An Act To Amend the Charter of the Rumford-Mexico Sewerage District
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1469
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: KEIM, DOLLOFF

Legislative Document
No. 1469
S.P. 449
In Senate, April 2, 2019
An Act To Amend the Charter of the Rumford-Mexico Sewerage 
District
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator KEIM of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Representative: DOLLOFF of Rumford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §17, first ¶, 2nd sentence, as enacted by P&SL 
1971, c. 79, is amended to read:
The district trustees shall also determine the portion of the total sums to be raised for the 
calendar year and the amounts to be apportioned to the Town of Rumford and the Mexico 
Sewer District, the initial public users, and to any other municipal or quasi-municipal 
sewer, sewerage, sanitary or storm water system or district served by the district, referred 
to as subsequent public users.
Sec. 2.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §17, 2nd ¶, first sentence, as enacted by P&SL 
1971, c. 79, is amended to read:
Said The total anticipated sums necessary for the operation and maintenance shall be is 
the total of sums required in any year for unfunded capital costs and financing costs plus 
costs of operation less funds on hand or in the judgment of the trustees to be received 
during said that year from other than the Town of Rumford and Mexico Sewer District 
and any subsequent public users and available or to be available within said that year to 
pay unfunded capital costs and financing costs or operating costs, as the case may be.
Sec. 3.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §17, last ¶, as enacted by P&SL 1971, c. 79, is 
amended to read:
If a surplus exists at the end of a calendar year, it may be transferred to a surplus or 
capital account which shall that may not exceed $25,000 $80,000 or 3% 10% of the total 
sum apportioned in the prior calendar year to the Town of Rumford and Mexico Sewer 
District and subsequent public users, whichever is the larger.  The trustees may add to the 
sinking fund, if any, so much of any excess over said the limitations as they determine 
advisable, and any remainder shall must be credited on an equitable basis against sums 
otherwise to be apportioned to the Town of Rumford, the Mexico Sewer District and any 
subsequent public users and any persons, firms or corporations other than said the town 
and sewer district and any subsequent public users under contract to pay for the use of the 
district's facilities during the year as at the end of which such the surplus was so created.
Sec. 4.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §18, first ¶, as enacted by P&SL 1971, c. 79, is 
amended to read:
Sec. 18.  Apportionment of annual costs; annual apportionments; 
obligation to pay same.  The trustees shall annually apportion the amount determined 
under section 17 between the Town of Rumford and the Mexico Sewer District and any 
subsequent public users, sometimes collectively referred to as public users, on a basis 
established by vote of a majority of the trustees.  In the absence of a basis being so 
established, the apportionment must be conducted on the following basis:
Sec. 5.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §18, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by P&SL 1971, c. 79, 
are amended to read:
1.  Unfunded capital costs and financing costs of joint use facilities shall must be 
apportioned in the ratio of the percentage of use capability of the district's facilities as 
between the Town of Rumford and Mexico Sewer District and any subsequent public 
user, as determined by the trustees upon the basis of engineering estimates to be 
prepared for the trustees of the use capability of the initial facilities, and of such 
additional facilities as may from time to time be installed and such other scientific 
data or opinion as the trustees deem determine pertinent.  Facilities that are not jointly 
used shall must be paid for entirely by the community which that they serve,; and
2.  Operating costs shall must be apportioned according to the estimated use of the 
district's facilities to be made by the Town of Rumford and Mexico Sewer District 
and any subsequent public user until such facilities have been in operation for one 
calendar year as determined by the trustees.  When such facilities shall have been in 
operation for a calendar year, the apportionment of operating costs thereafter shall 
must be based upon the measured flow of waste water and sewage entering such 
facilities during the previous year from each public user.  No flows from private users 
shall may be considered in the flows used for this apportionment of costs.  The 
operating costs for facilities that are not jointly used shall must be paid entirely by the 
community which that they serve.
Sec. 6.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §18, last 2 ¶¶, as enacted by P&SL 1971, c. 79, are 
amended to read:
The amount so apportioned for each public user shall must, prior to February 1st in 
each year, be certified by the trustees to the assessors of the Town of Rumford and the 
trustees of Mexico Sewer District and the respective assessor and trustees of any 
subsequent public user.  The assessors of the Town of Rumford municipal public users 
without further vote shall include the amount so certified in those amounts to be annually 
raised by municipal tax or assessment.  The trustees of Mexico Sewer District the quasi-
municipal public users shall include the amount so certified as a current expense which 
shall that must be paid from the sewer rates fixed pursuant to Private and Special Laws 
1957, chapter 156, and any amendments thereto of each quasi-municipal public user.  The 
respective treasurers of said town and district those public users shall pay the amount so 
certified to the treasurer of the district in 4 substantially equal installments on or before 
March 1st, June 1st, September 1st and December 1st of that year.
The Town of Rumford Each municipal public user may raise all or a portion of the 
amounts certified annually by the district through equitable and proportional charges 
against its inhabitants, corporations and other users of its sewerage system and said town 
the municipal public user and Mexico Sewer District shall the quasi-municipal public 
users have in addition to any other authority granted by law, the same authority and 
power with respect to the collection of sewer rents, fees and charges as are granted by the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1208 to treasurers of sanitary sewer districts 
with respect to rates established and due under Title 38, section 1202 of said Title 38.
Sec. 7.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §19, first sentence, as enacted by P&SL 1971, c. 79, 
is amended to read:
The Town of Rumford and Mexico Sewer District public users shall pay for services 
provided by the district through the payment of their proportioned shares under section 
18.
Sec. 8.  P&SL 1971, c. 79, §19, last ¶, as amended by PL 1975, c. 461, §31, is 
further amended to read:
Rates, tolls, rents and entrance charges by the district, the Town of Rumford and the 
Mexico Sewer District shall and the public users must be uniform within their respective 
territories except as provided in this section.  Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the 
respective selectmen of the Town of Rumford, the and trustees of Mexico Sewer District 
the public users and the trustees of the district, as the case may be, may establish rates, 
tolls, rents or entrance charges higher than the regular rates, tolls, rents and entrance 
charges otherwise applicable whenever the cost of installation or maintenance of sewers 
or their appurtenances or the cost of service is or is expected to be substantially higher for 
a particular section or area the boundaries of which shall must be established after a 
public hearing, notice of which shall must be published at least 2 times in a newspaper 
having a circulation in the district, the first such publication to be not later than 14 days 
before the date of the hearing and the last such publication to be not later than 5 days 
before said the date of the hearing.  In order to recover such portion or all of such higher 
cost of construction or maintenance, or the cost of service, said the selectmen, trustees of 
Mexico Sewer District or trustees of the district, as the case may be, shall first determine 
the added costs which that are fairly allocable to such section or area and the reasons 
therefor for the added costs.  Any such higher rates, tolls, rents and entrance charges shall 
must be uniform throughout the sections or areas where they apply.
SUMMARY
This bill updates and clarifies provisions of the charter of the Rumford-Mexico 
Sewerage District regarding the determination of actual apportionable costs, the 
apportionment of annual costs and rate charges.