§ 2045-E — Powers of the agency

§ 2045-e. Powers of the agency. The agency shall have the power:\n 1. To sue and be sued;\n 2. To have a seal and alter the same;\n 3. To acquire in the name of the agency, hold, sell, lease, mortgage\nor otherwise dispose of property, real, personal or mixed, or any\ninterest therein, without limitation, for its corporate purposes;\nprovided, however, that (i) the agency shall not have the power of\neminent domain, (ii) the acquisition by the agency of any real property\ndesignated as the site for any facility shall be subject to prior\napproval by the county legislature, and (iii) in selecting the location\nfor any such site the agency shall give consideration to the present and\nany proposed land use character of the area in which such site is to be\nlocated and the zoning laws or regulations, if any, otherwise generally\napplicable to such area;\n 4. To receive, transport, process, dispose of, sell, store, convey,\nrecycle, and deal with, in any lawful manner and way, solid waste and\nany products or by-products thereof now or hereafter developed or\ndiscovered, including any energy generated by the operation of any solid\nwaste management-resource recovery facility. Any such disposal or sale\nmay be effected on such terms and in such manner as the agency may deem\nproper;\n 5. To plan, develop and construct projects and to pay the cost thereof\nand to have the right to contract in relation thereto with\nmunicipalities or persons within or without the county and to own and\noperate, maintain, repair, improve, reconstruct, enlarge, and extend,\nsubject to the provisions of this title, any of its projects acquired or\nconstructed under this title, and to sell, lease, mortgage or otherwise\ndispose of any project or part thereof to any person or public\ncorporation, subject to such conditions and limitations as the agency\nmay determine to be in the public interest;\n 6. To assist in the planning, development and construction of and the\nfinancing of the cost of any solid waste management-resource recovery\nfacility to be located in the county whether or not such solid waste\nmanagement-resource recovery facility is to be owned or operated by the\nagency, which assistance may include loans to any person or public\ncorporation. Any such solid waste management-resource recovery facility\nproducing either electricity or shaft horsepower and useful thermal\nenergy shall constitute a co-generation facility as defined in\nsubdivision two-a of section two of the public service law;\n 7. To receive from the United States, the state, the county, any other\nmunicipality or public corporation or person, solid waste for the\npurpose of treatment or disposal thereof, with the right of the agency\nto sell and dispose of any products or by-products (including energy) of\nsuch process of treatment or disposal, as the agency may deem proper;\n 8. To contract with the county, other municipalities, state agencies,\npublic corporations or persons within or without the county, for the\npurpose of receiving, treating and disposing of solid waste including\nwithout limitation to contract with persons for the delivery of all\nsolid waste generated within a stated area to a specific solid waste\nmanagement-resource recovery facility;\n 9. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs\nand, subject to agreements with bondholders, for the regulation of the\nuse of any project or other property of the agency, which by-laws and\nall amendments thereto, duly certified by the secretary of the agency,\nshall be filed in the office of the agency and in the office of the\nclerk of the county, and to provide for the enforcement of such by-laws\nby legal or equitable proceedings which are or may be provided or\nauthorized by law. In addition, the county legislature shall have power\nto prescribe that violations of specific by-laws of the agency shall\nconstitute offenses or infractions and provide for the punishment of\nviolations thereof by civil penalty;\n 10. With the consent of the county executive, to use officers or\nemployees of the county and to pay a proper portion of the compensation\nor costs for the services for such officers or employees;\n 11. To make contracts and to execute all necessary or convenient\ninstruments, including evidences of indebtedness, negotiable or\nnon-negotiable;\n 12. To enter, with the consent of the county executive, on any lands,\nwaterways and premises for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, and\nexaminations, and liability therefor shall not exceed actual damages;\n 13. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to fund or refund the same,\nand to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;\n 14. Subject to any limitations imposed by any contract pursuant to\nsubdivision two of section two thousand forty-five-t of this title, to\ndetermine classification of users, to fix and collect, including\ndirectly from service recipients, including owners of real property\nwithin the county from whom waste is disposed at agency facilities,\nrates, rentals, fees and other charges for the use of the facilities of,\nor services rendered by, or any commodities furnished by, the agency,\nwhich rates, rentals, fees and other charges may be different for each\nclassification of users and may reflect the source and composition of\nsolid waste and may provide for fee reductions to the user in proportion\nto waste generated or to reflect participation in source separation\nprograms, and to contract with any municipality in the county in respect\nthereto, so as to provide revenues sufficient at all times to pay, as\nthe same shall become due, the principal and interest on the bonds of\nthe agency, together with the maintenance of proper reserves therefor,\nin addition to paying, as the same shall become due, the expenses of\noperating and maintaining the properties of the agency, together with\nproper reserves for debt service, depreciation, maintenance and\ncontingencies and all other obligations and indebtedness of the agency.\nIn any instance where the county is or would be required by law, with\nrespect to solid waste management, to conduct a public hearing in\nconnection with a contract, lease, service agreement, classification of\nuser, rate, rental, fee or other charge, the agency shall not enter into\nsuch contract, lease, service agreement, or establish, fix, or revise\nany classification of user, rate, rental, fee or other charge unless and\nuntil the agency has held a public hearing at which interested persons\nhave had an opportunity to be heard concerning the same, provided\nhowever, that if the county has conducted a public hearing in connection\nwith such contract, lease, service agreement, classification of user,\nrate, rental, fee or other charge, the agency shall not be required to\nhold a public hearing. Notice of such public hearing shall be published\nat least ten days before the date set therefor, in at least one\nnewspaper of general circulation in the county. Such notice shall set\nforth the date, time and place of such hearing and shall include a brief\ndescription of the matters to be considered at such meeting. A copy of\nthe notice shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county and\nshall be available for inspection by the public. At any such hearing,\nany interested persons shall have an opportunity to be heard concerning\nthe matters under consideration. Any decision by the agency at such\npublic hearing shall be in writing and be made available in the office\nof the agency for public inspection during regular office hours. All\nrates, rentals, fees and other charges for the use of the facilities of,\nor services rendered by, the agency and billed directly by the agency to\nthe service recipient pursuant to a classification of users adopted by\nthe agency as herein provided shall be a lien upon the real property\nupon which, or in connection with which, services were provided, as and\nfrom the first date fixed for payment of such rates, rentals, fees and\nother charges. Any such lien shall take precedence over all other liens\nor encumbrances, except taxes or assessments. The treasurer of the\nagency shall prepare and transmit to the respective legislative body of\neach municipality, on or before the first day of December in each year,\na list of those properties within each respective municipality for which\nsuch services were provided and from which the payment of rates,\nrentals, fees and other charges are in arrears for a period of thirty\ndays or more after the last day fixed for payment of such rates,\nrentals, fees and other charges without penalty. The list shall contain\na brief description of the properties for which such services were\nprovided, the names of the persons or corporations liable to pay for the\nsame, and the amount chargeable to each, including penalties and\ninterest computed to December thirty-first of that year. Each governing\nbody shall levy such sums against the properties liable and shall state\nthe amount thereof in a separate column in the annual tax rolls of the\nvarious municipalities under the heading "solid waste disposal charge".\nSuch amounts, when collected by the several municipal collectors or\nreceivers of taxes, shall be paid over to the treasurer of the agency.\nAlternatively, the legislative body of any municipality which provides\nsolid waste collection service to all or a portion of the properties\nwithin its boundaries using municipally owned and operated collection\nvehicles may execute an agreement with the agency to collect and be\nresponsible for the collection of, on behalf of the agency, any overdue\nor delinquent rates, rentals, fees or other charges and such\nmunicipality shall have the power to pay directly to the agency such\noverdue or delinquent rates, rentals, fees and other charges whether or\nnot they are actually collected from the service recipients of such\nmunicipality. The legislative body of any such municipality entering\ninto such an agreement with the agency on or after the effective date of\nthis subdivision, shall be required prior to entering into such an\nagreement, to provide notice of, and convene a public hearing on such an\nagreement under the same terms and conditions of public notice and\nhearing required of the agency pursuant to this subdivision.\n All of the provisions of the tax law of the state governing\nenforcement and collection of unpaid taxes or assessments for special\nimprovements not inconsistent herewith shall apply to the collection of\nsuch unpaid rates, rentals, fees and other charges. Except as may be\notherwise expressly permitted under this title, any such rates, rentals,\nfees and other charges shall be fixed without discrimination among the\nmunicipalities within the county entering into contracts with the county\npursuant to section two thousand forty-five-t of this title on or before\nthe first date on which the county enters into a contract with the\nagency pursuant to paragraph (i) of subdivision two of such section two\nthousand forty-five-t of this title. The agency shall in no event fix\nany such rates, rentals, fees or other charges with respect to\nmunicipalities entering into such contracts with the county subsequent\nto such date in amounts less than those fixed with respect to\nmunicipalities entering into such contracts with the county on or before\nsuch date;\n 15. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from the United\nStates, the state or any agency or instrumentality of either of them, or\nany municipality or from any person, by bequest or otherwise, and to\nexpend the proceeds for any corporate purposes of the agency; and\n 16. To make payments to, and settle claims asserted by owners of\nproperty in proximity to and adversely affected by, landfill facilities\nof the agency in order to compensate such owners in whole or in part for\ndiminution of the value of their property, if any, directly resulting\nfrom the siting of the agency landfill facility or the activities\nundertaken therein. The amount and manner of such payments shall be\ndetermined by resolution of the agency, and shall be based on real\nestate market studies and/or appraisals undertaken at the direction of\nthe agency, in such form and substance satisfactory to the agency. The\nagency shall establish rules and regulations setting forth the\nspecifications pursuant to which real estate market studies and/or\nappraisals shall be conducted and such other rules and regulations as\nmay be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subdivision. Such\nrules and regulations shall include a requirement that all property\nowners requesting payments in accordance therewith must file a claim\nwith the agency by a date specified by the agency. Any payments made\npursuant to the provisions of this subdivision shall be considered a\ncost of the agency in the computation of rates, fees, and charges in\naccordance with subdivision fourteen of this section.\n 17. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers\nexpressly given in this title.\n