[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Alexandria Bay 2-25-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
These regulations supersede all previous rules,
regulations and laws for the governing and administration of the water
supply system of the Village.
[Amended 12-14-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004; 8-23-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
A.
The water rates shall be as established by resolution of the Board
of Trustees following a public hearing upon at least 10 days'
notice.
B.
Each premises located within the Village of Alexandria Bay corporate
limits shall be charged the "inside Village" rate for water.
C.
Outside Village.
(1)
The Village may enter into contracts with duly formed municipal water
districts outside of the Village of Alexandria Bay to provide water
and may provide water to such districts at rates to be agreed upon
contractually with those water districts; provided, however, that
such rates shall always include some element of profit over and above
the cost of the Village to produce and deliver the water.
(2)
In the event that the Village is supplying water to premises located
outside the Village corporation limits that are not in a duly formed
municipal water district, shall be charged the "outside Village" rate
for water.
D.
Water usage shall be billed to the exact number of gallons used during
the billing period.
E.
Annual charge/total user cost statement of policy. In order to establish
and operate the Water Department and the water treatment plant of
the Village as a separate utility and to ensure its proper operation,
repair and maintenance, it shall be the policy of the Village to establish
and impose a scale of annual charges for the use of the water system
or any parts thereof. The annual charge shall consist of:
(1)
A minimum fee called the fixed user cost, which is defined as the
cost of all indebtedness, fixed operational costs and all other costs
deemed fixed by the Village, divided by the total number of users;
and
(2)
A fee called the variable user cost, which is defined by the Village
as operating and maintenance costs; and
(3)
Equivalent dwelling unit(s). Appendix "A" to this chapter contains
a Table of Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) for each category of property
subject to the provisions of this chapter. The Table of Equivalent
Dwelling Units (EDU) may be amended by simple Board resolution following
a public hearing upon at least 10 days' notice.
F.
The Village hereby establishes and imposes the following scale of
annual charges for the use of or connection to the Village of Alexandria
Bay water system or any part or parts thereof on real property connected
to the Village of Alexandria Bay water system.
(1)
Annual charge/total user cost.
(b)
The total user cost [TUC] equals the fixed user cost multiplied
by the EDU number plus the variable user cost. [TUC = (UC/F x EDU)
+ UC/V]
(c)
The fixed user cost is applied to each parcel in the Village
of Alexandria Bay, whether improved or capable of improvement, including
vacant parcels deemed able to be developed.
(d)
The variable user cost is assessed to metered users per each
1,000 gallons or part thereof. In the event of nonmetered users, the
Village Board will assess the variable cost each year.
(2)
Outside Village users will be billed a total user cost as described in § 145-2F(1) except as follows:
(3)
The Village Board of Trustees has the authority to modify these charges
by simple resolution.
A.
A property owner must properly fill out an application
form (water service connection application) and pay a fee of $250
for a new connection and $100 for a modified connection or the actual
cost of labor and maintenance, whichever is higher.
B.
The property owner is responsible for all costs of
the connection to the water system.
C.
As part of the application, the applicant must submit
a scaled drawing showing the proposed point of connection to the water
distribution system and the point of connection to the premises. If
street or road excavation is required, the applicant must secure a
road opening permit from the jurisdictional government (i.e., New
York State Highway; New York State Department of Transportation; County
Highway; County Superintendent of Highways; Village Street; or Village
Department of Public Works) and submit a copy of the road opening
permit with the application. The proposed connection drawing must
be approved by the Village Superintendent of Public Works as part
of the permit.
D.
All connections to the water distribution lines must
be performed by a person qualified to make a connection to a public
water supply. The applicant shall submit the name of the qualified
person retained to make the connection. All connections to the Village's
waterlines are to be performed only under the physical observation
of the Village Department of Public Works Superintendent or his designee.
Before any backfilling can take place, the Village Department of Public
Works Superintendent must inspect and approve the connection, pipe
bedding and backfilling.
E.
A curb stop is required for each connection and must
be located off the highway right-of-way.
A.
Water meters are the responsibility of the property
owner. An approved water meter must be installed and sealed prior
to water service being turned on.
B.
Water meters shall be five-eighths by three-fourths
(5/8 x 3/4) inches in size and of a type that measures in United States
gallons. Approved meters are Badger or an equivalent. Any deviation
must be approved by the Village Water Department Supervisor.
C.
Prior to turning on water service, the Village Water
Department Supervisor shall have the water meter double sealed. It
is the property owner's responsibility to notify the Village Water
Department Supervisor immediately if a seal is broken.
D.
Meter leakage or damage. It is the property owner's
responsibility to repair any leakage or damage to the water meter
or connections. If the property owner is notified that there is leakage
or damage, he must have it repaired within 30 days of notification.
If not repaired within 30 days, a fee of $10 per day will be assessed
against the property owner, and the Village has the option of terminating
the water service until necessary repairs are completed. The fees
for termination and restoration of water service shall be imposed
each time termination and/or restoration of service is required.
E.
Seal replacement. A fee of $5 shall be charged for
the replacement of a seal.
A.
Meter readings. Meters will be read on or about the
15th day of January, April, July and October. Water bills will be
mailed on or before the first day of February, May, August and November.
Large-volume water consumers may be billed monthly.
[Amended 6-2-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992]
B.
Payment of bills. All water bills are due and payable when prepared.
All bills are paid without penalty up to and including the 30th day
after the date of the bill. Payment must be received by the Village
Clerk's Office. Any payment received after the 30th day from
the date of the bill is assessed a penalty of 5%. An additional 5%
shall be assessed on the unpaid balance of the bill after 60 days
and an additional 5% shall be assessed on the unpaid balance after
90 days. Thereafter, additional penalties of 5% per month will be
assessed until paid. The date of a check or envelope postmark will
not enter into the criteria of determination of penalty and position.
If the 30th day after the bill is issued falls on a weekend or legal
holiday (when the Village Clerk's Office is closed), payment
without penalty shall be extended until the next business day. Failure
to pay the water bill within 90 days of the rendering of the bill
shall be cause for termination of water service. Partial payment shall
be allowed, provided that the bill must be paid in full within 90
days of when issued. The failure to pay the full bill within 90 days
of the issuance of the bill shall be cause for termination.
[Amended 4-11-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017; 4-9-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
C.
Estimated bills. An estimated bill will be prepared
based on the average usage of the past four similar billing cycles
for commercial accounts. Residential accounts will be estimated based
on the average usage over the past four billing cycles.
[Amended 6-2-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992; 7-12-1994 by L.L. No.
4-1994]
D.
Additional meter readings and billing. Any request
for or requirement for additional readings separate from the regular
scheduled readings will be performed with a charge of $10 imposed.
A.
When service has been terminated per § 145-6A, service will not be restored until all bills and penalties and service charges are paid in full. This includes an additional fee of $50 for service restoration. If the water bill remains unpaid for a period of five months after the date of the bill and the water has been turned off by the Village either at the request of the owner or at the direction of the Village after 60 days unpaid, there will be a mandatory service charge of $250 to restore service on each occasion this shall occur. In addition, a deposit equal to the highest bill of the past three years is required.
[Amended 5-9-2017 by L.L.
No. 2-2017]
A.
It is the responsibility of the current property owner
to notify the Village Clerk's office of the impending date of transfer
and request a meter reading for final billing.
B.
The Village Clerk's office shall, upon notice of the
impending transfer of property, make arrangements for reading the
meter. Upon meter reading, a final bill will be prepared and mailed
to the owner. Final bills are due at the Village Clerk's office within
five days. Upon receipt of payment, water records will be changed
to reflect the new owner. Should the final reading be less than the
minimum charge, the final bill will be prorated at $0.50 per day since
the last reading.
C.
This constitutes a special reading and the fee of
$10 applies.
A.
The Village has the responsibility of maintenance
of all facilities in the highway right-of-way.
B.
The property owner has the responsibility of maintenance
within the boundaries of his property. The Village may notify a property
owner to make certain repairs on the owner's property if the failure
to repair would affect the water system. The failure to timely make
such repairs shall be grounds for termination of service.
Hydrants are solely for the purpose of fire
protection. Hydrants shall not be turned on except by authorized Fire
Departments for the sole purpose of fighting fires or by Village maintenance
personnel for maintenance, flushing, repair or testing.
[Added 3-13-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
Curb stops may only be operated by authorized Village personnel. Only authorized Village personnel may turn on or turn off a water supply to a user. Anyone else operating a curb stop other than authorized Village personnel shall be considered to be in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to its sanction under § 145-14C of the Village of Alexandria Bay Code.
All requests for water service to multidwelling
units shall be brought to the Village Board for consideration. The
Village Board shall determine whether a single meter per building
or a separate meter for each dwelling unit will be required. In no
event may the owner of a multidwelling unit buy water from the Village
and make a profit on the resale of water.
Should lower than normal pressure or other emergency-type
situations occur in the water distribution system or a serious fire
hazard exist, a restriction may be placed on water usage above basic
health and sanitation requirements. If water restrictions are imposed,
compliance is mandatory.
All payments for water usage and charges are
payable at the Village Clerk's office only. Payments may be made in
person or by mail.
A.
The opening of a water hydrant by an unauthorized
person or evidence that attempts have been made to bypass a meter
or in any manner obtain water from the district without proper payment
will result in prosecution under the Penal Law of New York State.
B.
Any violation of these regulations could result in
the termination of water service to the violator. All violations of
these regulations shall be brought to the attention of the Village
Board for disposition of the penalties outlined this section.
C.
A person found to be in violation of these regulations
shall be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine not to exceed
$250 per offense. Each weekly continued violation shall constitute
a separate offense.
D.
Where appropriate, the Village may seek injunctive
relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of any
provision of these regulations.
[Added 8-23-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
If a court determines that any clause, sentence, paragraph,
subdivision, or part of this chapter or the application thereof to
any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance is invalid or unconstitutional,
the court's order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate
the remainder of this chapter, but shall be confined in its operation
to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part thereof or
in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation
or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such
judgment or order shall be rendered.
