Enacted: October 3. 2002
Current Revision: June 23, 2016
1. CHARGES FOR SEWER SERVICES
a. Sewer Charge:
1) The Sewer Charge is for the Operating and Maintenance (O&M) cost of the wastewater collection, treatment and disposal system.
2) All Connected users and "Vacant Structures" will be assessed the sewer charge.
a. "Vacant Structures" shall include all residential structures (apartments, houses, mobile homes, etc.) and all non-residential structures; all vacant
mobile home pads/sites; non-connected expired exemptions; all vacant connected and all vacant non-connected structures as well as all occupied, non-exempt, non-connected structures within the 200 foot required connection area and all connected vacant structures outside the 200 foot required connection area.
Sewer Charge: $ 468 per EU
Connected and Non-Connected Vacant Sewer Change: $ 468 per EU
Expired Non-Connected Exemption Sewer Change: $ 468 per EU
b. Flat Tax Assessment: The flat tax assessment shall be assessed on each taxable property, real and personal, on the Grand List of the Town of Pownal to pay for the wastewater project bond.
1) An undeveloped parcel of land, one which does not have any buildings or structures on it, or which does not have both water and sewer, shall be assessed a one-half assessment.
2) All other taxable property, real and personal, shall be assessed a full assessment.
The $2,000,000 wastewater bond annual principal and interest expense is $122,800.
c. Special Fees and Charges:
1) Sewer Use Fee:
A one time fee for use of the Town sewer system. Collected at time of application for connection to the sewer.
a) Residential: $1,000 per equivalent unit (EU)
b) Non-residential Use: $1,500 per equivalent unit (EU)
2) Late Charge: 1 % per month interest on each unpaid quarterly bill will be added just prior to the billing of the subsequent quarterly bills. (This is a total of 3% interest for the 3 months late). A friendly reminder that a payment is late and accruing interest will be sent 15 days after each payment due date except the 4th quarter due date on June 30th.
3) Delinquent Sewer Bills: On July 1st of each year, all unpaid bills become delinquent, and will be turned over to the Delinquent Tax Collector. An 8% penalty (of the principle amount due) will be added to all delinquent bills in addition to the 1 % interest per month that is added on the 1st of each subsequent month. The Delinquent Tax Collector, may at anytime, begin Tax Sale proceedings on the property. Tax Sales for delinquent sewer bills, are held in the same manner as a sale for delinquent property taxes, and quite often, are combined as one sale. The property owner will be responsible for any additional legal fees or costs associated with collecting such funds.
4) Reserve Capacity Allocation Fee: 40% of the EU Sewer Charge, due with the submittal of the Allocation Application, then yearly payments until connected to the Town sewer or until the expiration date of the applicable permit, at which time the allocation reverts back to the Town of Pownal.
5) Application Fee: $ 30 Residential $100 Non-Residential
6) Town Engineering Service Charges - Residential I Industrial I Commercial I Other Developments:
Developers/owners may be required to complete a pre-application in order to obtain information pertaining to the proposed wastewater discharge and to determine Estimated Charges.
Equivalent Units Estimated Charge
1-9 $2.500
10-50 $5,000
50-80 $8.000
Over 80 $10.000
Notes:
1) These engineering service charges are initial budget ESTIMATES. Actual costs will be based on actual hours expended by the Engineer. Estimated Charges must be submitted to the Town with the signed notification required under the "Owner's Agreement and Understanding" section of the Pre-Application.
2) The required effort on each project is variable and dependent on:
- conformance of design to Town standards;
- conformance of the contractor to the design plans and specifications;
- quality of construction, need for re-inspections; and
- quality of Contractor's work.
3) Any unused portion of the Estimated Charges will be refunded to the develop/owner upon issuance of the Final Allocation Permit. Conversely, if actual costs are more than the Estimated Charges, the difference must be submitted with the Sewer Connection Application.
2. RATE STRUCTURE
- The rate structure is based upon the equivalent unit (EU) method.
- An annual charge shall be determined.
- The annual charge shall be divided by four (4). The one-quarter charge shall be billed every three months: months of September, December, March, and June with due dates for the 1st quarter on September 30th, 2nd quarter on December 31st. 3rd quarter on March 31st and the 4th quarter on June 30th.
- An equivalent unit is defined as a single residential (i.e. a single family home, an apartment, a condominium unit, a mobile home). Refer to the User Charge System for explanation of determining user charges.
- Non-residential user's equivalent unit value shall be determined by dividing the non-residential user's estimated flow by 200 gpd, the assigned flow value for 1 EU.
- Non-residential user's flows shall be calculated by using the State of Vermont's Environmental Protection Rules Calculated, most recent edition.
- The minimum EU for any user shall be 1.0 EU.
Duly enacted and passed this 23rd day of June 2016
by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Pownal, State of Vermont, at a duly called and duly held meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
(802) 823-9814
