§ 17-1718 Sewer districts. 1. In every such village any sewer district
created or organized under the provisions of the town law shall
continue, and the board of trustees shall be and they are hereby vested
with the management and control thereof, and of the sewer systems
constructed or to be constructed therein, and of the assessment of the
costs and expenses thereof, and in every such village the board of
trustees may establish one or more additional sewer districts as
hereinafter provided, which such sewer districts shall be managed, and
the costs and expenses thereof shall be assessed, as herein provided.

2. In case a system of sewers to serve the said district shall have
been authorized as provided in the town law and maps and plans therefor
shall have been approved by the state department of health the board of
trustees may construct and complete the sewers so authorized and may
make extensions thereof and may modify and change the plans thereof, by
resolution at any regular or at any special meeting called for the
purpose; provided notice that the board of trustees will act upon the
question of authorizing the construction of specified portions of such
sewer system, or specified extensions thereof, or upon specified
modifications thereof, at a time and place to be stated therein, shall
have been posted in at least four public places in the said sewer
district and shall have been published in the official paper, or if
there be no official paper, in such newspaper published in the county as
the board of trustees may select, at least twenty-one days before such
meeting. In the event that the village maintains a website, one of the
posting requirements may be fulfilled by posting such information on the
website.

3. Any moneys advanced from the general fund of such village for the
payment of the principal and interest of any obligations issued to pay
for all or part of such construction shall be reimbursed from the
assessments hereinafter provided.

4. In case the board of trustees shall authorize the construction of
any such extension or extensions to the sewer system, which have not
been approved by the state engineer or in case the board of trustees
shall modify or change the plans for the construction and completion of
the said sewer system or any portion thereof or of any such extensions
which have theretofore been approved by the state engineer, maps and
plans of such extension or extensions and of the portions of the system
so modified or changed, prepared by a competent engineer under the
authority and direction of the board of trustees shall be approved by
the state department of health as required by law before the same shall
be constructed.

5. The board of trustees shall advertise for proposals for the
construction of such extension or extensions according to such maps and
plans either under an entire contract or in parts, or sections, as the
board may determine, and such advertisement shall be published once in
each of two successive weeks in the official paper, or if there be no
official paper then in such newspaper published in the county as the
trustees may select. The board of trustees may accept or reject any or
all proposals and shall let the contract to the lowest responsible
bidder. The board of trustees may require bidders to give a bond or
other security to be forfeited to the village in case the bidder to whom
the award is made shall refuse or neglect to enter into the required
contract, and may require the successful bidder to give a bond or other
security in an amount to be fixed by the board of trustees conditioned
upon the faithful performance of the contract. Such contracts shall be
executed in the name of the village in duplicate and one copy thereof
shall be filed in the office of the village clerk.

6. The board of trustees may employ engineers, and such inspectors as
may be necessary, to prepare maps, plans, specifications and estimates,
and to supervise the construction, and may fix their compensation which,
together with the cost of preparing the maps, plans and specifications,
and the cost of the necessary real property or interest therein, shall
be treated as a part of the expense of construction.

7. If the board of trustees are unable to agree with the owners for
the purchase of any real property or any interest therein necessary for
the construction of the said sewer system or of any extension or
extensions thereto they may acquire the same by condemnation, in the
name of the village.

8. The board of trustees shall determine by resolution the amount of
moneys required to pay the principal and interest of all outstanding
obligations issued to pay the cost of constructing the sewer system, and
the extensions thereto, and the cost of maintaining and operating the
same, and all other lawful charges against the said sewer system for the
ensuing fiscal year and assess the amount thereof upon the lands within
the sewer district in proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit
which each lot or parcel shall derive therefrom, and shall enter such
assessments in a book suitable for the purpose, which shall show the
section, block and lot number, or other suitable description of each
piece or parcel of land in the said sewer district, with the amount
assessed against each such piece or parcel of land respectively.
Thereafter the provisions of the village law relating to the filing,
correction, completion and review of the village assessment-roll, and
relating to the levy, collection and lieu of village taxes shall apply
to the filing, correction, completion and review of such sewer
assessment and to the levy, collection and lien thereof, as nearly as
may be, except that the powers and duties of the assessors with respect
thereto shall devolve upon and be performed by the board of trustees.

9. In case there be an unexpended balance remaining after the
completion of any contract or contracts for the construction of any such
sewer system or of any extension or extensions thereto and such balance
is not derived from bonds, bond anticipation notes or capital notes the
board of trustees shall, by resolution, use the same or any part thereof
for the payment of the cost of constructing extensions to such sewer
system in said district or for the purpose of retiring outstanding bonds
issued to pay for the construction of such sewer system or extensions
thereto. Any unexpended balance remaining from the proceeds of bonds,
bond anticipation notes or capital notes shall be disposed of pursuant
to section 165.00 of the local finance law.

10. The board of trustees shall adopt rules and regulations to govern
the maintenance and use of the sewer system and shall therein fix the
amount of fees that shall be chargeable to individuals or property
owners who may wish to enter or use the sewer system, which fee shall be
sufficient in amount to pay for the cost of inspection, and may
prescribe the terms and conditions upon which connections may be made
therewith, and the manner in which the same shall be made, and may
provide reasonable penalties for the violation of such rules and
regulations to be collected at the suit of the village for the use of
the sewer district.

11. The board of trustees may cause a notice to be published in the
official paper and posted in at least ten conspicuous public places in
the district, requiring the owners or occupants of all property fronting
or abutting on any street or portion thereof in the town in which any
public sewer is about to be laid or is being laid or has been laid to
make and lay connection pipes to and from the sewer mains in such street
or any portion thereof in front of each separate piece of property,
within such times and in such manner and under such inspection as such
board shall prescribe; and whenever any such owner or occupant shall
have made default in making such connection as directed in and required
by such printed notice therefor, in the manner and within the time
specified, such board shall have power and authority to make, extend and
complete the same to the property line of the lands and premises so
owned or occupied opposite thereto and in front thereof, and to connect
the same with any existing pipe in front thereof, and the actual expense
thereof, including all labor done and materials used in doing and
completing the same, shall be assessed by the board upon each separate
piece of property opposite which the same shall be done and completed.
For the purposes of this section, in the event that the village
maintains a website, one of the posting requirements required by this
subdivision may be fulfilled by posting such notice on the website.

12. In every such sewer district it shall be the duty of the owners,
or if the owner be a nonresident of the district, of the occupants, of
premises which can be connected with any portion of the sewer system at
any time constructed, and which premises are occupied or used for
residential, business, or other purposes in which sewage matter
originates, to connect such premises with the said sewer system under
the rules and regulations adopted by the board of trustees relating
thereto, and in case such owner, or occupants, shall fail or neglect to
make and complete such connections within thirty days from the personal
service upon him of a certified copy of a resolution of the board of
trustees requiring such connection or connections to be made he shall be
liable to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars in amount and shall, in
addition thereto, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten dollars in
amount for each day during which such default shall continue after the
expiration of such period of thirty days, to be collected at the suit of
the village for the use of the sewer district. In case the cost of such
connection shall be paid by the occupant he may recover the same from
the owner or may deduct the same from any sums due or to become due from
him to such owner.

13. Nothing herein shall prevent the construction of extensions to
such sewer system in accordance with the provisions of article fourteen
of this chapter.

14. (a) In every such village the board of trustees on a petition
signed and acknowledged by the owners of more than fifty per centum in
value of the taxable real property in any proposed sewer district, as
shown by the last completed village assessment roll, and after a public
hearing thereon, may, by resolution, establish one or more sewer
districts in such village. Such petition shall describe the boundaries
of the proposed sewer district and each subscriber thereto shall set
opposite his name the assessed value of the real property owned by him
therein, as shown on the said last completed assessment roll, and such
petition shall contain a statement of the maximum amount proposed to be
expended in the construction of such sewerage system and shall also have
a statement conspicuously printed thereon as follows: "The cost of
construction and maintenance of such sewer system shall be assessed,
from year to year, by the board of trustees, upon the land within the
sewer district in proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit which
each lot or parcel will derive therefrom"; and such petition shall have
annexed thereto a map of such proposed sewer district and a plan for a
comprehensive system of sanitary sewers designed, when completed, to
serve the entire district together with plans and specifications for
sewage treatment or disposal works. The signature of a property owner
shall be acknowledged by him or it may be proved by the oath of a
witness who shall swear that he knows the property owners and that the
petition was signed by the property owners in the presence of the
witness. The petition may be in the form of separate sheets, each sheet
containing at the top thereof, the complete wording of the petition, and
when bound together and offered for filing, these shall be deemed to
constitute one petition. On receipt of such petition the board of
trustees shall grant a public hearing before taking any action on the
petition at which time full opportunity to be heard shall be granted to
all officials, residents, voters, taxpayers, property owners or other
persons or corporations in any way affected by the granting,
modification or denial of the petition. Notice of the time, place and
purpose of such hearing, containing a description of the extent of the
proposed sewer system, shall be given by such board by posting such
notice in four of the most public places within the village at least
twenty-one days prior thereto and by publishing a notice in the official
newspaper once in each of the three weeks immediately preceding the week
in which the hearing is to be held. In the event that the village
maintains a website, one of the posting requirements may be fulfilled by
posting such information on the website. After a hearing held in
accordance with this notice and upon the evidence given thereat the
board of trustees shall determine whether it is in the public interest
to grant the petition, modify it or deny the relief sought. A signed or
certified copy of the determination of the board of trustees shall be
duly recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in which
such village is located and when so recorded shall be presumptive
evidence of the regularity of the creation of the sewerage system by
said board. Said action shall be subject to review by certiorari upon
application made within thirty days following date of filing with the
county clerk which application shall be accompanied by an undertaking
approved by the supreme court or a justice thereof, providing for
reimbursing the expenses of the board of trustees in the event their
determination is not modified. At the expiration of the period allowed
for certiorari proceedings and subject to the reviewing court's order,
if any, the board of trustees shall proceed to construct such sewerage
system but before any part of the sewerage system is constructed in any
such sewer district the maps and plans therefor shall be approved by the
state department of health. In passing upon said plans due consideration
shall be given to the adaptability of the proposed sewerage system for
the district to possible future enlargements and to inclusion in a
general sewerage system to care for the village as a whole or parts of
the village forming natural drainage areas. The cost of preparing such
maps and plans in the first instance shall be borne by the petitioners,
but the reasonable amount thereof as audited and allowed by the board of
trustees, shall be a charge against the said sewer district, if the same
is established.

(b) In case any such sewer district shall be established, as herein
provided, the board of trustees may from time to time authorize the
construction under one or more contracts, or by village forces of all,
or any portion or portions of, the sewer system therein. The amounts of
principal and interest of any obligations issued for the construction of
the sewer system falling due in any year, together with the cost of
maintaining, repairing and operating the said sewers, shall be assessed
from year to year upon the real property within such district in
proportion as nearly as may be to the benefit which each lot or parcel
of land will derive therefrom.

(c) The board of trustees of said village and the body, officer or
board having control of the sewers in any other municipality shall have
power to contract in the names of their respective municipalities for
the use of any such sewer district or outlet or other facilities and
appurtenances owned, controlled or operated by such other municipality,
and agree upon the value thereof and upon the method and times of
payment therefor.

(d) The board of trustees may appoint a sewer commission to construct,
manage and operate the sewers in any such sewer district, whose members
shall hold office during the pleasure of the board of trustees, and who
shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the board of
trustees may from time to time prescribe.

(e) The provisions of section 17-1718 of this article shall apply to
any sewer district established pursuant to the provisions of this
subdivision.