A. 
Agreement required. All commercial property owners seeking financing for energy savings improvements on qualifying property pursuant to the commercial PACE program must enter into a commercial PACE agreement, approved as to form and substance by the City, authorizing the creation of a commercial PACE assessment and acknowledging the creation of a commercial PACE lien. A notice of the commercial PACE agreement will be filed in the registry of deeds, which filing will create a lien until the amounts due under the agreement are paid in full.
B. 
Underwriting standards. A commercial PACE agreement entered into pursuant to the commercial PACE program must satisfy the minimum underwriting requirements of the Commercial PACE Act and such additional requirements established by the Trust.
C. 
Collection of assessments. A commercial property owner participating in the commercial PACE program will repay the financing of energy savings improvements through an assessment on their property similar to a tax bill. A commercial PACE assessment constitutes a lien on the qualifying property until it is paid in full and must be assessed and collected by the City or its designated agent, the Trust, or a third-party administrator contracted by the Trust, consistent with applicable laws. The City may, by written agreement, designate the applicable third-party capital provider as its agents for the billing and collection of commercial PACE assessment payments in satisfaction of the commercial PACE loan. Where commercial PACE assessment payments are received directly by the City along with other municipal tax payments, such payments received from property owners shall first be applied to City taxes, assessments, and charges. The City shall have no ownership of the commercial PACE assessments collected except for any administrative costs provided under the commercial PACE program. The City shall pay all commercial PACE assessment payments in any calendar month to the applicable capital provider or the commercial PACE program administrator within 30 days after the end of the month in which such amounts are collected. The City shall have no obligation to make payments to any capital provider with respect to any Commercial PACE repayment amounts or loan obligations other than that portion of the commercial PACE assessment actually collected from a property owner for the repayment of a commercial PACE loan.
(1) 
If the Trust or a third-party administrator contracted by the Trust or an agent of the City collects commercial PACE assessments on behalf of the City, the Trust or agent shall periodically report to the City on the status of the commercial PACE assessments in the City and shall notify the City of any delinquent commercial PACE assessments. Upon receiving notification from the Trust or agent of a delinquent commercial PACE assessment, the City shall notify the holder of any mortgage on the property of the delinquent assessment.
D. 
Notice; filing. A notice of a commercial PACE agreement must be filed in the appropriate registry of deeds. The filing of this notice creates a commercial PACE lien against the property subject to the commercial PACE assessment until the amounts due under the terms of the commercial PACE agreement are paid in full. The notice must include the information required by the Commercial PACE Act.
E. 
Priority. A commercial PACE lien secures payment for any unpaid commercial PACE assessment and, together with all associated interest and penalties for default and associated attorney's fees and collection costs, takes precedence over all other liens or encumbrances except a lien for real property taxes of the municipality and liens of municipal sewer, sanitary and water districts. From the date of recording, a commercial PACE lien is a priority lien against a property, except that the priority of such a commercial PACE lien over any lien, except a lien for real property taxes of the City or a lien of a municipal sewer, sanitary or water district, that existed prior to the commercial PACE lien is subject to the written consent of such existing lienholder.
F. 
Mortgage lender notice and consent. Any financial institution holding a lien, mortgage or security interest in or other collateral encumbrance on the property for which a commercial PACE assessment is sought must be provided written notice of the commercial property owner's intention to participate in the commercial PACE program and must provide written consent to the commercial property owner and City that the borrower may participate and enroll the collateral property in the commercial PACE program. This written consent must be filed in the registry of deeds and must include a written acknowledgement and understanding by the financial institution holding the lien, mortgage or security interest in or other collateral encumbrance on the property as required by the Commercial PACE Act.
A. 
A commercial PACE assessment and any interest, fees, penalties and attorney's fees incurred in its collection must be collected in the same manner as the real property taxes of the City. A commercial PACE assessment for which notice is properly recorded under this section creates a lien on the property. The portion of the assessment that has not yet become due is not eliminated by foreclosure, and the lien may not be accelerated or extinguished until fully repaid.
(1) 
If a commercial PACE assessment is delinquent or in default and the borrower or property owner is delinquent in any tax debt due to the City, collection may occur only by the recording of liens and by foreclosure under 36 M.R.S. §§ 942 and 943. Liens must be recorded and released in the same manner as liens for real property taxes.
(2) 
If only a commercial PACE assessment is delinquent but the borrower or property owner is current on payment of all municipal taxes due to the City, then a commercial PACE lienholder shall accept an assignment of the commercial PACE lien, as provided in the written agreement between City and the capital provider. The assignee shall have and possess all the same powers and rights at law as the City and its tax collector with regards to the priority of the commercial PACE lien, the accrual of interest and fees and the costs of collection. The assignee shall have the same rights to enforce the commercial PACE lien as any private party or lender holding a lien on real property, including, but not limited to, the right of foreclosure consistent with 14 M.R.S. §§ 6203-A and 6321 and any other action in contract or lawsuit for the enforcement of the commercial PACE lien.
B. 
Judicial or nonjudicial sale or foreclosure. In the event of a judicial or nonjudicial sale or foreclosure of a property subject to a commercial PACE lien by a lienholder that is not a commercial PACE lienholder, the commercial PACE lien must survive the foreclosure or sale to the extent of any unpaid installment, interest, penalties or fees secured by the lien that were not paid from the proceeds of the sale. All parties with mortgages or liens on that property, including without limitation commercial PACE lienholders, must receive on account of such mortgages or liens sale proceeds in accordance with the priority established in the Commercial PACE Act and by applicable law. A commercial PACE assessment is not eliminated by foreclosure and cannot be accelerated. Only the portion of a commercial PACE assessment that is in arrears at the time of foreclosure takes precedence over other mortgages or liens; the remainder transfers with the property at resale.
C. 
Unless otherwise agreed upon by the capital provider, all payments on a commercial PACE assessment that become due after the date of transfer by judicial or nonjudicial sale or foreclosure must continue to be secured by a lien on the property and are the responsibility of the transferee.
D. 
Release of lien. The City will discharge a commercial PACE lien created under the Commercial PACE Act and this chapter upon full payment of the amount specified in the commercial PACE agreement. A discharge under this subsection must be filed in the appropriate registry of deeds and must include reference to the notice of commercial PACE agreement previously recorded pursuant to the Commercial PACE Act and this chapter.
E. 
No City responsibility for commercial PACE assessment payments. The City shall not be obligated to make any commercial PACE assessment payment during any period in which the City is deemed to be the owner of the Qualified Property by virtue of the automatic foreclosure of a tax lien mortgage, pursuant to 36 M.R.S. § 943, as amended, provided that the City includes such a provision in the commercial PACE agreement for that Qualified Property.
A. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, City officers and City officials, including without limitation, Tax Assessors and Tax Collectors, are not personally liable to the Trust or to any other person for claims, of whatever kind or nature, under or related to a commercial PACE program, including without limitation, claims for or related to uncollected commercial PACE assessments under this chapter.
B. 
Other than the fulfillment of its obligations specified in a commercial PACE agreement, the City has no liability to a commercial property owner for or related to energy savings improvements financed under a commercial PACE program.