1744                             LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 817

connection with any of them, shall be constructed or installed except
as in this section provided, and any violation of the provision shall be
a misdemeanor punishable under Section 537 of this subtitle. All
construction and operating records, including cost records, shall
be filed with the Commission, which shall be empowered at any time
to take over said system or part thereof, or said water main, sewer,
water or sewage treatment plant, or connect with any of them in the
same manner as provided under Section 529. The Commission shall
be empowered to extend any water supply or sewerage system into
any area outside but contiguous to or in the vicinity of any existing
system operated by it or any municipality, where one or more of the
property owners served by the extension shall pay the cost thereof
without the necessity of giving notice of such extension or holding a
public hearing thereon, but no charge or assessment whatsoever shall
be made against any property until said property is connected with
the system at which time the owner of said property may be required
to pay his pro rata cost thereof prior to connection, and the Com-
mission may in its discretion refund all or a part thereof to the
person or persons originally paying for said extension. Where any
extension of any existing sewerage or water system is requested by
all of the property owners to be served by said extension and all the
said property owners agree to pay the cost thereof together with
interest thereon in no more than nine (9) annual installments; the
Commission may, in its discretion, extend its system to serve said
property owners and shall be authorized, subject to the approval of
the County Commissioners of Wicomico County, to borrow upon
notes or other evidences of indebtedness the cost thereof including
engineering fees and other expenses not to exceed the sum of Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). And the Commission may, out of
surplus and unallocated funds extend any existing water or sewerage
system into an adjacent area where, in the opinion of the Commission,
such extension is required by the industrial development of the area,
but no charge or assessment whatsoever shall be made against any
property served by such extension until said property is actually
connected with the system at which time the Commission may require
the owner of the said property to pay such sum as the Commission
may deem fair under the circumstances.

531. Prepayment of benefit assessments.

Any property owner who shall within ninety (90) days after the
first assessment of any benefit charge against his property for the
purpose of paying the interest on and the retirement of bonds pay
to the Commission his proportionate part of the bonded indebtedness
chargeable against the property shall be allowed to do so, and the
Commission in the computation of his proportionate share shall be
allowed to take into account any differences between the interest
payable on guaranteed time deposits and the rate of interest payable
upon the bonds for payment of which the benefit charge was imposed,
and the Commission's determination of the proportionate share pay-
able by the applicant shall be final. Upon payment of such propor-
tionate share, his property shall be exempt from the payment of any
further benefit charge imposed for payment of said bonds, but shall
not be exempt from any ad valorem taxes imposed for the payment
thereof either by the Commission or by the County Commissioners
of Wicomico County.