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Posted by Ryan Pelletier, St. Agatha, January 7, 2008:Quick question regarding notice of lien.  We bill our sewer fees quarterly.  The last billing was December 1, 2007.  Are we correct to send notice of lien out in January on all 4 quarters since the committment was in February of 2007 or can we only send notice out on the first three quarters of 2007 since the last bill was only mailed on 12/1/07.  The lien manual states "after three months and within one year after the charge becomes due, notice must be given..." but is the three months referring to the original commitment date or the actual date of billing?

Responses:Bridgton sends out the full amount within 12 months…..and we bill quarterly as well. (Mitch Berkowitz, Bridgton)

I believe they are referring to when the bills were mailed.  The law if I am not mistaken is when the customer is given notice.  We do exactly the same here and we might have a commitment on 1/7/08 but not mail them until 1/21/08, I would go by the mail date.  It does make it hard to fit in 4 qtrs in a lien.  I had to do 2 lien time frames for 2006.  The first half 1/1/06-6/30/06 and 7/1/06-12/31/06.  Hope this helps. (Scott Gesuldi, Rangeley)

Ryan, when I was in Searsport we had sewer and processed our bills quarterly. We also did the commitment quarterly not yearly. You have to commit dollars so need the correct amount, I am not sure you can commit the whole years usage without accurate numbers? We did liens four times a year. I hope this helps some. (Sandra Blake, Newcastle)

Thanks Sandra.  In our case, we do have accurate numbers when we do the initiatl committment as our system is non-metered.  Everyone pays a flat rate based on the number of users. (Ryan Pelletier)

You are fortunate. I believe it goes with the bill also and not necessarily the commitment. (Sandra Blake)

Sorry, the Town of Fryeburg does not have Public Sewer. (Ella Cressy, Fryeburg)

Ellsworth Sewer Dept liens twice a year, in April and October.  We give three months from the billing date and we bill quarterly. (Michelle Beal, Ellsworth)

In Camden we commit the ww bills quarterly during the fiscal year to the Select Board and then at the end of the fiscal year once the last billing has been done and a second notice for that quarter has been sent, then we start our ww lien cycle on the 4 quarters, which have already been committed to Select Board so it doesn't have to be done again.  I believe you have to wait until after the second notice for the final quarter billing has been sent before you can start the lien process.  Also, I don't understand how you could commit for fees in February of 2007 and have your last billing be December 2007, without knowing what your commitment would be for each quarter???  Hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more… (Marlene Libby, Camden)