NY Cty L § 266 (2021)
2021 New York Laws CNT - County Article 5-A - County Water, Sewer, Drainage and Refuse Districts 266 - Water Rates, Water Quality Treatment, Sewage, Wastewater Disposal and Refuse Collection Charges and Revenues.

§  266.  Water  rates,  water  quality  treatment,  sewage, wastewater disposal and refuse collection  charges  and  revenues.  1.  Subject  to confirmation  by  the  board  of supervisors, the administrative head or body: (a) may establish, from time to time, wholesale  and  retail  rate schedules  for  water sold to, or a scale of charges for the collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal of sewage, wastewater or refuse from, public corporations, improvement districts,  commercial  and  industrial users  and individuals to be determined on any equitable basis including but not limited to a system of classification  which,  for  purposes  of establishing  differential rates, charges or rentals, may allocate among areas within the district designated by the administrative head or body, the  costs  of  establishment  of  the  district,  the   furnishing   of improvements   therein   and   operation  and  maintenance  of  district facilities or any combination thereof; or (b) may impose sewer rents  as provided  by  the  general  municipal law. Before any such schedules are finally established, the administrative head or body shall hold at least one public hearing thereon. Appeals may be taken from  any  rate  fixing determination  of  the  administrative  head  or  body  to  the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors  shall  prescribe  the  manner  of holding  such hearings and of taking appeals. The administrative head or body shall also adopt rules and regulations, subject to approval of  the board  of  supervisors, prescribing the terms and conditions under which service will be given to consumers, including the manner of paying bills for service, penalties for non-payment, discounts,  deposits  and  other related  matters.  No  water  shall be sold to persons situated within a city, village, water district, water supply district or fire district in which there is a water distribution system operated by the  municipality or  district  without  the  consent of such municipality or district. No sewage, wastewater, water quality treatment or refuse collection service shall be furnished to individual  properties  situated  within  a  city, village  or  district which operates a sewer, wastewater disposal, water quality treatment or refuse system furnishing a similar service  as  the county  district  without the consent of such city, village or district. If  the  county  water,  water  quality  treatment,  sewer,   wastewater disposal,  drainage  or  refuse  district  has  a  supply  of  water  or facilities and capacity in excess of its own needs,  the  administrative head  or  body may sell such excess water to, or contract for the use of such facilities by, municipalities,  district  or  persons  outside  the county  district. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two hundred seventy, two hundred seventy-one and two hundred seventy-four,  revenues derived  from  water rates, water quality treatment charges, sewer rents and sewage, wastewater and refuse collection charges  shall  be  applied toward  the  maintenance  and  operation  of  the  water,  water quality treatment, sewer, wastewater or refuse collection  system  and  for  the payment of debt service, to the extent such revenues are available.   2.  The county treasurer, or comparable officer or body, shall collect and receive all  rates,  rentals,  charges  and  other  revenue  of  the district  and  keep  a true account of all such receipts. Unpaid charges and rents shall be a lien upon  the  real  property  upon  which  or  in connection  with  which services were provided as and from the first day fixed for payment of such charges and rents.   3. (a) An agreement between  the  water  quality  treatment  district, acting  through  its  administrative  head,  and an owner of a benefited parcel of  property  shall  be  entered  into  before  the  procurement, installation  and  maintenance  of  a  water  quality  treatment unit or device. An agreement between such parties shall also be required for the modification and/or maintenance of a water  quality  treatment  unit  or device which is in place at the time when the property becomes a part of  the district, however, the modification and/or unit or device must first be  approved  by  the state department of health. Such agreements may be amended from time to time by mutual  consent  of  the  district,  acting through  its administrative head, and the owner of a benefited parcel of property.  The agreement shall set forth the amount to be  paid  by  the owner  attributable  to  the  expense  of  procurement, installation and modification, as the case may be, of the water quality treatment unit or device, and  shall  contain  a  statement  that  the  ownership  of  the treatment  units  or  devices purchased by the district shall remain the property of the district  and  that  charges  for  monitoring,  testing, operation  and  maintenance  shall be determined annually as provided in section two hundred seventy-one of this chapter. All of the expenses for the procurement and installation or modification may be paid at the time an agreement is entered into.  (b)  The  water  quality  treatment  district,  acting   through   its administrative   head,   subject   to  the  approval  of  the  board  of supervisors, may authorize  payment  of  the  expenses  of  procurement, installation  or  modification  of  the  water quality treatment unit or device over a period of time in annual installments. Such  authorization shall set forth whether the annual installments shall be due and payable at  the  same  time as town and county taxes are due or at another time. The option of paying such expenses in annual installments,  if  provided by  authorization  of  the  water  quality  treatment district, shall be available to each  property  owner  in  the  district.  If  such  annual installments shall be due at the same time as town and county taxes, the water  quality  treatment  district,  acting  through its administrative head, shall transmit the amount of the annual installments to the county treasurer, or comparable officer or body for the levy and collection and enforcement of the same in the manner and at the same time as  town  and county taxes are levied, collected and enforced.  (c)  Where  the  annual installments are to be paid at any other time, the authorization shall set forth the time and  manner  of  payment  and collection.  Such authorization may be amended from time to time. If any portion  or  an  installment  for  the  procurement,  installation   and modification  of  such  unit or device is not paid within thirty days of when it is due, the district, acting through  its  administrative  head, shall  notify  the owner of the property that unless such amount is paid within ten days from the date of the notice, such unit or device may  be removed  at the expense of the property owner. If the owner fails to pay such  amount  by  such  date,   the   district,   acting   through   its administrative  head, may cause such unit or device to be removed. After such removal, the district,  acting  through  its  administrative  head, shall  send  the  owner a statement of the amount due, together with the amount of expense attributable to removal of such unit  or  device,  and the  total  amount  thereof  shall be a lien upon such real property and collection thereof shall be enforced at the same time and in the  manner as the collection of town and county taxes are enforced with interest as provided herein. If the unit or device is not so removed, the collection of  the  amount  set  forth  in the first notice of delinquency shall be enforced at the same time and in the manner as the  collection  of  town and  county taxes are enforced. The total amount set forth in such first notice, together with interest thereon shall be a lien  upon  such  real property  until it is paid. Interest shall be charged at the rate of one percent per month or fraction thereof, subsequent to the  expiration  of the  ten  days  notice, until paid or the date of tax sale, whichever is sooner.  (d) The agreement shall also contain a grant by the owner to the water quality treatment district, its agents,  employees  and  representatives  authorized  to  act  on  its  behalf, a right of entry and access to the property, while such property is within such district, for the  purposes of installation, modification, replacement, repair, monitoring, testing, operation and maintenance, regeneration and removal of the water quality treatment  unit  or  device. Thereafter employees, agents and authorized representatives of the district shall have a right of entry  and  access to  such  property  for  the  purposes specified herein, upon reasonable notice at reasonable times. If a lessee or  occupant  of  said  property refuses  to  allow  such  entry  and access, the water quality treatment district may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to  enforce  its right  of entry and access. If entry and access was refused by the owner of the property,  the  water  quality  treatment  district  may  in  its discretion  remove  the  water  quality  treatment unit or device at the expense of the owner, unless such unit or device was acquired and  owned by  the  property owner and exclude the property from the district. Such expense together with any other charges accrued prior  to  such  removal shall   be  collected  in  the  manner  provided  in  paragraph  (c)  of subdivision three-a of section two hundred sixty-six of this chapter.   4. The county treasurer, or comparable officer or body, shall prepare, and transmit to the board of supervisors, on or before the first day  of December  in  each  year  a  list  of those residents or property owners within the county who are in arrears in the payment of charges and rents for a period of thirty days or more after the last day fixed for payment of such charges and rents without penalty.  The  list  shall  contain  a brief  description  of  the  properties  for  which  the  services  were provided, the names of the persons or corporations liable to pay for the same and the amount chargeable to each, including penalties and interest computed to December thirty-first. The board of supervisors  shall  levy such  sums  against  the  properties  liable  and shall state the amount thereof in a separate column in the annual  tax  rolls  of  the  various municipalities  under  the name of "county water charges," "county water quality  treatment  charges,"  "county  sewer  rents,"   "county   sewer charges,"  "county  wastewater  disposal  charges,"  or  "county  refuse collection  charges".  Such  amounts,  when  collected  by  the  several municipal  collectors  or  receivers of taxes, shall be paid over to the county treasurer, or comparable officer or body. All of  the  provisions of  the  tax  laws of the state of New York covering the enforcement and collection of unpaid taxes or assessments for special  improvements  not inconsistent  herewith  shall  apply  to  the  collection of such unpaid charges and rents. Such amounts, when received by the county  treasurer, or  comparable  officer  or  body,  shall  be credited to the applicable county district fund and shall be used only  for  such  county  district purposes.