Authorizes Notice of Public Hearing to Establish Fair and Reasonable
Sewer Rent for Out of Town Facilities For Calendar Year 2023
Councilman Rothwell offered the following resolution, which was seconded by Councilman Kern
WHEREAS, the Riverhead Sewer District was established under the Laws of the State of New York in 1937 to serve the residents and properties of the Town of Riverhead (the “District”), and
WHEREAS, the District is a special district pursuant to the Town Law of the State of New York which is authorized as a benefit derived district, and
WHEREAS, the Riverhead Town Board is the governing body of the Riverhead Sewer District with the authority to authorize and levy real property taxes and sewer rents upon the parcels of property within the Town of Riverhead which have been determined to be benefited by the District through such proceedings held from time to time, and
WHEREAS, properties within the District are charged by tax bill for sewer services pursuant to two entries on the warrant and tax bill; one for sewer rent based upon water consumption and the other for a benefit derived levy based upon the valuation of the parcel served, collectively comprising the annual charge for sewer service, and
WHEREAS, the Riverhead Town Board has no authority or right to levy a tax for the annual charge for sewer services benefiting properties outside of the geographic boundary of the taxing jurisdiction of the Town of Riverhead, and therefore in recognition of the fact that out of District users do not pay the District wide tax levy and the uncertain nature of out of District connections the appropriate multiplier for such out of District connections is 1.75, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Town Law the District may contract with the owners of real property located outside of the District’s taxing jurisdiction on a short-term basis to provide for the treatment of sewage generated and flowing from property outside of the District in the event that the District has treatment capacity not immediately required for the treatment of sewage generated and flowing from parcels within the taxing jurisdiction of the District, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to such authority the District entered into an agreement with the County of Suffolk to accept and treat sewage generated and flowing from the Riverhead County Center which is located outside of the taxing jurisdiction of the District in the Town of Southampton. This contract terminated by its terms on December 31, 2017, and
WHEREAS, the County of Suffolk has not agreed to a new contract with the Town of Riverhead setting the terms, including cost, for treatment of sewage generated and flowing from its facilities located outside of the District and the Town of Riverhead for the calendar years of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; and
WHEREAS, absent such a contract, the Riverhead Town Board as governing body of the Riverhead Sewer District adopted a series of resolutions including but not limited to Resolution 2021-328 and Resolution 2022-429 establishing fair and reasonable sewer rent for out of town facilities for calendar year 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and
WHEREAS, the District is forbidden by law to make a gift of sewer services to the County of Suffolk, and
WHEREAS, despite years of service, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, one single partial payment in the amount of $1,329,512.53 has been made by the County of Suffolk for treatment of sewage from the County Center leaving an outstanding balance for years 2018 through 2022 of $2,316,083.54 and
WHEREAS, the District has continued to provide service to properly treat and dispose of the sewage generated at the County Center and Jail, and the County has continued to accept such service, and
WHEREAS, the County of Suffolk’s failure to pay the full, fair and reasonable rate so established for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 or to enter into an agreement has created an extreme hardship upon the residents and rate payers of the Riverhead Sewer District, and
WHEREAS, absent an agreement with the County it is therefore necessary that the Riverhead Town Board establish a sewer rent for the sewer treatment provided by the District to the County of Suffolk for the calendar year 2023.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk be and is hereby authorized to publish and post a complete copy of this Resolution as notice of this public hearing to be held on the 2nd day of May, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at the Riverhead Town Hall, 200 Howell Avenue, Riverhead, New York, to hear all interested persons with regard to the establishment of fair and reasonable sewer rent for out of town facilities for calendar year 2023, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk be and is hereby authorized to publish and post a copy of this resolution in full in the April 27, 2023 edition of The News Review; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the subject matter of the public hearing will be the confirmation by the Riverhead Town Board as the governing body of the Riverhead Sewer District that the sewer rent for sewer service for the out of town facilities located at the County Center for the calendar year 2023 is the district rate as established for in district connections by the 2022/2023 tax warrant of $8.223 per one thousand gallons of annual flow based upon the water consumption for the County Center facilities as determined by application of the waste water usage set and determined by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Division of Environmental Quality entitled STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION FOR SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS FOR OTHER THAN SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCES and STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION FOR SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS FOR SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCES which has been calculated by the District Engineer to be 169,399 gallons per day resulting in an annual flow of 61,830,635 gallons utilizing an out of town user rate multiplier of 1.75. This results in a fair and reas
onable charge to the County of Suffolk for the treatment of sewage generated at the County Center for the calendar year of 2023 of $889,758.07, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that payment of the full 2023 rent shall be due and owing in one installment of $889,758.30 due July 1, 2023. The outstanding balance for years 2018 through 2022 in the amount of $2,316,083.54 is past due and owing, together with interest and penalties for these past due sewer rents. The Town Supervisor is authorized to prepare and file all necessary Suffolk County payment vouchers with the County of Suffolk. All payments not made timely shall accrue interest and penalties in the same amount as unpaid property taxes as is the same case as all in district Riverhead resident taxpayers, and that if payments are not timely made the District shall discontinue service pursuant to law.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk be and is hereby authorized and directed to send certified copy of this resolution to The Honorable Steven Bellone, Suffolk County Executive, county.executive@suffolkcountyny.gov and Vincent Puleo, Suffolk County Clerk, countyclerk@suffolkcountyny.gov; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sewer charge for calendar year 2023 and subsequent years shall be determined and provided by future resolution of the Riverhead Town Board, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, all Town Hall Departments may review and obtain a copy of this resolution from the electronic storage device and if needed, a certified copy of same may be obtained from the Office of the Town Clerk.
