[Ord. No. 981,
§ 1, 12-14-1987]
This article shall be known as "The Solid Waste Processing and
Disposal Tax Ordinance of 1987."
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 2, 12-14-1987]
(a)
The use of land within Plymouth Township for the purpose of solid
waste disposal has been and projects in the future to be steadily
on the increase, both with respect to the number of such activities
and the volume thereof.
(b)
The increase in the volume and number of such activities within the
Township has resulted in substantial increases in heavy truck traffic,
the number of accidents involving such vehicles, and congestion on
roads and highways within the Township.
(c)
Solid waste activities, by their nature, are noxious activities requiring
frequent monitoring and inspection to safeguard the health, safety
and welfare of the citizens of the Township.
(d)
The activities of such facilities have required and will increasingly
require in the future demands upon the police and code enforcement
departments of the Township which will require the employment of additional
personnel herein.
(e)
The hiring of such additional police and code enforcement personnel
will place additional budgetary demands upon the Township and, hence,
upon the taxpayers of Plymouth Township.
(f)
Over the past 10 years Plymouth Township has reduced services to
its citizens in order to maintain tax rates and to comply with legislative
limitations on its taxing power.
(g)
The Township requires additional sources of revenue to restore certain
previously eliminated services and to increase other necessary services
to its citizens.
(h)
This taxing ordinance is, therefore, adopted to accomplish the objectives
and for the purposes above set forth.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 3, 12-14-1987]
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a)
COLLECTOR — The Plymouth Township Finance Officer, who is the
person appointed by the Township to collect the tax levied hereby.
(b)
OPERATOR — The individual, partnership, association, corporation,
governmental body, agency or other entity carrying on a landfill,
a trash transfer station, a mass burn facility, or other solid waste
processing facility, or leasing or using land for such purposes within
the geographical boundaries of Plymouth Township.
(c)
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL TRANSACTION — The deposit, storage, accumulation,
processing, disposal or placement of material by a user in a landfill,
trash transfer station, mass burn facility or other solid waste processing
facility, measured in tons of material.
(d)
SOLID WASTE MATERIAL — Includes garbage, rubbish, trash, waste
materials, ash, flyash, refuse, soil, sludge or other recoverable
or nonrecoverable material.
(e)
SOLID WASTE PROCESSING OR DISPOSAL — Includes the means or
method by which solid waste material is accumulated, stored, treated,
recovered, dumped, buried, sold or otherwise disposed of.
(f)
TAX — The charge levied hereby upon each and every operator
for each and every solid waste disposal or processing transaction
for each ton of material processed, dumped or disposed of.
(g)
TOWNSHIP — Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
(h)
USER — Every person or individual, partnership, association,
corporation, governmental body, agency or other entity delivering
solid waste material to a landfill, trash transfer station, mass burn
facility or other solid waste processing facility within the geographical
confines of Plymouth Township for solid waste processing or disposal.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 4, 12-14-1987]
(a)
For the period beginning January 1, 1988, and ending December 31,
1988, and continuing from January 1st to December 31st of each and
every year on a calendar-year basis thereafter, without annual re-enactment,
a tax for general revenue purposes is hereby levied on the processing
of solid waste against each and every operator at the rate of two
(2) per cent of the charge made by the operator for the processing
of each ton of solid waste within Plymouth Township.
(b)
The tax imposed hereby shall be collected only once on each ton of
solid waste processed in the Township, on the occasion of the first
such transaction, despite, the fact that the solid waste may be subject
to more than one form of solid waste disposal transaction, as that
term is defined herein.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 5, 12-14-1987]
(a)
On or after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article
was derived, it shall be unlawful for any operator to conduct, continue
to conduct or thereafter to begin to conduct any solid waste processing
facility within the Township unless a waste processing registration
certificate shall have been issued to the operator, and unless the
tax imposed herein is accounted for in accordance with the provisions
of this article.
(b)
Every operator desiring to continue to conduct or to begin to conduct
any solid waste processing facility within the Township shall be required
to file annually an application for a registration certificate or
certificates for each such facility with the collector. Every application
for the certificate or certificates shall be made upon a form prescribed
and furnished by the collector and authorized by the Township. Such
application shall set forth the name under which the applicant conducts
the solid waste processing facility, and the location of the place
of the facility, the size of the facility, an estimate of the annual
number of tons of material which will be processed at the facility,
and such other pertinent information as may be required by the collector.
If the applicant has or intends to have more than one place of operation
within the Township, the application shall state the required information
with respect to each and every place of operation. If the applicant
is other than an individual, the names and addresses of the principal
officers thereof, and any other reasonable information required by
the collector, shall be stated in the application. The application
shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant, verified by oath or
affirmation.
(c)
Upon a proper application being made, the collector shall charge
a registration and certificate fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00)
annually for each certificate, which shall be paid by the applicant,
upon payment of which the collector shall grant and issue to the applicant
a solid waste processing facility registration certificate for each
place of operation set forth in the application. The registration
certificate shall not be assignable, shall be valid only for the person
and/or operator in whose name it is issued, and shall be valid only
for the conduct of solid waste processing at the place designated
therein. The registration certificate shall be conspicuously displayed
at all times at the place for which issued.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 6, 12-14-1987]
(a)
Each operator shall maintain, separately with respect to each premises
for which a solid waste processing facility registration certificate
has been issued, complete and accurate records of all transactions,
the amount of consideration received from all transactions, and the
total amount of tax collected on the basis of such consideration.
These records shall be kept on a uniform daily basis. Each operator
shall issue to the person paying the consideration written evidence
of the transaction as may be prescribed by regulations adopted by
the collector.
(b)
As to all solid waste processing conducted on a contract basis, each
operator shall maintain a record of relevant data adequately describing
each transaction for the calculation of the proper tax. Records shall
be made at the time of the transaction, shall be kept in chronological
order, and shall be maintained for a period of not less than five
(5) years.
(c)
Each operator shall afford the collector and his designated agents
and employees access to all such records at all reasonable times and
shall provide verification of those records as the collector may require.
The collector and his agents are hereby authorized at reasonable times
and in a reasonable manner to examine the books, papers and records
of any operator in order to verify the accuracy of any return made
hereunder.
(d)
If no return has been made, or if a false return has been made, or
if the operator's records are not properly made or kept, or if the
operator or anyone under his control in any way obstructs an orderly
audit or investigation relating to the determination of the proper
tax due, then the collector may make such assessment of the amount
reasonably determined to be the proper tax due, may add a liquidated
damage assessment of up to one hundred (100) per cent of the proper
tax and may assess the tax and liquidated damage assessment against
the operator, which assessment shall be in addition to any other remedies
hereunder.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 7, 12-14-1987]
Each operator shall, on forms prescribed by the collector, file
with the collector, by the fifteenth day of each month, returns on
all transactions of the operator in the preceding calendar month.
With such filing the operator shall pay to the collector all taxes
due hereunder for each preceding month.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 8, 12-14-1987]
Any information gained by the collector, his agents, or any
official or agent of the Township pursuant to the administration of
this article shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except
for official purposes or in accordance with the proper judicial order
or for the purpose expressly authorized by this article.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 9, 12-14-1987]
The collector is hereby authorized to accept payment under protest
of any taxes claimed by the Township in any case, whether the taxpayer
disputes the validity or the amount of the Township's claim to the
tax. If it is thereafter judicially determined that the Township has
been overpaid, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded to
the taxpayer.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 10, 12-14-1987]
All taxes, assessments, penalties and interest due from an operator
under this article shall be paid to the collector. Any operator who
fails to file a proper report as due, or who fails to make proper
payment as due, shall be subject to a penalty of an additional 10
per cent of the amount of the tax and, in addition thereto, shall
pay interest on the unpaid tax at the rate of one per cent per month
or fraction thereof from the due date. Such penalties and interest
shall be in addition to any other penalties prescribed herein.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 11, 12-14-1987; Ord. No. 1076, § 1, 6-10-1991]
Any person who violates any provision of this article, or any
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, shall, upon conviction thereof
before any district justice, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.00,
or, in default thereof, shall be imprisoned for a period not to exceed
30 days. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense. The penalties
prescribed herein shall be in addition to all other liabilities imposed
under any other provisions hereof.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 12, 12-14-1987]
Solid waste processing and disposal facilities owned and operated
by Plymouth Township or by Plymouth Township jointly with any other
municipality or municipalities shall be exempt from paying the tax
prescribed by this article.
[Ord. No. 981,
§ 13, 12-14-1987]
The operators of solid waste disposal facilities taxable hereunder
shall be exempt from the requirement to pay the taxes imposed under
the Plymouth Township Business Privilege Tax and Mercantile Tax ordinances.
