(A) Computation. The Connection fee shall be computed in the following manner.
(1) For a Direct Connection to the Public Sewer System, the Benefit Component of the Connection Fee shall be a rate per Unit established by resolution of the Township Board from time to time.
(2) For an Indirect Connection to the Public Sewer System, the Benefit Component of the Connection Fee shall be a rate per Unit established by resolution of the Township Board from time to time,
(3) For a premises adjacent to an Available Public Sanitary Sewer System, the Frontage Component shall be a rate per front foot of assessable frontage on the Available Public Sanitary Sewer System established by resolution of the Township Board from time to time, with a maximum assessable frontage of 250 feet. In determining the assessable frontage of a premises with frontage on two or more sides on an Available Public Sanitary Sewer System (typically a corner lot), the frontage on the side of the lot which bears the street address or the frontage on the shortest side of the lot adjacent to the Available Public Sanitary Sewer System, whichever is less, will be considered to be the assessable frontage.
(B) Cost and expense of service connection. In addition to the Connection Fee as computed in division (A) above, the owner of the premises shall be liable for the costs and expenses of acquiring and installing the Service Connection pursuant to Township specification on file at the Township.
(C) Special assessments. Those parcels located in the Special Assessment District and subject to a full special assessment on the Special Assessment Roll for the Benefit Component and the Frontage Component applicable to the parcel shall be deemed to have paid the Connection Fee and, if applicable, the cost of acquiring and installing the Service Connection; provided, however, that such credit shall not result in a full or partial refund of the special assessment paid or payable pursuant to the Special Assessment Roll, unless specifically established by the Township at the time the Special Assessment Roll was confirmed by the Township; provided further that a partial special assessment (levied for example, on a vacant lot) shall be offset against the Connection Fee and, if applicable, the cost of acquiring a Service Connection.
(D) Multiple unit users.
(1) A single-family residence (including condominiums) with related outbuildings improved by kitchen, sleeping, or bath facilities as detailed on the Schedule of Residential Equivalent Factors in § 50.175 shall be charged a Connection Fee based upon the Unit(s) assigned to such uses on said schedule.
(2) A System User which is not described in division (D)(1) above may elect to be charged a Connection Fee based upon the Unit(s) assigned to the User based upon the Schedule of Residential Equivalent Factors in § 50.175.
(3) All System Users which are not described in division (D)(1) above or did not elect to be charged a Connection Fee in accordance with division (D)(2) above shall have the Connection Fee determined upon the basis of the User’s metered water usage in the following manner.
(a) Upon connection to the System, the User shall have a water meter, of the size and type approved by the Township, installed on the User’s water supply. The cost of both the meter and the installation shall be paid for by the user with the installation to be made or approved by the Township. The meter shall be read on a quarterly basis by the Township.
(b) After two years of meter readings have been obtained, Units shall be assigned to the User’s premises based on said meter readings using an equation, the numerator of which shall be the meter readings, in gallons, annualized for the 24-month period and the denominator of which shall be 120,000 gallons. Seasonal businesses open for business only during specified times of the year (for example, campgrounds with licenses to operate for specific months only) will be adjusted to reflect only the months of seasonal use. The resulting number of Units so determined, which shall not in any event be less than one, shall be multiplied by the requisite Connection Fee, for a Direct Connection or Indirect Connection, as the case may be, to determine the Connection Fee for the premises.
(E) Installment payments. A User who files a permit application with the Township within 90 days after the date of official notice by the Township to connect to the System in accordance with § 50.025, shall be entitled to pay the Connection Fee, to the extent not offset by a credit for a special assessment in accordance with division (C) above in equal annual installments of principal, plus interest on the unpaid balance at the rate of 5.76% per annum, which shall accrue from July 1, 2001, payable on December 1 each year, pursuant to the terms of a written agreement to be entered between the Township and said User providing for annual installment payments to the Township for a period of years which shall not exceed 19 years, with the final payment due no later than December 1, 2019. For a Connection Fee determined in accordance with divisions (D)(1) and (D)(2) above, the first installment shall be due and payable prior to the issuance of a permit for a Service Connection in accordance with § 50.061. For a Connection Fee determined in accordance with division (D)(3) above, the first installment shall be due and payable on the December 1 that immediately follows the end of the two-year metering period.
(F) Cash payment. Except for installment payments permitted by the terms of division (E) above, the Connection Fee shall be paid in cash, to the extent not offset by a credit, prior to the issuance by the Township of a Service Connection permit to connect to the Public Sewer System pursuant to §§ 50.060 through 50.071.
(G) Hardship deferment. The owner or owners of a single-family residence, in which residence said owner or owners reside and upon which a Connection Fee has been imposed, may submit a hardship application to the Township seeking a deferment in the partial or total payment of the Connection Fee provided for herein, based upon a showing of financial hardship, subject to and in accordance with the following.
(1) The owners of the premises shall, under oath, complete a hardship application provided by the Township Board, and file said application, together with all other information and documentation reasonably required by the Township, with the Township Board not less than 60 days prior to the due date of the Connection Fee. An application shall be completed and filed by each and every legal and equitable interest holder in the premises, excepting financial institutions having only security interests in the premises.
(2) Hardship applications shall be reviewed by the Township Board, and after due deliberation of hardship applications, the Township Board shall determine, in each case, whether there has been an adequate showing of financial hardship, and shall forthwith notify the applicants of said determination.
(3) An applicant aggrieved by the determination of the Township Board may request the opportunity to appear before the Township Board in person for the purpose of showing hardship and presenting any argument or additional evidence. A denial of hardship following such a personal appearance before the Township Board shall be final and conclusive.
(4) In the event that the Township Board makes a finding of hardship, the Township Board shall fix the amount of partial or total deferment of the Connection Fee, and in so doing, shall require an annual filing of financial status by each applicant, providing that upon a material change of financial status of an applicant, said applicant shall immediately notify the Clerk of the Township so that a further review of the matter may be made by the Township Board, and provided further that the duration of the deferment granted shall be self-terminating upon the occurrence of any one of the following events:
(a) A change in the financial status of any applicant which removes the basis for financial hardship;
(b) A conveyance of any interest in the premises by any of the applicants, including the execution of a new security interest in the premises or extension thereof; or
(c) A death of any of the applicants.
(5) Upon a determination of the Township Board deferring all or part of the Connection Fee, the owners of the premises shall, within one month after such determination, execute and deliver to the Township as the secured party a recordable security instrument covering the premises, guaranteeing payment of the deferred amounts on or before the death of any of the applicants or, in any event, upon the sale or transfer of the premises. The security interest shall secure payment to the Township of an amount necessary to cover all fees and charges deferred and all costs of installation and connection to the Public Sewer System, if applicable. The consideration for the security interest shall be the grant of deferment pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 01-03, passed 8-8-2001)