N.Y. CNT Law § 266 — New York Code / Act CNT / Article 5-A / Section 266
Water rates, water quality treatment, sewage, wastewater disposal and refuse collection charges and revenues
Status: in_force

§ 266. Water rates, water quality treatment, sewage, wastewater\ndisposal and refuse collection charges and revenues. 1. Subject to\nconfirmation by the board of supervisors, the administrative head or\nbody: (a) may establish, from time to time, wholesale and retail rate\nschedules for water sold to, or a scale of charges for the collection,\nconveyance, treatment and disposal of sewage, wastewater or refuse from,\npublic corporations, improvement districts, commercial and industrial\nusers and individuals to be determined on any equitable basis including\nbut not limited to a system of classification which, for purposes of\nestablishing differential rates, charges or rentals, may allocate among\nareas within the district designated by the administrative head or body,\nthe costs of establishment of the district, the furnishing of\nimprovements therein and operation and maintenance of district\nfacilities or any combination thereof; or (b) may impose sewer rents as\nprovided by the general municipal law. Before any such schedules are\nfinally established, the administrative head or body shall hold at least\none public hearing thereon. Appeals may be taken from any rate fixing\ndetermination of the administrative head or body to the board of\nsupervisors. The board of supervisors shall prescribe the manner of\nholding such hearings and of taking appeals. The administrative head or\nbody shall also adopt rules and regulations, subject to approval of the\nboard of supervisors, prescribing the terms and conditions under which\nservice will be given to consumers, including the manner of paying bills\nfor service, penalties for non-payment, discounts, deposits and other\nrelated matters. No water shall be sold to persons situated within a\ncity, village, water district, water supply district or fire district in\nwhich there is a water distribution system operated by the municipality\nor district without the consent of such municipality or district. No\nsewage, wastewater, water quality treatment or refuse collection service\nshall be furnished to individual properties situated within a city,\nvillage or district which operates a sewer, wastewater disposal, water\nquality treatment or refuse system furnishing a similar service as the\ncounty district without the consent of such city, village or district.\nIf the county water, water quality treatment, sewer, wastewater\ndisposal, drainage or refuse district has a supply of water or\nfacilities and capacity in excess of its own needs, the administrative\nhead or body may sell such excess water to, or contract for the use of\nsuch facilities by, municipalities, district or persons outside the\ncounty district. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two hundred\nseventy, two hundred seventy-one and two hundred seventy-four, revenues\nderived from water rates, water quality treatment charges, sewer rents\nand sewage, wastewater and refuse collection charges shall be applied\ntoward the maintenance and operation of the water, water quality\ntreatment, sewer, wastewater or refuse collection system and for the\npayment of debt service, to the extent such revenues are available.\n  2. The county treasurer, or comparable officer or body, shall collect\nand receive all rates, rentals, charges and other revenue of the\ndistrict and keep a true account of all such receipts. Unpaid charges\nand rents shall be a lien upon the real property upon which or in\nconnection with which services were provided as and from the first day\nfixed for payment of such charges and rents.\n  3. (a) An agreement between the water quality treatment district,\nacting through its administrative head, and an owner of a benefited\nparcel of property shall be entered into before the procurement,\ninstallation and maintenance of a water quality treatment unit or\ndevice. An agreement between such parties shall also be required for the\nmodification and/or maintenance of a water quality treatment unit or\ndevice which is in place at the time when the property becomes a part of\nthe district, however, the modification and/or unit or device must first\nbe approved by the state department of health. Such agreements may be\namended from time to time by mutual consent of the district, acting\nthrough its administrative head, and the owner of a benefited parcel of\nproperty.  The agreement shall set forth the amount to be paid by the\nowner attributable to the expense of procurement, installation and\nmodification, as the case may be, of the water quality treatment unit or\ndevice, and shall contain a statement that the ownership of the\ntreatment units or devices purchased by the district shall remain the\nproperty of the district and that charges for monitoring, testing,\noperation and maintenance shall be determined annually as provided in\nsection two hundred seventy-one of this chapter. All of the expenses for\nthe procurement and installation or modification may be paid at the time\nan agreement is entered into.\n  (b) The water quality treatment district, acting through its\nadministrative head, subject to the approval of the board of\nsupervisors, may authorize payment of the expenses of procurement,\ninstallation or modification of the water quality treatment unit or\ndevice over a period of time in annual installments. Such authorization\nshall set forth whether the annual installments shall be due and payable\nat the same time as town and county taxes are due or at another time.\nThe option of paying such expenses in annual installments, if provided\nby authorization of the water quality treatment district, shall be\navailable to each property owner in the district. If such annual\ninstallments shall be due at the same time as town and county taxes, the\nwater quality treatment district, acting through its administrative\nhead, shall transmit the amount of the annual installments to the county\ntreasurer, or comparable officer or body for the levy and collection and\nenforcement of the same in the manner and at the same time as town and\ncounty taxes are levied, collected and enforced.\n  (c) Where the annual installments are to be paid at any other time,\nthe authorization shall set forth the time and manner of payment and\ncollection. Such authorization may be amended from time to time. If any\nportion or an installment for the procurement, installation and\nmodification of such unit or device is not paid within thirty days of\nwhen it is due, the district, acting through its administrative head,\nshall notify the owner of the property that unless such amount is paid\nwithin ten days from the date of the notice, such unit or device may be\nremoved at the expense of the property owner. If the owner fails to pay\nsuch amount by such date, the district, acting through its\nadministrative head, may cause such unit or device to be removed. After\nsuch removal, the district, acting through its administrative head,\nshall send the owner a statement of the amount due, together with the\namount of expense attributable to removal of such unit or device, and\nthe total amount thereof shall be a lien upon such real property and\ncollection thereof shall be enforced at the same time and in the manner\nas the collection of town and county taxes are enforced with interest as\nprovided herein. If the unit or device is not so removed, the collection\nof the amount set forth in the first notice of delinquency shall be\nenforced at the same time and in the manner as the collection of town\nand county taxes are enforced. The total amount set forth in such first\nnotice, together with interest thereon shall be a lien upon such real\nproperty until it is paid. Interest shall be charged at the rate of one\npercent per month or fraction thereof, subsequent to the expiration of\nthe ten days notice, until paid or the date of tax sale, whichever is\nsooner.\n  (d) The agreement shall also contain a grant by the owner to the water\nquality treatment district, its agents, employees and representatives\nauthorized to act on its behalf, a right of entry and access to the\nproperty, while such property is within such district, for the purposes\nof installation, modification, replacement, repair, monitoring, testing,\noperation and maintenance, regeneration and removal of the water quality\ntreatment unit or device. Thereafter employees, agents and authorized\nrepresentatives of the district shall have a right of entry and access\nto such property for the purposes specified herein, upon reasonable\nnotice at reasonable times. If a lessee or occupant of said property\nrefuses to allow such entry and access, the water quality treatment\ndistrict may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce its\nright of entry and access. If entry and access was refused by the owner\nof the property, the water quality treatment district may in its\ndiscretion remove the water quality treatment unit or device at the\nexpense of the owner, unless such unit or device was acquired and owned\nby the property owner and exclude the property from the district. Such\nexpense together with any other charges accrued prior to such removal\nshall be collected in the manner provided in paragraph (c) of\nsubdivision three-a of section two hundred sixty-six of this chapter.\n  4. The county treasurer, or comparable officer or body, shall prepare,\nand transmit to the board of supervisors, on or before the first day of\nDecember in each year a list of those residents or property owners\nwithin the county who are in arrears in the payment of charges and rents\nfor a period of thirty days or more after the last day fixed for payment\nof such charges and rents without penalty. The list shall contain a\nbrief description of the properties for which the services were\nprovided, the names of the persons or corporations liable to pay for the\nsame and the amount chargeable to each, including penalties and interest\ncomputed to December thirty-first. The board of supervisors shall levy\nsuch sums against the properties liable and shall state the amount\nthereof in a separate column in the annual tax rolls of the various\nmunicipalities under the name of "county water charges," "county water\nquality treatment charges," "county sewer rents," "county sewer\ncharges," "county wastewater disposal charges," or "county refuse\ncollection charges". Such amounts, when collected by the several\nmunicipal collectors or receivers of taxes, shall be paid over to the\ncounty treasurer, or comparable officer or body. All of the provisions\nof the tax laws of the state of New York covering the enforcement and\ncollection of unpaid taxes or assessments for special improvements not\ninconsistent herewith shall apply to the collection of such unpaid\ncharges and rents. Such amounts, when received by the county treasurer,\nor comparable officer or body, shall be credited to the applicable\ncounty district fund and shall be used only for such county district\npurposes.\n