§ 11-141-7 — Powers

The corporate authorities of any municipality that owns and operates or that may hereafter own and operate a sewerage system constructed or acquired under the provisions of any law of this state may make, enact, and enforce all needful rules, regulations, and ordinances for the improvement, care, and protection of its sewerage system and any other sewer or sewerage system, located outside the corporate boundary of the municipality and not owned by it, that directly or indirectly connects with the municipality's sewerage system, which may be conducive to the preservation of the public health, comfort, and convenience, and may render the sewage carried in the sewerage system of the municipality harmless in so far as it is reasonably possible to do so. The corporate authorities of such a municipality may, by ordinance, charge the inhabitants thereof for the use and service of its sewerage system whether by direct or indirect connection therewith within or without the corporate boundary, and to establish charges or rates for that purpose. The corporate authorities of such a municipality may by ordinance charge the users thereof, whether they be inside of or outside of the municipality, for the use and service of its sewerage system whether by direct or indirect connection therewith, within or without the corporate boundary, and may establish charges or rates for that purpose, provided however that where such users are residents of another municipality with whom there is a contract for use and service of the sewerage system, then such charges or rates shall be made in accordance with the terms of the contract, either directly to the users or to the contracting municipality as may be provided by the provisions of the contract. In making such rates and charges the municipality may provide for a rate to the outside users in excess of the rate fixed for the inhabitants of said municipality as may be reasonable. Where bonds are issued as provided in Sections 11-141-2 and 11-141-3, the corporate authorities shall establish rates or charges as provided in this section, and these charges or rates shall be sufficient at all times to pay the cost of operation and maintenance, to provide an adequate depreciation fund, and to pay the principal of and interest upon all revenue bonds issued under Sections 11-141-2 and 11-141-3. A depreciation fund is a fund for such replacements as may be necessary from time to time for the continued effective and efficient operation of the system. The depreciation fund shall not be allowed to accumulate beyond a reasonable amount necessary for that purpose, and shall not be used for extensions to the system. Charges or rates shall be established, revised, and maintained by ordinance and become payable as the corporate authorities may determine by ordinance. Such charges or rates are liens upon the real estate upon or for which sewerage service is supplied whenever the charges or rates become delinquent as provided by the ordinance of the municipality fixing a delinquency date. A lien is created under the preceding sentence only if the municipality sends to the owner or owners of record, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number, of the real estate (i) a copy of each delinquency notice sent to the person who is delinquent in paying the charges or rates or other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners of record, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number, that the charges or rates have become delinquent and (ii) a notice that unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on the real estate under this Section. However, the municipality has no preference over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lien holder arising prior to the filing of the notice of such a lien in the office of the recorder of the county in which such real estate is located, or in the office of the registrar of titles of such county if the property affected is registered under "An Act concerning land titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended. This notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof, (2) the amount of money due for such sewerage service, and (3) the date when such amount became delinquent. The municipality shall send a copy of the notice of the lien to the owner or owners of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification number. The municipality has the power to foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate. Except in counties with a population of more than 250,000 where the majority of the municipal sewerage system users are located outside of the municipality's corporate limits, the payment of delinquent charges for sewerage service to any premises may be enforced by discontinuing either the water service or the sewerage service to that premises, or both. A rate or charge is delinquent if it is more than 30 days overdue. Any public or municipal corporation or political subdivision of the State furnishing water service to a premises (i) shall discontinue that service upon receiving written notice from the municipality providing sewerage service that payment of the rate or charge for sewerage service to the premises has become delinquent and (ii) shall not resume water service until receiving a similar notice that the delinquency has been removed. The provider of sewerage service shall not request discontinuation of water service before sending a notice of the delinquency to the sewer user and affording the user an opportunity to be heard. An investor-owned public utility providing water service within a municipality that provides sewerage service may contract with the municipality to discontinue water service to a premises with respect to which the payment of a rate or charge for sewerage service has become delinquent. The municipality shall reimburse the privately owned public utility, public or municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State for the reasonable cost of the discontinuance and the resumption of water service, any lost water service revenues, and the costs of discontinuing water service. The municipality shall indemnify the privately owned public utility, public or municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State for any judgment and related attorney's fees resulting from an action based on any provision of this paragraph. The municipality also has the power, from time to time, to sue the occupant or user of that real estate in a civil action to recover money due for sewerage services, plus a reasonable attorney's fee, to be fixed by the court. However, whenever a judgment is entered in such a civil action, the foregoing provisions in this section with respect to filing sworn statements of such delinquencies in the office of the recorder and creating a lien against the real estate shall not be effective as to the charges sued upon and no lien shall exist thereafter against the real estate for the delinquency. Judgment in such a civil action operates as a release and waiver of the lien upon the real estate for the amount of the judgment.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 93-500, eff. 6-1-04 .)