102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB0067

 

Introduced 1/29/2021, by Sen. Melinda Bush

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
65 ILCS 5/11-139-8  from Ch. 24, par. 11-139-8

    Amends the Combined Waterworks and Sewerage Systems Division of the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that charges a municipality may charge to inhabitants include storm water utility charges to offset the cost of owning, maintaining, and improving local storm water infrastructure.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB0067LRB102 02714 AWJ 12717 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5changing Section 11-139-8 as follows:
 
6    (65 ILCS 5/11-139-8)  (from Ch. 24, par. 11-139-8)
7    Sec. 11-139-8. The corporate authorities of any
8municipality availing itself of this Division 139 may (1)
9make, enact, and enforce all needful rules and regulations for
10the acquisition, construction, extension, improvement,
11management, and maintenance of the combined waterworks and
12sewerage system of the municipality and for the use thereof,
13(2) make, enact, and enforce all needful rules, regulations,
14and ordinances for the care and protection of such a system,
15which may be conducive to the preservation of the public
16health, comfort, and convenience and to rendering the water
17supply of the municipality pure and the sewerage harmless
18insofar as it is reasonably possible to do so, and (3) charge
19the inhabitants thereof a reasonable compensation for the use
20and service of the combined waterworks and sewerage system,
21including, but not limited to, storm water utility charges to
22offset the cost of owning, maintaining, and improving local
23storm water infrastructure, and to establish rates for that

 

 

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1purpose. Separate rates may be fixed for the water and sewer
2services respectively or single rates may be fixed for the
3combined water and sewer services. Separate rates may be fixed
4for any water services to any other municipality and separate
5sewer rates to any industrial establishment for the purposes
6set forth in Section 11-139-2. These rates, whether separate
7or combined, shall be sufficient at all times to (1) pay the
8cost of operation and maintenance of the combined waterworks
9and sewerage system, (2) provide an adequate depreciation
10fund, and (3) pay the principal of and interest upon all
11revenue bonds issued under this Division. Rates shall be
12established, revised, and maintained by ordinance and become
13payable as the corporate authorities may determine by
14ordinance.
15    Whenever a municipality shall issue revenue bonds as
16provided by this Division to pay the cost of the extension or
17improvement of its combined waterworks and sewerage system or
18any part thereof to serve a particular area of the
19municipality, the municipality may vary its rates to be
20charged for the water and sewer services of the system or for
21either of them effective upon the issuance of bonds as
22provided by this division to pay the cost of the extension or
23improvement of its combined waterworks or sewerage system or
24any part thereof to serve a particular area of a municipality
25so that the rates to be charged for services in the particular
26area to be served by such extension or improvement shall be

 

 

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1calculated to produce, in addition to the revenues generally
2to be produced by such rates, sufficient funds to pay the
3principal of and interest upon the revenue bonds issued to pay
4the cost of such extension or improvement for that particular
5area.
6    Such charges or rates are liens upon the real estate upon
7or for which service is supplied whenever the charges or rates
8become delinquent as provided by the ordinance of the
9municipality fixing a delinquency date; except the charges or
10rates established by contract for the supply of water to
11another municipality. A lien is created under the preceding
12sentence only if the municipality sends to the owner or owners
13of record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's
14identification number, (i) a copy of each delinquency notice
15sent to the person who is delinquent in paying the charges or
16rates or other notice sufficient to inform the owner or owners
17of record, as referenced by the taxpayer's identification
18number, that the charges or rates have become delinquent and
19(ii) a notice that unpaid charges or rates may create a lien on
20the real estate under this Section. However, the municipality
21has no preference over the rights of any purchaser, mortgagee,
22judgment creditor, or other lien holder arising prior to the
23filing of the notice of such a lien in the office of the
24recorder of the county in which such real estate is located, or
25in the office of the registrar of titles of such county if the
26property affected is registered under "An Act concerning land

 

 

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1titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended. This notice shall
2consist of a sworn statement setting out (1) a description of
3such real estate sufficient for the identification thereof,
4(2) the amount of money due for such service, and (3) the date
5when such amount became delinquent. The municipality shall
6send a copy of the notice of the lien to the owner or owners of
7record of the real estate, as referenced by the taxpayer's
8identification number. The municipality has the power to
9foreclose this lien in the same manner and with the same effect
10as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate.
11    The municipality also has the power, from time to time, to
12sue the occupant or user of the real estate in a civil action
13to recover the money due for services rendered, plus a
14reasonable attorney's fee, to be fixed by the court. Whenever
15a judgment is entered in such a civil action the foregoing
16provisions in this section with respect to filing sworn
17statements of such delinquencies in the office of the recorder
18and creating a lien against the real estate shall not be
19effective thereafter as to charges sued upon and no lien shall
20exist thereafter against the real estate for the delinquency.
21Judgment in such a civil action operates as a release and
22waiver of the lien for the amount of the judgment.
23(Source: P.A. 87-1197.)