Bill Text: VA SB560 | 2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Sanitary districts; authorizes board of supervisors to construct and maintain dams within district.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-03-30 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0485) [SB560 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2012-SB560-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That § 21-118.4 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: § 21-118.4. Certain additional powers of governing body. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, when an order has been entered creating a sanitary district in such county, the board of supervisors or other governing body hereinafter referred to as "board of supervisors," shall have the following powers and duties, in addition to such powers and duties created by any law, subject to the conditions and limitations hereinafter prescribed: (a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and operate dams, motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs and fire-fighting systems, for the use and benefit of the public in such sanitary district and as to such motor vehicle parking lots systems to make such charges for the use of such facilities as may be prescribed by said board or body; (a1) To acquire, construct, maintain and operate, or to contract for such acquisition, construction, maintenance and operation, within such sanitary district, such community buildings, community centers, other recreational facilities and advisory community planning councils as the board may deem expedient or advisable, and to make such charges for the use of such facilities as may be prescribed by the board; (b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease or otherwise, and to maintain and operate any such dams, motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs and fire-fighting systems in such district; (c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation, municipality, county, authority or the federal government or any agency thereof to acquire, construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and operate any such dams, motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage removal and disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs and fire-fighting systems in such district, and to accept the funds of, or to reimburse from any available source, such person, firm, corporation, municipality, county, authority or the federal government or any agency thereof for either the whole or any part of the costs, expenses and charges incident to the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, alteration, improvement, addition to and operation of any such system or systems; (d) To require owners or tenants of any property in the
district to connect with any such system or systems, and to contract with the
owners or tenants for such connections. In order to require owners or tenants
of any property in the district to connect with any such system or systems, the
board of supervisors shall have power and authority to adopt ordinances so requiring
owners or tenants to connect with such systems, and to use the same, and the
board of supervisors shall have power to provide for a punishment in the
ordinance of not exceeding a (e) To fix and prescribe or change the rates of charge for the
use of any such system or systems, the rate of charge for connection to any
such system or systems, a late charge not to exceed Water and sewer connection fees established by any county, city, town or sanitary district shall be fair and reasonable. Such fees shall be reviewed by the county, city, town or sanitary district periodically and shall be adjusted, if necessary, to assure that they continue to be fair and reasonable. Nothing herein shall affect existing contracts with bondholders which are in conflict with any of the foregoing provisions. If any rates, fees or charges for the use of and for the
services furnished by any system acquired or constructed by the sanitary
district under the provisions of this chapter shall not be paid within If any rates, fees, or charges for the use and services
of any water or sewer system acquired or constructed by the sanitary district
under the provisions of this chapter shall not be paid within The water supply to or for any occupant-debtor shall not be shut off or stopped under the provisions of this section, if the State Health Commissioner, upon application of the local board of health or health officer of the county, city or town wherein such water is supplied or such real estate is located, shall have found and shall certify to the authorities charged with the responsibility of ceasing to supply or sell such water, or to shut off the supply of such water, that ceasing to supply or shutting off such water supply will endanger the health of such person or the health of others in such county, city or town. Any unpaid charge shall become a lien superior to the interest of any owner, lessee or tenant, and next in succession to county taxes, on the real property on which the use of any such system was made and for which the charge was imposed. However, such lien shall not bind or affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable consideration without actual notice of such lien, except and until from the time that the amount of such charge is entered in the Judgment Lien Docket kept in the office where deeds may be recorded in the political subdivision wherein the real estate or a part thereof is located. It shall be the duty of the clerk in whose office deeds may be recorded to keep and preserve and hold available for public inspection such Judgment Lien Docket and to cause entries to be made and indexed therein from time to time upon certification by the board for which he shall be entitled to a fee of five dollars per entry to be paid by the board and added to the amount of the lien. No such lien shall be placed by the board unless the board or its billing and collection agent (i) shall have advised the owner of such real estate at the time of initiating service to a lessee or tenant of such real estate that a lien will be placed on such real estate if the lessee or tenant fails to pay any fees, rents or other charges when due for services rendered to such lessee or tenant; (ii) shall have mailed to the owner of such real estate a duplicate copy of the final bill rendered to such lessee or tenant at the time of rendering the final bill to such lessee or tenant; and (iii) shall employ the same collection efforts and practices to collect amounts due the board from a lessee or a tenant as are employed with respect to collection of such amounts due from customers who are owners of the real estate for which service is provided. Such lien on any real estate may be discharged by the payment to the board of the total amount of such lien, and interest accrued thereon to the date of such payment, and the entry fee of two dollars, and it shall be the duty of the board to deliver a certificate thereof to the person paying the same, and upon presentation thereof and the payment of the further fee of one dollar by such person, the clerk having the record of such lien shall mark the entry of such lien satisfied. Jurisdiction to enforce any such lien shall be in equity and the court may decree the real estate subject to the lien, or any part thereof, to be sold and the proceeds applied to the payment of such lien and the interest which may accrue to the date of such payment. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prejudice the right of the board to recover the amount of such lien, or of the charge, and the interest which may accrue, by action at law or otherwise, which relief shall be cumulative and not alternative; (f) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical, clerical, or other force and help which from time to time, in their judgment, may be deemed necessary for the construction, operation or maintenance of any such system or systems; (g) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation, county, authority or municipality with regard to the connection of any system or systems with any other system or systems now in operation or hereafter to be established, and with regard to any other matter necessary and proper for the construction or operation and maintenance of any such system within the sanitary district; (h) To contract for the extension of any such system into territory outside of the district, and for the use thereof, upon such terms and conditions as the board may from time to time determine upon; (i) With respect to the maintenance and operation of said motor vehicle parking lots system, the board is authorized to purchase, install, maintain and operate, and to fix and charge parking meter fees for the use of, such parking lot or lots; (j) Insofar as is permitted by Article VIII, Section 5 and Article VIII, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia to construct or contract to construct within such sanitary district, at the request of the school board and subject to all provisions of law applicable to the construction of school buildings, and additions thereto; (k) To borrow not earlier than January 1 of any year, or the first day of the fiscal year of the district, for the purpose of meeting casual deficits in the revenue of the district or creating a debt in anticipation of the collection of the revenue of the district, a sum of money not to exceed one-half of the amount reasonably anticipated to be produced by the revenues of the district, including taxes levied pursuant to § 21-119, for the year in which the loan is negotiated; provided, there shall be excluded from the amount reasonably anticipated to be produced by the revenue of the district any anticipated tax revenues of the district which have not actually been levied and assessed against property within the district. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, any
sanitary district is empowered to borrow in advance of grants and
reimbursements due the district from the federal and state governments for the
purpose of meeting appropriations for the then current fiscal year.
"Grants" and "reimbursements" as used herein shall mean grants
which the district has been formally advised in writing it will receive, and
reimbursements on moneys which the federal or state governments are obligated
to pay the district on account of expenditures made in anticipation of
receiving such payment from the federal or state government. The district may
borrow the full amount of the grant or reimbursement that the federal or state
government is obligated to pay at the time the loan is issued. The loan shall
be repaid within Such temporary loans shall be evidenced by notes or bonds,
negotiable or nonnegotiable as the board of supervisors may determine; shall
bear interest at a rate as provided in § 2.2-5000; and shall be repaid not
later than either December 15 of the year in which they are borrowed or (l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the
contrary, where the use of any water or sewer systems described in this section
is contracted for by an occupant who is not the owner of the premises and where
such occupant's premises are separately metered for service, the owner of any
such premises shall be liable only for the payment of delinquent rates or charges
applicable to three delinquent billing periods but not to exceed a period of 2. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage. |