Town of Moreau, NY Charges

The Town shall maintain a Sewer Rate Schedule[1] which describes and shows the annual operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and capital charges for each sewer district. The Sewer Rate Schedule shall also indicate billing periods, schedules and various fees and rates for items, including but not limited to penalties, tapping fees and reserve capacity fees. The rates and fees shown shall be updated from time to time by Town Board resolution.

[1]

Editor's Note: The Sewer Rate Schedule is on file in the Town offices.

The Town Board shall adopt a resolution whenever necessary, establishing or amending the sewer rates for the Town. Such resolution shall remain in full force and effect until such time as it is repealed or superseded by a subsequent resolution of the Town Board adopted pursuant to this local law. Any such resolution establishing sewer rates or meeting shall be scheduled with at least seven days prior public notice. Such notice shall be accomplished by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. In any such resolution establishing or amending sewer rates, the Town Board may establish an equitable classification of users and establish different rates for the different classifications. Such classification may include separate charges for users who are located outside of the corporate limits of the Town, or pre-established District limits.

All properties located within a sewer district, regardless of connection status, shall be responsible for paying capital costs applicable to the district since said properties benefit from convenient access to sewer mains.

The sewer service charge of each sewer district or consolidated district shall be set by the Town Board on a benefit basis as fairly as possible, in proportion to wastewater generation and capacity needs among all the parcels in the District or consolidated district.

The annual cost of sewer service for parcels within the service area will consist of two components: debt service on the capital costs, and the operation and maintenance charges as follows:

(1)

Operation and maintenance charge. All parcels within the service area discharging or depositing sewage into the public sewers shall be assessed a connection fee, district costs and treatment fees and any other applicable operation and maintenance fee as set forth in § 115-71D hereof. The connection fee shall be determined by resolution of the Town Board.

(2)

Capital project debt charge. All parcels within the service area shall be assessed a capital project debt charge based upon the following formulas: 90% of the annual debt service shall be collected on the assessed value within the district, while the remaining 10% shall be based upon the acreage of each parcel within the sewer district. Payment of the capital debt charge must be paid regardless of connection status to the public sewer.

The Town Board shall prepare a sewer budget in accordance with Town Law that will specify debt service charges proposed for the succeeding budget year. In accordance with Town Law, sewer rolls for each sewer district will be prepared and adopted by the Town Board annually which set forth capital charges and operation and maintenance expenses. Adoption of the amount of the annual capital charges and the annual amount of operation and maintenance expenses shall occur at a public hearing noticed in a manner required by the Town Law.

Annual operation and maintenance charges described in § 115-71B(1) of this article will be based upon district costs and treatment costs. Revenue determined for district costs shall be based upon assessed value and will be billed in January of each year. Revenues for treatment costs will be determined on water consumption at a dollar rate per 1,000 gallons and shall be billed semi-annually on June 30 and December 31 of each year. Payment of the semi-annual treatment invoices must be remitted in full within 30 days of June 30 and December 31. Any unpaid balance will be subject to an interest charge of 10% each month after the initial thirty-day period on the outstanding balance, and shall become a lien on the owner's real property if not fully paid by the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued.

Capital project debt service charges described in § 115-71B(2) of this article shall be billed annually by the Town through the county with billings to begin as shown on the Sewer Rate Sheet. Any unpaid bill shall become a lien on the real property.

All bills are payable in accordance with the rates and charges set forth in Article XI. For new services installed at any time during the billing period, the charges will not be prorated. Unpaid balances shall become a lien on the owner's real property if not paid by the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was due. Metered drinking water usage shall be used to determine sewer bills, the quantity of water recorded by the meter shall be considered the amount of water passing through the meter, which amount shall be conclusive on both the applicant and the Department, except when the meter has been found to be registering inaccurately or has ceased to register. In such cases, the charge shall be based on an estimate prepared by the Department for the period in question.

There shall be filed annually, with the Town Board, a statement showing the unpaid water charges and penalties payable, with a brief description of the owner's property.

Bills for sewer service or services performed by the Department shall be paid to the Town of Moreau.

Sewer rates, penalties and charges shall be as shown on the Sewer Rate Schedule and established by the Town Board from time to time.

No bill will be rendered for less than the minimum charge for each billing period. Any payment accepted for less than the amount stated on the bill will be subject to a late payment penalty on the original payment due amount.

Failure to receive a bill shall not act as a waiver of the penalty, nor shall it relieve the owner of any responsibility for the bill.

Unpaid sewer bills and charges of whatever nature shall become a lien on the property.