Utility Commissions
189(1)Where under this Act a municipality provides
(b)
a sanitary sewerage system,
the municipality shall construct, operate and maintain such service or utility on a user-charge basis, which may be established on an amortized or any other basis as to the municipality shall seem fit, and may establish a separate or joint rate therefor.
189(1.1)Notwithstanding sections 127 and 144 and notwithstanding that the provision of a water or sewerage service has been undertaken, has been deemed to have been undertaken or is purported to have been undertaken as a local improvement under this Act, a municipality may recover the cost of the work, or any portion thereof, on a user-charge basis under this section and the user-charge may be established on an amortized or any other basis as to the municipality shall seem fit.
189(1.2)A municipality may establish, with respect to a user-charge under subsection (1.1), one or more classes of users depending on prior payments by the user in relation to the cost of the work and the user-charge may vary within each class.
189(1.3)Where a user-charge under subsection (1.1) is based upon the frontage of the property in respect of which the service is provided, the provisions of section 130, with such changes as the context requires, shall apply to the calculation of the frontage.
189(1.4)For the purposes of this section, “cost of the work” includes the items enumerated in section 121 regardless of whether a municipality has been reimbursed or subsidized in any manner for such items.
189(2)Where before January 1, 1967, a municipality, or a commission established by a municipality, was providing electric power, that municipality or commission
(a)
may continue to provide the service, and
(b)
if the service is continued, shall provide electric power on a user-charge basis.
189(3)A municipality providing a service or services referred to in subsections (1), (1.1) and (2) may establish a commission to operate a service or services on its behalf.
189(4)When operating a service or utility under this section, a municipality or commission shall make such charges to the user of the service or utility as to produce
(a)
an annually balanced budget, or
(b)
a quadrennially balanced budget.
189(4.1)A municipality providing a service or a utility under this section shall annually, on or before the date fixed pursuant to subsection 87(2), submit to the Minister the budget with respect to that service or utility for that year.
189(5)When in the operation of a service or utility under this section, a municipality or commission has a deficit at the end of a budget period referred to in subsection (4),
(a)
it shall cause such deficit to be debited against the budget for that service or utility for the second next ensuing year, or
(b)
it shall spread the deficit over a four year period commencing with the second next ensuing year.
189(6)When in the operation of a service or utility under this section, the municipality or commission has a surplus at the end of its fiscal year,
(a)
it shall cause such surplus to be credited to the budget for that service or utility for the second next ensuing year, or
(b)
it shall spread the surplus over a four year period commencing with the second next ensuring year.
189(7)A municipality or commission referred to in this section may, in accordance with the regulations, for each service or utility
(a)
establish, manage and contribute to an operating reserve fund, and
(b)
establish, manage and contribute to a capital reserve fund.
189(8)When used in this section, “user-charge” includes
(a)
a rate or charge calculated by measuring the consumption of the service or utility being supplied by means of a meter or other mechanical device,
(b)
a flat rate or charge imposed upon one or more different classes of users of the service or utility, provided the flat rate or charge is uniform within each class,
(c)
a separate charge for each type of plumbing fixture installed in the premises receiving the service or utility,
(c.1)
with respect to a service referred to in subsection (1) or (1.1), a rate or charge based upon the frontage of the property in respect of which the service is provided, that may be imposed upon one or more classes of users of the service and that may vary within each class;
(d)
with respect to sanitary sewer service, a rate or charge based upon a percentage of the water service charge, or
(e)
any combination of the rates or charges described in paragraphs (
a), (
b), (
c), (
c.1) and (
d),
(f)
a rate or charge calculated by reference to the value of the real property in respect of which the service or utility is being supplied.
189(9)A council may by by-law prescribe the terms and conditions for payment of user-charges established under this section in respect to
(a)
collection and recovery,
(c)
prepayment and instalment payment,
(d)
imposition of penalties for non-payment, and
(e)
proceedings to be taken in default of payment.
189(10)All user-charge rates, fees, rentals and penalties payable for water or sewer service supplied to or with respect to any land within the municipality that is liable to taxation under the
Assessment Act and are due and payable for a period of sixty days constitute a special lien and charge on such land in priority to every claim, privilege, lien or encumbrance of any person, except the Crown, whether the right or title of that person has accrued before or accrues after the lien arises, and such lien is not lost or impaired by any neglect or omission of the municipality or of any officer or employee of the municipality or by want of registration, but such special lien and charge shall not apply to land that is subject to valid and subsisting lease in effect prior to April 2, 1968.
189(11)All user-charges, rates, fees, rentals and penalties payable for water or sewer service supplied to or with respect to any land within the municipality that is not liable to taxation under the
Assessment Act shall be a debt due to the municipality by the owner or occupier of such land.
189(12)Where the user-charge rates, fees, rentals and penalties mentioned in subsections (10) and (11) are owing to the municipality by a person other than the owner of the land, the municipality shall notify the owner in writing within sixty days after the user-charge rates, fees, rentals and penalties become due and payable.
189(13)A municipality from time to time may borrow temporarily in each year for current expenditures on user-charge utilities a sum or sums of money not exceeding at any time fifty percent of the budgeted revenue for that year.
189(14)Where a municipality or a commission provides a service referred to in subsection (1) or (1.1), such municipality or commission may by by-law
(a)
compel the owner of a building standing on land by which the service line runs to connect up with the service, or
(b)
make a charge to the owner of such land where the connection is not made with the service.
189(15)In determining the charge to be made in subsection (14), the municipality or commission shall make its assessment as near as possible to what the user-charge would be if the connection had been made.
189(16)A municipality may charge against fire protection service a portion of the water costs as may be determined by regulation.
189(17)“Commission” when used in this section means a commission established by a municipality.
189(18)For the purposes of this section, a water or wastewater commission created or continued under section 15.2 of the
Clean Environment Act shall be deemed to be a municipality.
189(19)A municipality that sells gas or provides customer services as defined in the
Gas Distribution Act, 1999 is not required to base the price of gas and customer services on cost unless the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board requires it to do so on the grounds that market forces do not adequately protect customers.
189(20)This section applies with the necessary modifications to a rural community.
1966, c.20, s.188; 1967, c.56, s.25; 1968, c.41, s.42; 1970, c.37, s.9; 1973, c.60, s.11; 1975, c.40, s.6; 1977, c.35, s.13; 1981, c.52, s.15; 1982, c.3, s.50; 1982, c.43, s.9; 1983, c.56, s.13; 1985, c.61, s.2; 1996, c.45, s.3; 1999, c.G-2.11, s.103; 2000, c.26, s.206; 2001, c.15, s.7; 2003, c.27, s.58; 2004, c.2, s.14; 2005, c.7, s.49; 2006, c.E-9.18, s.100; 2012, c.32, s.9