A. A municipality owning and operating a water utility may, for the purpose of maintaining, enlarging, extending, constructing and repairing water facilities and for paying the interest and principal on revenue bonds issued for the acquisition, condemnation or construction of water facilities, levy by general ordinance a just and reasonable service charge upon a front-foot, volume-of-water or other reasonable basis on:

(1) an improved or unimproved lot or land that adjoins a street in which a water supply system exists or which is otherwise accessible to such water supply system; and

(2) premises and improvements otherwise situated but connected to the water supply system.

B. The charges authorized in this section shall in no way limit the authority of a municipality to collect an assessment levied for the payment of a special improvement as authorized in Chapter 3, Article 33 NMSA 1978.

C. Any charge authorized in Subsection A of this section is a lien co-equal with a similar sanitary sewer lien and superior to all other liens except general property taxes upon the property so charged and is a personal liability of the owner of the property so charged. The lien shall be enforced as provided in Sections 3-36-1 through 3-36-7 NMSA 1978.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-26-4, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1977, ch. 324, § 2; 1994, ch. 99, § 5.

Cross references. — For charge for service becomes a lien against property served, see 3-23-6 NMSA 1978.

For municipal liens, see 3-36-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For the Eminent Domain Code, see 42A-1-1 to 42A-1-33 NMSA 1978.

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, inserted "acquisition, condemnation or" in Subsection A, substituted "Chapter 3, Article 33 NMSA 1978" for "Sections 14-32-1 through 14-32-38 NMSA 1953" in Subsection B, substituted "3-36-1 through 3-36-7 NMSA 1978" for "14-35-1 through 14-35-6 NMSA 1953" in Subsection C, and made stylistic changes throughout the section.

Standards for setting rates. — Where the municipality owns and operates a water and sewer system, the rates charged by it must be fair, reasonable and just, uniform and nondiscriminatory. The city has the power to set reasonable rates in excess of actual expenditures in furnishing municipally owned utility services, if such rates compare favorably with those received by private utility companies. Apodaca v. Wilson, 1974-NMSC-071, 86 N.M. 516, 525 P.2d 876.

In determining whether charge made is one of fee or assessment in municipal water assessment, the name given the charge is not controlling. Leigh v. Hertzmark, 1967-NMSC-064, 77 N.M. 789, 427 P.2d 668.

Application of revenues. — This section and 3-26-2 NMSA 1978 do not limit or prohibit the application of the revenues from the sewer or water system operated by a home-rule city to other municipal purposes. The only limitation, as in the case of any legislative action or function by the city, is that it exercise its authority in a reasonable manner and act pursuant to constitutional authority. Apodaca v. Wilson, 1974-NMSC-071, 86 N.M. 516, 525 P.2d 876.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 64 C.J.S. Municipal Corporations § 1992.