§ 52.02  CONNECTION TO THE SEWER SYSTEM; TRUNKAGE CONNECTION FEES; AVAILABILITY FEES.
   (A)   Improved premises.  Owners of premises which as of 7-1-1980 were improved by a structure in which sanitary sewage originates within the area in the village served by the system, who make application and receive a permit for connection to the system which premises are hereafter connected directly or indirectly to the system shall pay a trunkage connection fee for connection to the system in the amount of $500 per unit, which amount shall be payable in cash at the time of application.
   (B)   Buildable sites.
      (1)   Owners of premises all of which or a portion of which constitute a buildable site, and as of 7-1-1980 were not improved by a structure in which sanitary sewage originates, who make application and receive a permit for connection of the premises or portion thereof to the system shall pay a trunkage connection fee for connection to the system in an amount equal to 1.15 times the actual cost incurred in constructing the wye and/or service lead to the property line of the premises or $500, whichever is greater, in cash at the time of application, provided that the owner of the premises shall not be required to pay the charges for sewer services imposed by § 52.06 below, until connection required by § 51.02 above, is completed.
      (2)   If the owner of a subdivision or mobile home park pays all costs of constructing the lateral sewers, including the wye and/or service lead to the property line of each premises located in the subdivision or mobile home park, in accordance with applicable village specifications, then the trunkage connection fee payable pursuant to this division (B) shall be $100 per unit.
   (C)   Buildable sites; trunkage connection fee paid.
      (1)   Owners of premises which contain 1 or more buildable sites, which buildable sites as of 7-1-1980, were not improved by a structure in which sanitary sewage originates, but excluding those premises or buildable sites for which a trunkage connection fee was paid pursuant to § 4.01(a)(i) of Ordinance No. 56, as amended and now repealed, shall pay a sanitary sewer availability fee of $500 per buildable site, which amount shall be payable in 10 equal annual installments, with interest on the unpaid balance from time to time from 9-1-1980, payable annually at the rate of 5% per annum, the first installment being payable on or before 9-1-1980, and succeeding installments being payable on or before each September 1 thereafter.
      (2)   Any such owner may discharge the obligation to pay the sanitary sewer availability fee by the payment of $500 without interest in cash for each buildable site on or before 9-1-1980, or may pay any part of the sanitary sewer availability fee in cash without interest on or before 9-1-1981, and thereafter prepayment of the sanitary sewer availability fee may be made in advance by paying interest on the amount prepaid to the next succeeding September 1 following the date of prepayment.
      (3)   The unpaid balance of the sanitary sewer availability fee, if any, outstanding on the date an application for connection is made, pursuant to division (B) above, shall be waived upon payment of accrued interest to the date on the balance at the above stated rate.
   (D)   Trunkage connection fee effective 3-1-2001.
      (1)   Effective 3-1-2001, the trunkage connection fee shall be a rate per unit established from time to time for direct connections and indirect connections by resolution of the Village Council.
      (2)   In addition to the trunkage connection fee for premises for which the wye and/or service lead was not constructed by the village as part of the original construction of the village sewer system, the owner shall also pay 1.15 times the actual cost incurred by the village to construct the wye and/or service lead to the property line of the premises.
   (E)   Credit for trunkage connection fee.
      (1)   There shall be a credit against the trunkage connection fee in the principal amount or portion thereof of the sanitary sewer availability fee imposed by division (C) above that has actually been paid for the premises or a portion of the premises.
      (2)   Credit for the same sanitary sewer availability fee may not be taken more than once.
   (F)   Unit factors.
      (1)   The number of units to be assigned to any particular premises used for other than single residence purposes shall be determined by the Village Council based on unit factors set forth in Appendix A.
      (2)   The Village Council, if the circumstances justify, may assign more than 1 unit to a single-family dwelling.
      (3)   No less than 1 unit shall be assigned to each premises but units in excess of 1 may be computed and assigned to the nearest tenth.
      (4)   Once any premises have been connected to the system and have been assigned 1 or more units, subsequent changes in the character of the user or type of occupancy of the premises (including destruction, removal, or abandonment of any or all improvements thereon) shall not abate the obligation to continue the payment of the trunkage connection fee charged to the premises in the amount and for the period hereinabove provided.
      (5)   If the subsequent changes at any time increase the amount of sewer service to the premises, the Village Council shall increase the number of units assigned to the premises.
   (G)   Nonpayment of installment of trunkage connection or availability fee.
      (1)   If any installment of a trunkage connection or availability fee is not paid on or before the due date, the same shall draw interest at the rate of ½ of 1% per month until paid.
      (2)   In the event that the installment remains unpaid for 90 days or more after the due date, service may be discontinued as provided in § 52.12 and shall not be restored until all amounts due are paid plus the shut-off and turn-on charges so provided are paid.
   (H)   Compliance with laws and regulations.  The system shall be used, operated, and maintained at all times in accordance with existing state and federal law and applicable state and federal regulations.
   (I)   Hardship deferment.  The owner of a premises may file a hardship application with the Village Council seeking a deferment in the partial or total payment of charges imposed under divisions (A), (B), (C), or (D) above, based on a showing of financial hardship and in accordance with state laws.
   (J)   Publication.
      (1)   A true copy or a summary of this section shall be published in Traverse City Record Eagle, a newspaper circulated in the village, within 15 days after the adoption of this section by the Village Council.
      (2)   Upon the publication, the Clerk shall immediately enter the time and place of the publication in the record of ordinances.
   (K)   Effective date.  This section shall be in full force and effect as of 3-1-2001.
(1992 Code, § 11.2)  (Am. Ord. 4-01, passed 2-5-2001)  Penalty, see § 10.99