(A) Repayment of loans. A property owner participating in the Clean Energy Loan Program shall repay the clean energy loan through a surcharge on their real property tax bill. Upon receipt of written notice from the Clean Energy Loan Program Administrator of the execution of a clean energy loan financing agreement, the County shall add the surcharge to the tax property bill on July 1 of the year indicated by the payment schedule of the Clean Energy Loan Financing Agreement. The surcharge shall constitute a first 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, whether voluntary or involuntary. A person or entity that acquires property subject to a surcharge assumes the obligation to pay the surcharge.
(B) Calculation. The surcharge for a clean energy loan shall include the clean energy loan obligation and any administrative costs incurred by the County. The included administrative costs shall be the actual expenses incurred to administer the Clean Energy Loan Program.
(C) Statement of levy and lien of surcharge agreement. Upon receiving written notice from the Clean Energy Loan Program Administrator of the execution of a Clean Energy Loan Financing Agreement, the property owner shall execute an agreement with the County and the clean energy lender that will be recorded in the land records of Frederick County, at the expense of the property owner, and 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 the surcharge, including how long it will apply to the property;
(3) The amount of 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 clean energy loan, including any partial year prorated amounts;
(5) The prepayment requirements and any prepayment premium that may apply, if the loan is a pre-payable clean energy loan;
(6) Agreement by the property owner to repay all clean energy loan obligations and the county's administrative costs through the surcharge included on the owner's real property tax bill due and payable on the same date as the real property tax bill;
(7) Acknowledgment by the property owner that an unpaid 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) Acknowledgment by the property owner and the clean energy lender that the County has no liability for the clean energy loan obligation or any costs associated with the collection of amounts due under the clean energy loan financing agreement; and
(9) Acknowledgment by the property owner that an overdue surcharge shall be collected as a tax lien pursuant to Title 14, Subtitle 8 of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland and Chapter 2-7: Finance and Taxation, Article V: Tax Sales of this Code, and that an overdue surcharge will also be collected, irrespective of whether real property taxes or any other taxes, charges, or assessments are due and owing.
(D) Default. If a property owner defaults on the surcharge, the lien will be collected pursuant to Title 14, Subtitle 8 of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland and Chapter 2-7 of this Code, irrespective of whether property taxes or any other taxes, charges or assessments are due and owing. The County shall not incur any liability to the clean energy lender or others in the event of default.
(E) Credit of payments. Payments received from a property owner and from the sale of a property where a clean energy loan is in default shall be credited first to all County and other political subdivision taxes, assessments, and charges before being credited towards outstanding clean energy loan surcharges and balances.
(F) County to forward surcharges collected. The County shall have no ownership of the surcharges collected, except for administrative costs provided under this subtitle. The County shall forward collected surcharge payments in any calendar month to the clean energy lenders or the Clean Energy Loan 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.
(G) County liability. Except for the obligation to forward surcharges under Subsection (F) of this Section, the County does not incur any liability by participating in the Clean Energy Loan Program and the County is not liable to the clean energy lender, the Clean Energy Loan Program Administrator, the property owner or to others in the event of the property owner's default.
(Bill No. 16-17, 11-15-2016; Bill No. 23-09, 6-6-2023)