11-264

11-264. Authority to operate a sewage system;
liens; sewage system user fees

A. Any county with a population between one million and two million persons may
purchase, construct or operate a sewage system, including the collection, transportation,
pumping, treatment and disposal of sewage, and charge fees and levy taxes therefor,
provided the county secures the assent by resolution of the governing bodies of those
incorporated cities and towns representing not less than one-half of the population of
the county before purchase, construction or operation of a sewage system, provided that
once an initial assent is given no further assent is necessary to operate or improve the
system.

B. The provisions of this section are declaratory of existing law and shall not
affect the validity of the authorization or issuance of any bonds by a county for sewage
purposes.

C. A county may file a lien on property for the nonpayment of sewage system user
fees for services provided to the property if the payment of the fees is delinquent for
more than ninety days.

D. Before filing the lien, the county shall provide written notice to the owner of
the property. The notice shall be given at least thirty days before filing the lien and
shall include an opportunity for a hearing with a designated county official. The notice
shall be either personally served or mailed to the property owner, at the last known
address by certified mail, or to the address to which the tax bill for the property was
last mailed. If the owner does not reside on the property, the notice shall be sent to
the last known address.

E. The unpaid sewage system user fees, from the date of recording in the office of
the county recorder in the county in which the property is located, are a lien on the
property until the fees are paid. The lien is subject and inferior to the lien for
general taxes and to all prior recorded mortgages and encumbrances of record. A sale of
the property to satisfy a lien obtained under this section shall be made on judgment of
foreclosure and order of sale. A county may bring an action to enforce the lien in the
superior court in the county in which the property is located at any time after the
recording, but failure to enforce the lien by this action does not affect its
validity. The recorded unpaid sewage system user fees are prima facie evidence of the
truth of all matters recited in the recording and of the regularity of all proceedings
before the recording.

F. Unpaid sewage system user fees pursuant to this section accrue interest at the
rate prescribed by section 44-1201.

G. A prior assessment of unpaid sewage system user fees for the purposes provided
in this section does not bar a subsequent assessment for these purposes and any number of
liens on the same lot or tract of land may be enforced in the same action.

H. Subsection C of this section does not apply to residential property occupied by
a lessee where the lessee is responsible for payment of the sewage system user fees. The
county shall determine the status of leased residential property before filing the lien.