17-1718 - Sewer districts.
§ 17-1718 Sewer districts. 1. In every such village any sewer district created or organized under the provisions of the town law shall continue, and the board of trustees shall be and they are hereby vested with the management and control thereof, and of the sewer systems constructed or to be constructed therein, and of the assessment of the costs and expenses thereof, and in every such village the board of trustees may establish one or more additional sewer districts as hereinafter provided, which such sewer districts shall be managed, and the costs and expenses thereof shall be assessed, as herein provided. 2. In case a system of sewers to serve the said district shall have been authorized as provided in the town law and maps and plans therefor shall have been approved by the state department of health the board of trustees may construct and complete the sewers so authorized and may make extensions thereof and may modify and change the plans thereof, by resolution at any regular or at any special meeting called for the purpose; provided notice that the board of trustees will act upon the question of authorizing the construction of specified portions of such sewer system, or specified extensions thereof, or upon specified modifications thereof, at a time and place to be stated therein, shall have been posted in at least four public places in the said sewer district and shall have been published in the official paper, or if there be no official paper, in such newspaper published in the county as the board of trustees may select, at least twenty-one days before such meeting. In the event that the village maintains a website, one of the posting requirements may be fulfilled by posting such information on the website. 3. Any moneys advanced from the general fund of such village for the payment of the principal and interest of any obligations issued to pay for all or part of such construction shall be reimbursed from the assessments hereinafter provided. 4. In case the board of trustees shall authorize the construction of any such extension or extensions to the sewer system, which have not been approved by the state engineer or in case the board of trustees shall modify or change the plans for the construction and completion of the said sewer system or any portion thereof or of any such extensions which have theretofore been approved by the state engineer, maps and plans of such extension or extensions and of the portions of the system so modified or changed, prepared by a competent engineer under the authority and direction of the board of trustees shall be approved by the state department of health as required by law before the same shall be constructed. 5. The board of trustees shall advertise for proposals for the construction of such extension or extensions according to such maps and plans either under an entire contract or in parts, or sections, as the board may determine, and such advertisement shall be published once in each of two successive weeks in the official paper, or if there be no official paper then in such newspaper published in the county as the trustees may select. The board of trustees may accept or reject any or all proposals and shall let the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The board of trustees may require bidders to give a bond or other security to be forfeited to the village in case the bidder to whom the award is made shall refuse or neglect to enter into the required contract, and may require the successful bidder to give a bond or other security in an amount to be fixed by the board of trustees conditioned upon the faithful performance of the contract. Such contracts shall be executed in the name of the village in duplicate and one copy thereof shall be filed in the office of the village clerk.6. The board of trustees may employ engineers, and such inspectors as may be necessary, to prepare maps, plans, specifications and estimates, and to supervise the construction, and may fix their compensation which, together with the cost of preparing the maps, plans and specifications, and the cost of the necessary real property or interest therein, shall be treated as a part of the expense of construction. 7. If the board of trustees are unable to agree with the owners for the purchase of any real property or any interest therein necessary for the construction of the said sewer system or of any extension or extensions thereto they may acquire the same by condemnation, in the name of the village. 8. The board of trustees shall determine by resolution the amount of moneys required to pay the principal and interest of all outstanding obligations issued to pay the cost of constructing the sewer system, and the extensions thereto, and the cost of maintaining and operating the same, and all other lawful charges against the said sewer system for the ensuing fiscal year and assess the amount thereof upon the lands within the sewer district in proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit which each lot or parcel shall derive therefrom, and shall enter such assessments in a book suitable for the purpose, which shall show the section, block and lot number, or other suitable description of each piece or parcel of land in the said sewer district, with the amount assessed against each such piece or parcel of land respectively. Thereafter the provisions of the village law relating to the filing, correction, completion and review of the village assessment-roll, and relating to the levy, collection and lieu of village taxes shall apply to the filing, correction, completion and review of such sewer assessment and to the levy, collection and lien thereof, as nearly as may be, except that the powers and duties of the assessors with respect thereto shall devolve upon and be performed by the board of trustees. 9. In case there be an unexpended balance remaining after the completion of any contract or contracts for the construction of any such sewer system or of any extension or extensions thereto and such balance is not derived from bonds, bond anticipation notes or capital notes the board of trustees shall, by resolution, use the same or any part thereof for the payment of the cost of constructing extensions to such sewer system in said district or for the purpose of retiring outstanding bonds issued to pay for the construction of such sewer system or extensions thereto. Any unexpended balance remaining from the proceeds of bonds, bond anticipation notes or capital notes shall be disposed of pursuant to section 165.00 of the local finance law. 10. The board of trustees shall adopt rules and regulations to govern the maintenance and use of the sewer system and shall therein fix the amount of fees that shall be chargeable to individuals or property owners who may wish to enter or use the sewer system, which fee shall be sufficient in amount to pay for the cost of inspection, and may prescribe the terms and conditions upon which connections may be made therewith, and the manner in which the same shall be made, and may provide reasonable penalties for the violation of such rules and regulations to be collected at the suit of the village for the use of the sewer district. 11. The board of trustees may cause a notice to be published in the official paper and posted in at least ten conspicuous public places in the district, requiring the owners or occupants of all property fronting or abutting on any street or portion thereof in the town in which any public sewer is about to be laid or is being laid or has been laid to make and lay connection pipes to and from the sewer mains in such street or any portion thereof in front of each separate piece of property,within such times and in such manner and under such inspection as such board shall prescribe; and whenever any such owner or occupant shall have made default in making such connection as directed in and required by such printed notice therefor, in the manner and within the time specified, such board shall have power and authority to make, extend and complete the same to the property line of the lands and premises so owned or occupied opposite thereto and in front thereof, and to connect the same with any existing pipe in front thereof, and the actual expense thereof, including all labor done and materials used in doing and completing the same, shall be assessed by the board upon each separate piece of property opposite which the same shall be done and completed. For the purposes of this section, in the event that the village maintains a website, one of the posting requirements required by this subdivision may be fulfilled by posting such notice on the website. 12. In every such sewer district it shall be the duty of the owners, or if the owner be a nonresident of the district, of the occupants, of premises which can be connected with any portion of the sewer system at any time constructed, and which premises are occupied or used for residential, business, or other purposes in which sewage matter originates, to connect such premises with the said sewer system under the rules and regulations adopted by the board of trustees relating thereto, and in case such owner, or occupants, shall fail or neglect to make and complete such connections within thirty days from the personal service upon him of a certified copy of a resolution of the board of trustees requiring such connection or connections to be made he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars in amount and shall, in addition thereto, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten dollars in amount for each day during which such default shall continue after the expiration of such period of thirty days, to be collected at the suit of the village for the use of the sewer district. In case the cost of such connection shall be paid by the occupant he may recover the same from the owner or may deduct the same from any sums due or to become due from him to such owner. 13. Nothing herein shall prevent the construction of extensions to such sewer system in accordance with the provisions of article fourteen of this chapter. 14. (a) In every such village the board of trustees on a petition signed and acknowledged by the owners of more than fifty per centum in value of the taxable real property in any proposed sewer district, as shown by the last completed village assessment roll, and after a public hearing thereon, may, by resolution, establish one or more sewer districts in such village. Such petition shall describe the boundaries of the proposed sewer district and each subscriber thereto shall set opposite his name the assessed value of the real property owned by him therein, as shown on the said last completed assessment roll, and such petition shall contain a statement of the maximum amount proposed to be expended in the construction of such sewerage system and shall also have a statement conspicuously printed thereon as follows: "The cost of construction and maintenance of such sewer system shall be assessed, from year to year, by the board of trustees, upon the land within the sewer district in proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit which each lot or parcel will derive therefrom"; and such petition shall have annexed thereto a map of such proposed sewer district and a plan for a comprehensive system of sanitary sewers designed, when completed, to serve the entire district together with plans and specifications for sewage treatment or disposal works. The signature of a property owner shall be acknowledged by him or it may be proved by the oath of a witness who shall swear that he knows the property owners and that thepetition was signed by the property owners in the presence of the witness. The petition may be in the form of separate sheets, each sheet containing at the top thereof, the complete wording of the petition, and when bound together and offered for filing, these shall be deemed to constitute one petition. On receipt of such petition the board of trustees shall grant a public hearing before taking any action on the petition at which time full opportunity to be heard shall be granted to all officials, residents, voters, taxpayers, property owners or other persons or corporations in any way affected by the granting, modification or denial of the petition. Notice of the time, place and purpose of such hearing, containing a description of the extent of the proposed sewer system, shall be given by such board by posting such notice in four of the most public places within the village at least twenty-one days prior thereto and by publishing a notice in the official newspaper once in each of the three weeks immediately preceding the week in which the hearing is to be held. In the event that the village maintains a website, one of the posting requirements may be fulfilled by posting such information on the website. After a hearing held in accordance with this notice and upon the evidence given thereat the board of trustees shall determine whether it is in the public interest to grant the petition, modify it or deny the relief sought. A signed or certified copy of the determination of the board of trustees shall be duly recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in which such village is located and when so recorded shall be presumptive evidence of the regularity of the creation of the sewerage system by said board. Said action shall be subject to review by certiorari upon application made within thirty days following date of filing with the county clerk which application shall be accompanied by an undertaking approved by the supreme court or a justice thereof, providing for reimbursing the expenses of the board of trustees in the event their determination is not modified. At the expiration of the period allowed for certiorari proceedings and subject to the reviewing court's order, if any, the board of trustees shall proceed to construct such sewerage system but before any part of the sewerage system is constructed in any such sewer district the maps and plans therefor shall be approved by the state department of health. In passing upon said plans due consideration shall be given to the adaptability of the proposed sewerage system for the district to possible future enlargements and to inclusion in a general sewerage system to care for the village as a whole or parts of the village forming natural drainage areas. The cost of preparing such maps and plans in the first instance shall be borne by the petitioners, but the reasonable amount thereof as audited and allowed by the board of trustees, shall be a charge against the said sewer district, if the same is established. (b) In case any such sewer district shall be established, as herein provided, the board of trustees may from time to time authorize the construction under one or more contracts, or by village forces of all, or any portion or portions of, the sewer system therein. The amounts of principal and interest of any obligations issued for the construction of the sewer system falling due in any year, together with the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating the said sewers, shall be assessed from year to year upon the real property within such district in proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit which each lot or parcel of land will derive therefrom. (c) The board of trustees of said village and the body, officer or board having control of the sewers in any other municipality shall have power to contract in the names of their respective municipalities for the use of any such sewer district or outlet or other facilities andappurtenances owned, controlled or operated by such other municipality, and agree upon the value thereof and upon the method and times of payment therefor. (d) The board of trustees may appoint a sewer commission to construct, manage and operate the sewers in any such sewer district, whose members shall hold office during the pleasure of the board of trustees, and who shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the board of trustees may from time to time prescribe. (e) The provisions of section 17-1718 of this article shall apply to any sewer district established pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.