[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Oxford 9-6-1988
as L.L. No. 1-1988. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Village of Oxford that
its municipal wastewater and sanitary sewer facilities presently under construction,
and as from time to time expanded and improved, shall be managed in the most
efficient manner consistent with sound economy and public advantage so that
services of the system can be furnished at the lowest possible cost rather
than as a source of income to the village. Further, it is declared that said
wastewater and sewer treatment system shall be operated for the use and benefit
of those served by it and for the promotion of the welfare and improvement
of the health, safety, comfort and convenience of the people of the village
served by the facility.
In order to provide such management and operation, the Mayor of the
Village of Oxford shall appoint three (3) members who shall serve for terms
of one (1), two (2) and three (3) years respectively, and their successors
will be appointed for terms of three (3) years. In case of a vacancy for any
cause whatsoever, the Mayor shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.
All Commissioners shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed.
No member of said Commission shall be removed except for incompetency or misconduct
shown at a public hearing before the Mayor and Village Board upon due notice
and upon stated charges. Members of the Board shall serve without compensation
but shall be entitled to reimbursement, payable from the operation and maintenance
account, for any actual, necessary documented expenses incurred in the performance
of their official duties.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Commission to proceed as
efficiently as possible in overseeing construction and in the management,
operation, maintenance and repair of the wastewater and sanitary sewer facilities
of the Village of Oxford (hereafter referred to as the "sewer system"). It
shall also be the duty of the Commission to implement needed improvements
and extensions to the sewer system as the needs arise.
B.
For this purpose the Commission shall have the authority
to assume the duties undertaken by the village on any bond resolutions now
or for the financing, acquisition, expansion or improvement of the sewer system
and relative to the establishment and maintenance of the funds and accounts
as may be provided for in such bond resolutions. The Commission shall have
control, care and management of the Sewer System Revenue Fund, the public
lands, treatment plants, sanitary sewers and all things and matters pertaining
to the sewer system. In addition to the powers and duties which are now or
may be, all contracts shall be payable primarily out of sewer system revenues.
All such resolutions shall require unanimous approval of the three (3) Commission
members.
The acting Village Clerk shall act as Treasurer of the Wastewater Treatment
Commission and shall deposit in a separate bank account (or accounts) entitled
"Sewer Rent Fund" all moneys received from state aid, sewer operation, sewer
rent, rates, fees and other charges of the sewer system and shall not commingle
such money with other money or funds of the village. The Treasurer shall keep
separate books of account for all sewer system funds and of expenditures therefrom.
The Village Board may delegate to the Treasurer the duty of collecting sewer
rents, rates, fees, appropriations from general funds and other charges of
the sewer system. Because of additional duties imposed on the Village Clerk
acting as Treasurer of the sewer system funds, compensation may be paid in
an amount determined by the Village Board to be reasonable. This will be in
addition to the regular Clerk salary.
A.
A.[1] On or before the first day of March in each fiscal year, the Wastewater
Treatment Commission shall adopt and submit to the Village Board an annual
budget of the wastewater treatment system. This budget shall include:
(1)
An explanation of the operation of the sewage system,
including recommendations for improvements and extensions which the Board
believes should be implemented within the next five (5) years.
(2)
A statement of estimated funds to be received during
the coming fiscal year from rents, rates, fees, state aid, appropriations
from general fund and other charges of the sewer system ("revenues").
B.
The above provisions are minimum requirements of the
budget report. The Commission may further itemize as it deems advisable. The
annual budget must be adopted by a favorable vote of the majority of the Village
Board. Upon final adoption, the budget shall be in effect for the ensuing
fiscal year.
C.
A copy of each annual budget will be certified by the
Village Clerk and filed in the village office. The Chairman and Secretary
and any other member of the Commission must approve, in writing, vouchers
for all reasonable and necessary expenditures. The Treasurer shall make payments
from respective accounts in accordance with such allocations and vouchers.
Any moneys drawn out of the sewer fund must be on checks signed by the Village
Clerk and the Mayor.
Within sixty (60) days of the end of each fiscal year, an independent
audit shall be made by a person or committee designated by the Commission.
The Village Attorney shall be the legal advisor for the Commission providing
advice and counsel in the same manner required of him by the Village Board.
This shall not limit the Commission in retaining other counsel when or if
the Commission feels circumstances warrant it. Compensation will be paid for
the additional duties imposed by the Commission in such an amount as is deemed
reasonable by both the Commission and the attorney in addition to any money
received from the village for other work.
In accordance with provisions of § 452 of the General Municipal
Law and the provisions of any bond resolution affecting the sewer system,
the Village Board shall prescribe and collect reasonable sewer rates, rentals,
fees and other charges for the supply of sewer system services. Such rates
and other charges shall be adopted by the Village Board by ordinance, which
will also provide the terms and conditions of payment.
The Commission may at any time adopt and submit to the Village Board
an amended annual budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year. This
must be approved by a majority vote of the Village Board and may increase
or decrease the estimate of revenues and the amount to be paid into the operation
and maintenance account during the remainder of the current fiscal year.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair in any way the
duty of the village, under the Constitution and statutes of New York State,
to pay the principal and interest on any of its bonds and other obligations
as the same shall become due and payable.
