Chapter
120
2006 -- S 2966
Enacted 06/16/06
A N A
C T
RELATING TO THE SEWER
SYSTEM OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN
Introduced By: Senator June
N. Gibbs
Date Introduced: March 23,
2006
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 9(a), 10, by adding subsection 10(d) and 11 in Chapter 1103 of
the 1941
Public Laws entitled "An Act to Create a Sewer Commission for the Town of
Middletown
and to Authorize said Town to Construct and Maintain a Sewer System" as amended,
are
further amended to read as follows:
Sec.
9. (a) Fees, charges and assessments generally. The town council shall
prescribe
annual
just and equitable charges to be charged all users of the sewage system, all
owners of land
abutting
upon that portion of any street or highway or right of way in which sewers have
been
constructed
under the provisions of this chapter, all owners of land abutting upon that
portion of
any
public street, highway or right of way in which sewers have been constructed
otherwise than
under
this chapter, and all users of such other sewers. The charges to owners of such
abutting
land as
do not use the sewers shall be less than those charged to users of the sewers
and shall be
at a
uniform rate for each front footage of land abutting on such street or highway
or right of way;
provided,
however, that a minimum rate may be established for any lot of land having a
front
footage
of less than fifty (50) feet, which rate may be equal to that charged for a lot
with a front
footage
of fifty (50) feet; and, provided, further, that a higher rate per front
footage may be
charged
for a lot of land upon which a dwelling house is located than for an unimproved
lot of
land. Such
annual charges shall be sufficient at all times to pay the cost of and are
hereby
appropriated
to the construction, capital improvement, debt service, operation, maintenance
and
repair
of the sewerage works, including sewers constructed in public streets, highways
or rights of
way
otherwise than under this chapter as the town council deems appropriate.
There shall be
established
and created a separate capital improvements contingency account. There shall be
credited
to the capital improvements contingency account the sum of one hundred thousand
dollars
($100,000) each year until said account aggregates the sum of five hundred
thousand
dollars
($500,000) and thereafter no payments shall be made into said capital
improvements
contingency
account except whenever money is paid out of said account, payments into said
account
shall be resumed and continued until such time as the account has been again
restored to
the
aggregate amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). The money in said
account
shall
be used to pay for major repair and/or replacement of components of the sewer
system, such
major
repair or replacement being defined as a repair or replacement which exceeds in
total cost
the
sum of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000), except that funds held in said
account to the
extent
necessary to prevent or remedy a default in the payment of the interest on or
principal of
bonds
herein authorized shall be used and held for use for that purpose and shall be
transferred to
the
bond and interest fund account and whenever such transfer is made, the amount
so transferred
shall
be added to the next deposit to be made, and thereafter until full
reimbursement of said
account
has been made.
Sec.
10(d) Time and Method of payment. Such annual charges shall be due and payable
at
the time the regular town taxes are first due and payable next after the date
of receipt by the
town
treasurer of the aforesaid certificate of said annual charges from the town
council and the
town
treasurer shall forthwith certify said charges to the tax collector for
collection and the tax
collector
shall proceed to collect such charges in the manner and at the same time the
regular
taxes
of the town are first payable, with provision for installments as in the case
of the regular
taxes.
Interest at the rate per annum fixed for nonpayment of town taxes shall be
charged and
collected
upon all overdue charges from the date they become due and payable until paid.
Sec.
11. If the receipts from the annual charges provided for in section 9 or
referred to in
section
22 of this chapter amount in any year to more than is required for the purposes
thereof,
the
surplus shall be credited to the annual charges of the next succeeding year. Provided
that this
section
shall be construed to require the credit of funds from the capital improvements
contingency
account only to the extent such account exceeds in the aggregate of five
hundred
thousand
dollars ($500,000). If said receipts
in any year, including any surplus added in any
preceding
year, amount to less than is required for the aforesaid purposes, the
deficiency shall be
added to
the annual charges of the next succeeding year unless the electors in town
meeting order
the town
council to make a special sewer assessment upon those subject to the annual
charges in
an
amount sufficient to satisfy such deficiency. Such special sewer assessment
shall be made
immediately
thereafter by the town council and shall be at rates proportionate to the
annual
charges
and in an amount sufficient to satisfy such deficiency. In prescribing annual
charges for
the next
succeeding year, any surplus or deficiency under this paragraph shall be
credited or
added
pro rata among the annual charges for items other than debt service, the annual
charges for
district
one (1) debt service and the annual charges for district two (2) debt service
and the
surplus
or deficiency shall e taken to be in the amount estimated by the town council
at the time
of such
prescription.
When
the town council shall have completed said special sewer assessments ordered by
the
electors as aforesaid, it shall sign and deliver a certified copy of said
special sewer
assessments
to the town treasurer who shall forthwith certify said assessments to the tax
collector.
Within
ten (1) days thereafter the tax collector shall give notice to the owners of
lands so assessed
of such
sewer assessment by advertisement in some public newspaper published in the
city of
Newport
and said tax collector shall without further warrant collect said sewer
assessments at the
times
directed by this chapter. Each special assessment made by the town council
pursuant to this
section
shall be a lien upon the lands, buildings and improvements upon which it is
made in the
same way
and manner as taxes assessed on real estate but such lien shall not expire
until the
assessment
with all interest, costs and penalties thereon is paid in full, and such
special
assessments
shall be due and payable at the time regular town taxes or installments thereof
are
first
due and payable next after receipt by the town treasurer of said certified copy
of said
assessment,
without provision for installment payment of said assessments. If said
assessments
are not paid
as required by this chapter, they shall be collected in the same manner that
regular
taxes
assessed on real estate are by law collected. Interest at the rate per annum
fixed for
nonpayment
of the regular town taxes shall be charged and collected upon all overdue
assessments
from the date they become payable until they are paid.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02824
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