals. Upon
the construction and completion of such waterworks, the same shall
be operated and controlled by the Board of Water Commissioners of
the said city. All moneys required to pay the charges and expenses
of maintaining and operating such waterworks, over and above the receipts
therefrom, shall be raised by general tax upon the real and personal
estate within said city, as the same may from time to time be bounded. [§ 197, L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L. 1943, c. 710]
The Superintendent of Waterworks shall, on or before the first
day of June in each year, make and present to the Mayor an estimate
in writing of the amount deemed by said Superintendent necessary to
be raised to defray the expenses of the operation, supervision and
management of the waterworks and appurtenances, and the alterations
and repair thereof necessary to be made during the next ensuing fiscal
year. The Common Council shall have power, in each fiscal year, to
raise by tax a sum, to be known as the Water Fund; and so much thereof
as may be necessary therefor shall be used to pay the necessary expenses
of operation, supervision and management of said waterworks and their
appurtenances and the repairs thereof during said fiscal year. There
may be included in the Water Fund an appropriation for alterations
to the waterworks and appurtenances. [§ 200, L. 1911,
c. 870; amended by L. 1919, c. 316; L.L. No. 3-1930; L. 1943, c. 710]
The Common Council may order an extension of the waterworks, as a local improvement, the expenses thereof to be assessed upon and borne by the real estate it deems benefited thereby, and in such case the provisions of Article
X of this act shall apply to said extension in all things, except that the plan and specifications therefor shall be prepared by said Common Council, or such persons as it shall designate.
[§ 201, L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L. No. 3-1930]
The Mayor with the consent and approval of the Common Council
shall appoint some competent person, being a resident of said city,
as Superintendent of Waterworks; and from time to time such employees
and assistants as may be necessary for the management, operation and
care of the waterworks. Said Superintendent, employees and assistants
shall severally hold their offices or positions during the pleasure
of the Mayor and Common Council. The salary of said officials shall
be fixed by the Common Council. [§ 202, L. 1911, c.
870; amended by L.L. No. 2-1930]
The Superintendent of the waterworks or any assistant or employee
appointed by the Common Council who may be thereto required by said
Common Council shall, before entering upon the duties of his office
or employment, execute and file with the Clerk of said city a bond
to said city in such penal sum as the Common Council may direct, and
with such sureties as it shall approve, conditioned for the faithful
discharge of the duties of his office or employment, as the case may
be, and for the proper payment of all moneys received by him belonging
to the city, and that he will account therefor whenever required by
the Common Council. [§ 203, L. 1911, c. 870; amended
by L.L. No. 3-1930]
The Common Council shall have power to fix, prescribe and regulate
the rates and charges for the use of water in said city, and fix the
compensation, prescribe the duties and make rules and regulations
for the government of said Superintendent, assistant or employees,
and from time to time to alter said rates or amend or abolish said
rules or any part thereof. [§ 204, L. 1911, c. 870;
amended by L.L. No. 3-1930]
At some regular meeting of the Common Council, in the months
of January, April, July and October of each year, and at such times
as the Common Council may require, the Superintendent of Waterworks
shall report to the Common Council a statement of the condition of
the waterworks and the receipts and expenditures of the Water Department
for the three months next preceding the first day of the month in
which such report is made. The Common Council shall publish such reports
as a part of its proceedings. [§ 205, L. 1911, c.
870; amended by L.L. No. 3-1930]
Applications for water shall be made to the Superintendent of
Waterworks and shall be for the period of one year, commencing either
on the first day of June or on the first day of December next following
the date of the application. All water rates not exceeding $10 shall
be payable on the first day of July in each year, or at the time when
applications for water shall be made. All water rates exceeding $10
shall be payable half yearly in advance on the first day of June and
December in each year. The applicant, if rate exceeds $10 at the time
of applying, shall pay to such person as may be designated by the
Common Council to receive the same, six months' water rate, and in
case he shall desire to use the water before said first day of July
or January, as the case may be, he shall also pay in addition thereto
a pro rata rate for such time as said applicant shall desire to use
the water prior to said day. The person designated by the Common Council
to receive said money shall immediately upon receipt thereof report
and pay the same to the City Treasurer, specifying from whom and the
premises for which the payment is made. All water rates received by
the City Treasurer shall be placed to the credit of the Water Fund.
It shall be the duty of the Common Council to perform all the clerical
labor of making out the water rolls and serving the notice of their
completion. The Common Council shall have power to grant to builders,
and in other special cases, water permits for a less term than one
year, and payment in such cases shall be made as the Common Council
may direct. [§ 206, L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L.
No. 3-1930]
On or before the first day of each month, in each year, the
Superintendent of Waterworks shall prepare and deliver to the City
Treasurer a certified list of all water rates due and outstanding
as of the said aforementioned dates, including therein all water rates
in arrears, showing the names of several persons from whom the same
are payable; and the Superintendent of Waterworks on the same day
shall notify the several persons named in said list from whom such
rates are due, of the amount due, together with any fees and/or penalties,
from each, respectively, and that the same may be paid to the City
Treasurer within 30 days from the billing date shown on said notice
without additional fees; provided however, that payment enclosed in
postpaid envelope, properly addressed to the City Treasurer, deposited
in an official depository under the exclusive care and custody of
the United States Post Office and bearing a postmark on or before
the expiration of said thirty-day period shall be considered as having
been received within such period, and thereafter the amount shown
in said notice as the "total current bill" will be considered as in
arrears and that ten-per-centum fees will be added thereto and be
collectable therewith. Said notices shall be written or printed, and
shall be addressed to the party responsible for the payment of the
said unpaid water rates and be deposited in the post office in said
city. In case of a change in the person or firm responsible for the
payment of said water rates, it shall be the duty of the successor
to notify the Superintendent thereof, forthwith, and if such notice
be not given, a notice by the Superintendent as above addressed to
the applicant or the person who paid the last previous water rate
for the premises in question, shall be a full and sufficient notice
under this section. [§ 208, L. 1911, c. 870; amended
by L.L. No. 3-1930; L.L. No. 2-1947; L.L. No. 1-1970; L.L. No. 2-1982]
It shall be the duty of the City Treasurer, during the said
term of 30 days, to receive such water rates as may be offered to
him at his office, together with any fees and/or penalties which may
be stated on the notice transmitted to the party responsible for the
payment thereof by the Superintendent of Waterworks and any fees and/or
penalties which may have accrued during the interim; after the expiration
of said term the City Treasurer shall deliver to the Superintendent
of Waterworks the aforesaid list of water rates with a certification
to the effect that the payments therein listed constitute all of the
payments received by him during such thirty-day period. [§ 209,
L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L. No. 2-1947]
It shall be the duty of the Superintendent of Waterworks, upon
receiving such list of water rates from the City Treasurer, to notify
in writing the several persons whose accounts remain unpaid that payment
thereof shall be made within 30 days from the date of said notice
and that the failure to receive payment thereof shall result in the
cutting off of their water supply without further notice at the termination
of said 30 days from the date of said notice; a charge will be made
for the restoration of such water service. [§ 210,
L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L. No. 3-1930; L.L. No. 2-1947]
In case an action is begun to recover any unpaid water rate,
it may be brought in any court having jurisdiction, and shall be in
the name of the City of Lockport as plaintiff, and the proceedings
therein shall be as in other civil actions; if judgment be given in
such action for the plaintiff, it shall be for the amount of the unpaid
water rate, and said ten-per-centum fees in addition thereto, as damages.
When collected, said water rate and said ten-per-centum fees shall
be paid to the City Treasurer. [§ 211, L. 1911, c.
870]
No application for water shall be granted to any person who
shall be in arrears on any previous application for water or for any
water rate, nor until the applicant has paid all costs, charges and
expenses, if any there be, incurred by any previous cutting off of
the water from any premises on account of such arrearage. [§ 213,
L. 1911, c. 870]
The presenting of any application for water to the Superintendent
of Waterworks and the granting thereof by him and the actual use of
water pursuant to such grant, in or upon the premises of any person,
shall render said applicant and said person using the water liable
to said city to the amount of the prescribed water rate for said premises
for the water year next following such application, as hereinbefore
provided; and every application for water shall be construed to run
from year to year, without further application; and every applicant
or person using the water shall at all times be liable to the said
city for the water rate for the then next following water year, unless
prior to the end of the then current water year he shall notify the
Superintendent of Waterworks of his intention to discontinue the use
of the water at the end of the then current water year. [§ 214,
L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L. No. 3-1930]
All claims against said city growing out of or in any manner
arising from the waterworks, or the operation, supervision, management,
alteration or repair thereof, shall be presented to the Superintendent
of the waterworks for examination before the same shall be submitted
to the Common Council for audit. [§ 215, L. 1911,
c. 870; amended by L.L. No. 3-1930]
The Superintendent of Waterworks shall keep an account of all
its receipts in proper books to be by him provided therefor, in such
a manner as at all times to show the exact amount of moneys received
by him. Said book shall at all reasonable hours, on all days except
Sundays and legal holidays, be open to the inspection of the Mayor,
Aldermen, Corporation Counsel and any person designated by the Common
Council. [§ 216, L. 1911, c. 870; amended by L.L.
No. 3-1930]
All water rents and the interest and charges thereon, until
paid, shall be a lien upon the land and buildings where the water
was consumed or supplied. The word "water rents" whenever used in
this Article shall include uniform monthly, semiannual and annual
charges and extra and miscellaneous charges for the supply of water;
charges in accordance with meter rates and minimum charges for the
supply of water by meter; annual service charges and charges for meters
and their connections and for their setting, repair and maintenance;
penalties and fines and all lawful charges for the supply of water. [Added by L. 1935, c. 572]
The amount received from the collection of water rents, bills
for the use of water and other income derived from the waterworks
system shall be kept in a separate fund and called the Water Fund.
The said fund shall be applied only for the following uses and purposes:
1. For the payment, when due, of the interest on bonded and other indebtedness
incurred or owned for water purposes.
2. For the creation and maintenance of a sinking fund to meet the redemption
of all bonds hereafter issued for water purposes, including bonds
reissued or refunded, by setting aside annually a sum which will produce
an amount equal to the sum of the principal and interest of said bonds
in their maturity, and also for the purpose of making the payments
required by law into the sinking funds which have been heretofore
created for the purpose of redeeming bonds issued to provide for the
supply of water.
3. For the expenses of repairing, maintaining and increasing the waterworks
system and for the necessary charges and expenses incident thereto.
4. All surplus funds remaining after the above payments have been made
shall be designated as profits resulting from the operation of said
water system and may be appropriated by the Common Council for general
municipal purposes or may be paid into a capital reserve fund, a repair
reserve fund or into a tax stabilization reserve fund, as provided
for by the General Municipal Law of the State of New York. [Added
by L.L. No. 3-1947]