2023 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.