[Adopted 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as
Ch. 60, Art. II, of the 1968 Code]
[Amended 2-18-1975 by Ord. No. 75-3; 2-20-1978 by Ord. No. 78-8]
There is hereby imposed an annual sewer rental
or service charge for the use, operation, maintenance and construction
of the sewers, sewerage system and sewage disposal facilities of the
Borough of Berlin upon the owners and/or occupiers of the properties
served thereby and to which sanitary sewer service is available, at
the rates hereinafter set forth, which rates are hereby fixed and
determined.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 60-13, Definitions,
as amended, which immediately followed this section, was repealed
3-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-2.
[Amended last 2-24-1986 by Ord. No. 86-3]
The minimum annual rates of such sewer rental
or sewer service charges hereby imposed shall be as follows:
A.
B.
C.
Character of sewage different from average. In cases
where the character of the sewage or industrial wastes discharged
from any building or premises is such that it imposes an additional
burden upon the sewerage system or sewage disposal facilities different
from that imposed by the average sewage entering said sewerage system
or sewage disposal facilities, the additional cost necessitated thereby
shall be an additional charge over the rates hereinabove set forth.
The Borough may, if it deems it advisable, compel such building or
premises to treat such sewage or industrial wastes in such manner
as shall be specified by the Borough before discharging the same into
the Borough's sewerage system. The Borough shall at all reasonable
times have the right to enter upon premises connected to said sewer
system for the purpose of making tests of the quantity and quality
of the sewage or industrial wastes discharged from said property into
said sewerage system. The owner of such property shall at his own
cost and expense install approved facilities for obtaining samples
of such sewage or industrial waste. The Borough shall have the right
to refuse to permit any person, firm, corporation or entity to connect
to or require the disconnection from said sewerage system if in the
opinion of the Borough Council the sewage or industrial wastes to
be discharged into said sewerage system are detrimental to the health,
safety and welfare of the Borough and/or its inhabitants.
D.
Measuring devices. All meters or other measuring devices
installed or required to be used under this article shall be under
the supervision and control of the Chairman of the Sewer Committee
of Borough Council. The owner of the property upon which any such
measuring device is installed, which shall be at said owner's expense,
shall be responsible for its maintenance and safekeeping, and all
repairs thereto shall be made at the owner's expense, whether such
repairs are made necessary by ordinary wear or tear or other causes.
Bills for such repairs, if made by the Borough, shall be due and payable
at the same time, be collected in the same manner and be subject to
the same penalties as are the bills for sewer rent.
Where a dwelling unit, housekeeping apartment
unit or nonhousekeeping apartment unit is occupied or used by more
than one family, the charges therefor shall be determined by multiplying
the annual rate therefor by the number of families therein.
[Amended 3-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-2]
Where a property contains a combination of uses
as set forth in the schedule of rates above, the annual sewer rental
therefor shall be determined by applying the rates set forth above
for each use located thereon and adding said rates together.
[Amended 3-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-2]
A.
The annual sewer rental established and fixed herein
shall be an annual charge for each calendar year and shall be billed
and payable quarterly on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December
1 of each year.
[Amended 11-2-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
B.
The annual sewer rental established by the flow of
wastewater discharged into the local sewage collection system, as
measured by a meter or meters used for said purposes, or otherwise,
shall be payable quarterly based upon the meter readings of the previous
quarter, on or before the first days of March, June, September and
December of each year.
If the sewer rentals or service charges imposed
by this article are not paid within 30 days from the date due, the
same shall be and become delinquent and shall thereupon bear interest
from the due date to the date of payment at the rate charged by the
Borough of Berlin against delinquent taxes. All sewer rentals and
service charges shall be and constitute a lien against the property
affected, and the Borough of Berlin shall have the same remedies for
the collection thereof as in the case of municipal taxes and other
charges and liens.
If sewerage service is disconnected for any
reason, a fee of $10 shall be paid to the Borough of Berlin to reconnect
said unit to the sewerage system. Any disconnection, however, shall
not suspend or alter the sewer rentals or service charges imposed
by this article, which shall continue to be due and payable as herein
provided during such period of such disconnection by reason of the
availability of service.
A.
Whenever sewer service to any property begins after
the first day of any quarterly period, the sewer rental for such quarterly
period shall be for that portion of the period during which said property
is served or for which sewer service is available.
B.
Where any structure or improvement exists or is constructed
and sewer service is available, sewer rental shall commence immediately
despite the failure to occupy the property or to use the facilities,
so long as the building or structure on the property is still available
for use and the sewer facilities remain available.
Where there shall be construction of or the
establishment of any new or additional commercial or industrial units,
the rental charge shall be made upon a rate comparable to similar
or comparable existing units, and if there shall be any question or
dispute in respect to the said rental charge, final determination
shall be made by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Berlin.
The Borough of Berlin reserves the right to
change or alter any and all of the rates established herein.
