(a) Repayment of Loans. A property owner participating in the Clean Energy Loan Program shall repay the loan through a surcharge on their real property tax bill.
(b) Calculation. The surcharge for a Clean Energy Loan shall include the Clean Energy Loan Obligation and any administrative costs incurred by the County which shall be the actual expenses incurred to administer the program.
(c) Agreement. The property owner shall execute an agreement with the County and the Clean Energy Lender that will be recorded in land records, at the expense of the owner, which shall include:
(1) the date the Clean Energy Loan was made to the property owner and the property became subject to the surcharge;
(2) the term of the Clean Energy Loan and over which the surcharge will apply to the property;
(3) the Clean Energy Loan Obligation and estimated County administrative costs for the first year;
(4) the annual principal and interest amount for each year of the term of the loan, including any partial year prorated amounts;
(5) prepayment requirements and any prepayment premium that may apply to a prepayable Clean Energy Loan;
(6) agreement by the property owner to repay all Clean Energy Loan Obligations and the County's administrative costs through a surcharge included on the owner's real property tax bill due and payable on the same date as the real property tax bill;
(7) acknowledgement by the property owner that an unpaid Clean Energy Loan surcharge constitutes a first lien on the property that has priority over prior or subsequent liens in favor of private parties and that the surcharge will continue as a lien on the property from the date it becomes payable until the unpaid surcharge and interest and penalties on the surcharge are paid in full, regardless of a change in ownership of the property, whether voluntary or involuntary;
(8) acknowledgement by the property owner and the lender that the County has no liability for the Clean Energy Obligation or any costs associated with the collection of amounts due under the Clean Energy Financing Agreement; and
(9) acknowledgement by the property owner that an overdue surcharge shall be collected pursuant to § 4-1-105.
(d) Default. In the event of default on the Clean Energy Loan surcharge, the lien will be collected pursuant to § 4-1-105. The County shall not incur any liability to the Clean Energy Lender or others in the event of default.
(e) Payment to Clean Energy Lender. The County shall have no ownership of the surcharges collected except for administrative costs provided under this subtitle. The Controller shall pay all surcharge payments in any calendar month to the applicable Clean Energy Lender or the Program Administrator within 30 days after the end of the month in which such amounts are collected. The County shall have no obligation to make payments to any Clean Energy Lender with respect to any Clean Energy Loan Obligation other than that portion of surcharge actually collected from a property owner for the repayment of a Clean Energy Loan. Payments received from a property owner shall be credited first to all County taxes, assessments, and charges.
(Bill No. 68-14)