Woodside Municipal Code § 51.087 Collection of sewer service charges on tax roll

The purpose of the sewer service charge is to raise revenue for the costs of maintenance, operation, construction, and reconstruction of the Town's wastewater facilities used for the collection, conveyance, treatment, and disposal of wastewater, and for other expenditures deemed necessary by the Town and not prohibited by applicable state or federal law or regulations.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.301) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

All premises connected to the Town's wastewater system are subject to the sewer service charge.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.302) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

Sewer rates shall be set by resolution of the Town Council.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.303) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88; Am. Ord. 1993-470, effective 7-21-93; Am. Ord. 1994-474, effective 6-22-94; Am. Ord. 1995-480, effective 7-19-95; Am. Ord. 1996-485, effective 7-26-96; Am. Ord. 1999-495, effective 7-22-99; Am. Ord. 2001-511, effective 8-23-01; Am. Ord. 2004-522, effective 5-13-04; Am. Ord. 2013-560, effective 5-9-13)

Upon application to the Town by users maintaining extensive irrigated landscaping or in other situations where it can be conclusively established that the metered water consumption is not a valid measure of the quantity of wastewater discharged, the quantity of wastewater to be used in determining the yearly rate shall be determined by the Town.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.304) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

No credit, adjustment or refund shall be made to any user because the premises or any part thereof are vacant, unless said premises are disconnected from the sewer system.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.305) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

Charges and rates established by this section shall be effective upon the date specified by the Town and shall apply to all premises connected at that time to the Town's wastewater system. Premises which are connected to the system after the effective date shall be subject to the sewer connection; such charge shall be billed directly.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.306) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

The owner of any premises is deemed the legal user of sewer services and shall be responsible for payment of any and all sewer service charges applicable to the premises. It shall also be and is hereby made the duty of all owners of all premises to inform the Town immediately of all circumstances, and of any change or changes in any circumstances, which will in any way affect the applicability of any charge to said premises or amount of any such charge.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.307) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

(A) Pursuant to the provisions of Cal. Health & Safety Code Division 5, Part 3, §§ 5470 et seq., but subject to the provisions of this section, the Town hereby elects, as the primary procedure for the collection of sewer service charges prescribed or imposed by the provisions of this section, to have all such sewer service charges for each fiscal year collected on the tax roll of the County of San Mateo in the same manner, by the same persons and at the same time as property taxes, assessments and other charges collected thereon.

(B) A written report shall be prepared and filed with the Town Clerk setting forth a description of each parcel of real property, inside or outside the district, upon which is situated a premises which receives the sewer service and facilities of the Town and the amount of charge for each parcel for the year, computed in conformity with the charges prescribed by this section.

(C) The Town Clerk shall cause notice of the filing of the report and of a time and place for hearing thereon to be published prior to the date set for hearing in a newspaper of general circulation published within the Town. The publication of notice shall be once a week for two successive weeks. Publications shall be made with at least five days intervening between the respective publication dates not counting such publication dates. A minimum of two public notices shall be published in a newspaper circulated more than once a week. In newspapers which circulate once a week, the public notice shall be published in each circulation for two successive weeks. The period of notice commences upon the first day of publication and terminates at the end of the fourteenth day, including therein the first day.

(D) At the time stated in the above mentioned notice, the Town shall hear and consider all objections or protests, if any, to the report referred to in the notice and may continue the hearing from time to time. If the Town finds that protest is made by a majority of separate parcels of property described in the report, then the report shall not be adopted and the charges shall be collected separately from the tax roll and shall not constitute a lien against any parcel or parcels of land.

(E) Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the Town may adopt, revise, change, reduce or modify any charge or overrule any or all objections, excepting objections from a majority as described in division (D) above, and shall make its determination upon each charge as described in said report, which determination shall be final.

(F) On or before the tenth day of August of each year following such final determination, the Town Clerk shall file with the Controller of the County of San Mateo a copy of said report with a statement endorsed thereon over his/her or her signature stating that the report has been finally adopted by the Town in order that the Controller of the County of San Mateo shall be able to enter the amounts of the charges against the respective lots or parcels of land as they appear on the current assessment roll and in order that such charges may be collected on the tax roll in accordance with the provisions of Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 5473.5 through 5473.11.

(G) Except as provided in Cal. Health & Safety Code § 5473.8, the amount of the charges shall constitute a lien against the lot or parcel of land against which the charge has been imposed as of the date prescribed by law as the lien for property taxes.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.308) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

If the full amount of sewer service charges for premises connected to or discharging wastewater into the Town sewer system are, for any reason, not collected, the sewer service charges, or the portion thereof not appearing on the tax rolls, shall be collected by direct billing of the property owner. The provisions of this division shall also apply to sewer service charges accruing after a new connection to the Town's wastewater facilities, in which case the annual charge shall be prorated over the period of time from the date of the new connection to the end of the fiscal year.

(A) Billing. The Town shall ascertain the amount of each sewer service charge applicable to such premises and shall mail to the owner and/or owner and lessee thereof, within 60 days from and after the date of any sewer service charges become due and payable, a bill for the sewer service charges which are then due and payable. Such bill shall be mailed to the person or persons listed as the owners on the last equalized assessment role of the County of San Mateo at the address shown on the assessment role, or to the successor in interest and/or the lessee of such owner, if the name and address of each successor in interest or lessee is known to the Town. Each bill so mailed shall contain a statement that a delinquency in payment for 60 days shall constitute a lien against the lot or parcel against which the charge is imposed and that when recorded it shall have the force, effect and priority of a judgment lien for three years unless sooner released or otherwise discharged. Failure of the Town to mail any such bill or failure of owner to receive any such bill, shall not excuse the owner of any premises from the obligation of paying any sewer service charge for any premises owned by him/her.

(B) How payable. Each sewer service charge to be collected by direct billing shall be due and payable in full at the time of billing; provided, however, if in any fiscal year, a sewer service charge is payable for a period covering eight months, or more, of the fiscal year, the sewer service charge shall be billed in two installments with the first installment covering the period for which a sewer service charge is owned during the first six months of the fiscal year, and the second installment covering the remaining six months of the fiscal year.

(C) Delinquency date of sewer service charges. Each sewer service charge shall be delinquent if not paid on or before the thirtieth day of the month following the date upon which such sewer service charge became due and payable.

(D) Where payable. Sewer service charges collected by direct billing shall be payable at the administrative office of the Town, as noted in the billing.

(E) Penalties for non-payment of sewer service charges - lien. Whenever a delinquency shall occur for non-payment of sewer service charges, a penalty of ten percent shall attach to such charges, and for each month that such charges remain delinquent a further penalty of one and one-half percent of said basic charge shall be added.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.310) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)

Revenues derived under this section shall be used only for the acquisition, construction or reconstruction, maintenance and operation of sanitation or sewage facilities of the Town and to repay the principal and interest on bonds issued for the construction of such sanitary or sewage facilities and to repay the federal or state loans or advances made to the Town for the construction or reconstruction of sanitary or sewage facilities; provided, however, that such revenue shall not be used for the acquisition or construction of new local street sewers or laterals, as distinguished from main trunk, interceptor and outfall sewers.

(1975 Code, § 6-5.309) (Ord. 1988-369, effective 7-22-88)