§ 82. Authority of city generally.
(a)
Rates. The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland shall operate the water system of the City of Cumberland, and shall charge and collect for the water supplied to the residents of Cumberland and the vicinity a sum sufficient to pay the operating expenses of said water system, to pay the interest on and the redemption of all bonds now outstanding against the city and all other indebtedness of said city issued for or incurred for the building, extension, operation or maintenance of its water system, including that part of said system in Pennsylvania held in the name of The Evitts Creek Water Company; the receipts of the water system shall be kept in a separate fund and under a separate accounting system; and it shall be the duty of the mayor and city council to establish from time to time such rates for its water system as will pay all its operating expense and all its annual interest, and meet all its sinking fund or serial bond requirements; and in case of any deficit in the operations of the water department, then the water rentals shall be increased in order to prevent any future deficit, and to liquidate the past deficit.
In addition to the above powers, the mayor and city council may sell excess water at such price as it shall deem proper, without regard to its capital, interest requirements, or maintenance costs, to the end that said excess water shall not be wasted and that the Mayor and City Council of Cumberland shall derive some return therefrom; provided that no water shall be sold as excess water for less than the actual amount of filtration and treatment costs thereof.
Excess water shall only be such amount of water which shall be in storage in the impounding dams above the pumping level as shall be in excess of an amount equal to two hundred times the average amount of water then being delivered to the regular water takers for their daily consumption, and when the water in storage shall not be in excess thereof, no water shall be sold as excess water.
No excess water shall be sold to any person, firm or corporation for other than manufacturing or industrial purposes or when the use of which would diminish the amount of water then being furnished to said person, firm or corporation under the regular established rates of said city, or in case of sale of excess water to a nonuser of water under said established rates, said excess water shall not be sold in amount of less than four hundred thousand gallons per day, all of which must be used for manufacturing or industrial purposes, except in case of shut down, strike, act of God, or other emergency, and in like case the city may discontinue the supply of said excess water so long as any such emergency may exist, and provided further that in the sale of excess water the mayor and city council shall reserve the right to apportion said excess water among the eligible applicants who may apply for the same and may stipulate such other conditions as may seem reasonable and proper for the protection of the interests of the city.
It shall be the duty of the city public accountant (appointed under section 143 of this Charter) to file a special written statement with the mayor and city council at the time of his annual report advising whether the operations of the water department during the past fiscal year have been conducted at a profit or at a loss, and the amount thereof.
(b)
Ordinary borrowing power. Said Mayor and City Council of Cumberland shall have the power and authority in the operations of the water department of the City of Cumberland (which shall include the operations of the Evitts Creek Water Company) to borrow such sum or sums as may be necessary for such operation, for interest, and to meet sinking fund or serial bond requirements, and to pledge the faith and credit of the city therefore (sic); provided, however, that such sum or sums of money hereby authorized to be borrowed shall not exceed in the aggregate the total of the estimated water rentals accrued or accruing for the current fiscal year; and provided further that any sum or sums so borrowed in pursuance of the authority so given shall be repaid out of the water rentals charged for said fiscal year and thereafter collected; and provided further that in the event the receipts from water rentals charged for said fiscal year and thereafter collected shall be insufficient to pay such sum or sums so borrowed, with all interest due thereon, the said Mayor and City council of Cumberland are authorized and directed to levy a tax against all of the assessable property in the City of Cumberland sufficient to pay such sum or sums of money so borrowed and all interest thereon, as and when the same shall be due and payable; and, provided also, that if water rentals charged for the current fiscal year in which such sum or sums of money were borrowed shall be paid after the payment of the sum or sums so borrowed, the receipts therefrom shall be applied to the general funds of the said Mayor and City Council of Cumberland.
(c)
Emergency borrowing power. The said Mayor and City Council of Cumberland shall have the further power and authority, in case of an emergency, to borrow such additional sum or sums of money, as may be necessary for the continued operation of or the protection of the water department of the City of Cumberland (which shall be construed to include the operations of the Evitts Creek Water Company) not to exceed in the aggregate the sum of fifty thousand dollars; provided, however, that if the said mayor and city council shall decide that an emergency does exist, it shall pass a resolution or ordinance so stating, and thereafter it shall file a petition in the circuit court for Allegany County, setting forth the existence of such emergency, its nature, the estimated amount of money needed for its relief and the proposed means of repayment. Upon the filing of such petition, it shall be the duty of any judge of said court, to whom such petition shall be presented, to forthwith pass an order directing that at least five days' notice of the filing of such petition, and of its substance, object and purpose, be immediately given by publication thereof in one or more daily newspapers published in the City of Cumberland, and fixing a time to be set forth in said notice for a hearing thereon in said court as soon thereafter as may be, at which hearing any citizen who is a taxpayer or water consumer may appear and be heard. The proceedings in reference thereto at such hearing shall be informal and, if, after such hearing, the court shall pass an order authorizing the borrowing of such sum or sums of money as the court may deem adequate and proper to meet the emergency, thereupon the said mayor and city council shall be authorized to borrow the same and to pledge the credit of the city to the amount specified by the court in its order. There shall be no appeal from the finding of the circuit court.
(d)
Water department bond issues. The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland, in addition to the power to borrow money as set forth in section 81, and any amendments thereto, or as hereinbefore set forth in this section, shall also have the power to borrow from time to time, pledging the credit of the city therefor, such sums of money as they may deem necessary for the operation, preservation or extension of the water system of said city, including the vicinity of Cumberland in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Section 82A of this charter.
(e)
Water system indebtedness. The bonds heretofore or hereafter issued for water improvements shall be issued in addition to and exclusive of the ten per cent bonded indebtedness on the assessed valuation of the City of Cumberland authorized by section 81 of this article.
(f)
Penalties. If the mayor or any member of the city council or any city employee shall violate any of the provisions of this section, he or they shall, upon trial and conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not exceeding one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars or be sentenced to confinement in the Allegany County Jail for not more than six months, or be both fined and imprisoned in the discretion of the court.
(Acts 1922, ch. 96, § 56; P.L.L. 1930, art. 1A, § 56; Acts 1933, ch. 42; Acts 1933 Sp. Sess., ch. 28; Char. Amend. Res. No. 2, § 2; Char. Amend. Res. No. 95, 9-7-88)
Editor's note
The word "therefore" in subsection (b) should be "therefor."