[HISTORY: Adopted by Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Springfield 5-3-1927 by Ord. No. 35. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Sewers — See Ch. 111.
Where the cost of constructing sewers is assessed
against abutting properties in proportion to their frontage on the
sewers, the Township Engineers shall calculate the amount chargeable
upon said properties by virtue of said assessment, showing the name
of the owner of each lot, frontage thereof and the charge against
the same; shall certify a copy thereof to the Township Treasurer and
a copy to the Township Secretary for the purpose of the Board; and
shall send bills in accordance with said assessment to all property
owners residing in the Township, mail them to all owners not residing
therein whose address shall be known and post them on the most public
part of the premises if unoccupied.
In case of corner lots abutting on more than
one line of said sewer, a reduction shall be allowed as to one side
thereof up to but not exceeding 125 feet.
Equitable reduction may be made in case of lots
where the physical conditions are such that, in the judgment of the
Sewer Committee, the sewer cannot be available for the drainage of
buildings erected thereon.
The date of the completion of the sewer work
shall be fixed by the certificate thereof by the Township Engineers
and shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of the Board of
Commissioners, and the assessments may be paid to the Treasurer of
the Township within 30 days after the delivery or mailing or posting
of bills therefor. In the event that any property owner shall fail
to pay said assessment in full within the prescribed period, together
with any charge for house connection which may be due, the Township
Solicitor shall file a lien or municipal claim therefor in the office
of the Prothonotary of Delaware County against the property of such
owner with a penalty of 10% of the amount of such assessment and shall
collect the same together with interest and costs in accordance with
law; provided, however, that any property owner shall upon written
request have the privilege of paying said assessment in five annual
installments without penalty on the following terms: One-fifth of
said assessment together with house connection charge due and cost
of filing and satisfying lien shall be paid within 30 days; the balance
shall be paid in four equal annual installments bearing interest at
6%, such payment shall be paid to the Township Treasurer. In default
of payment of any installment with interest within 30 days after same
shall be payable, the whole amount of said assessment remaining due,
together with penalty as aforesaid, shall immediately become payable
and the Solicitor shall collect same. All payments of municipal liens
shall be made to the Solicitor except as herein provided in respect
to deferred payments. The Solicitor may designate the Secretary as
the agent of the Township to receive such payments.
Where the cost of constructing sewers is assessed
upon properties abutting on said sewers in proportion to benefits,
the Township Solicitor is authorized and directed to cause a petition
or petitions to be presented to the Court of Common Pleas to appoint
viewers to assess such benefits in accordance with law; and to take
all necessary further proceedings in connection therewith or necessary
to the enforcement thereof, including any appeals in behalf of the
Township which the Sewer Committee shall direct, and the filing and
collecting of liens upon the confirmation of any report of such viewers.
No connection between any property and any Township
sewer shall be made until the assessment against said property therefor
shall have been paid or the option for deferred payment shall have
been exercised.
In all cases where a sewer lies in a road dividing
this Township from another the owners of the properties lying outside
this Township desiring to connect therewith may be permitted to do
so upon the payment of the cost of said sewer, computed according
to the foot frontage or of the benefits as may in each case be prescribed,
and upon the owner entering into an agreement to pay the annual sewer
rental subject to disconnection if default shall be made therein.
Owners of properties in this Township not abutting
on sewers or assessed therefor may be permitted to connect with sewers
by a legally constructed private drain on such terms and conditions
as the Board of Commissioners shall prescribe, provided that such
connection shall not affect the assessability of such property for
the cost of any sewer which shall be subsequently constructed abutting
on such properties.
All connections of properties with said sewers
shall be made only upon application and permit in prescribed form
and shall be made in accordance with the Plumbing and Health Regulations
of the Township and, further, in accordance with such rules and regulations
and on such terms and conditions as the Sewer Committee of this Board
shall from time to time adopt and prescribe and the Board of Commissioners
shall approve. Said Sewer Committee is hereby directed to adopt and
from time to time change such rules and terms, and the same, when
promulgated by the Committee and approved, shall have the same force
and effect as if set out at length in this ordinance. The said Committee
is further authorized, at its discretion, to provide for the construction
of private lateral connection in public streets to be paid for by
the property owner applying for such connection, at the actual cost
thereof with interest and 10%.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of property
connected with the said sewer to make any attachment thereto or to
the house drainage system, or to open any cellar drain, whereby rainwater
or surface or subsoil water shall be permitted to pass into said sewer.
Section II of Ordinance No. 35, as amended by
Ordinance No. 284, Ordinance No. 435 and Ordinance No. 634, shall
be repealed.
[Amended 12-27-1962 by Ord. No. 737; 1-14-1975 by Ord. No. 908]
A.
Beginning with the calendar year of 1975, and for
each year thereafter, there is hereby imposed an annual rental or
charge upon the owners of the property served, or to be served, for
the use of the sewers and the sewerage system of the Township of Springfield,
and for the use of extensions thereof which are in the course of construction
or to be constructed, and for the use of the sewage treatment works.
B.
The annual rental or charge shall be such sum as shall
be sufficient to meet the following classes of expenses:
(1)
The amount expended annually by the Township in the
operation, maintenance, repair, alteration, inspection, depreciation
or other expense in relation to such sewers, sewerage system, pumping
stations or sewage treatment works.
(2)
Such annual amount as may be necessary to provide
for the amortization of the indebtedness incurred or of the nondebt
revenue bonds or other bonds issued by the Township in the construction
or acquisition of such sewer, sewerage system or sewage treatment
works, and interest thereon, in order that said improvement may become
self-liquidating, and such further sums as may be sufficient to pay
the amount agreed to be paid annually under the terms of any contract
with any authority or municipality furnishing sewage disposal or treatment
services to the Township.
(3)
Sufficient to establish a margin of safety of 10%.
C.
The Board of Commissioners finds as a fact that the
majority of properties of the Township which are connected to the
public sewers obtain water from the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company,
hereafter for convenience called Water Company, and further that the
Water Company had water meters installed in the majority of the said
properties. The Board of Commissioners therefore declares that the
fairest manner in which to apportion equitably the total sewer rental
or charge to be made is to base the charge for each property on the
amount of water used by each property connected to the sewers, in
proportion to any water used by customers of said water company who
are connected to the sewerage system. It is also determined that the
sewer rental or charge for any property should be based, so far as
practicable, on water actually consumed by said property during said
year, or a period of 12 months as near the end of the year as possible.
If such records are not available for a full twelve-month period,
such sewer rental charge shall be based on water consumption during
such of the months during the said twelve-month period as for which
records are available, divided by the number of full months during
which water was consumed, and multiplied by 12.
D.
The Secretary of Springfield Township shall secure from the Water Company statements of the total number of gallons of water used by each individual customer or property which is connected to the sewerage system for a period of 12 consecutive months as closely proximate in time to the end of the year 1974 as the records of the Water Company and their schedules of water meter readings will permit and hereafter, in the month of December 1975 and each December thereafter, secure from the Water Company statements of the total number of gallons of water used by each individual customer or property connected to the Township sewers for a period of 12 consecutive months as closely proximate in time to the end of the year as records of the Water Company and their schedules of water meter readings permit. Reasonable compensation shall be paid by the Township to the Water Company for the cost and expense incurred by the Water Company in supplying the Township with this information. Reasonable charges paid to the Water Company for such data shall be included as part of the total amount of the annual sewer rental, as per Subsection B hereof. If in any case the Water Company records disclose the number of gallons of water used for any property for less than a full period of 12 months, the Secretary is authorized to compute the water consumption of said property for a full period of 12 months based on the use for the partial period. In the period of occupancy of the property and prior to the development of a Water Company record of consumption, the Secretary/ Manager of the Township is authorized, in the alternative, to compute a charge from, and including, the month of occupancy until the next anticipated record is obtained from the Water Company for the water consumption at the flat rate of $10 per month projected to the anticipated receipt of the record.
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Ord. No. 1216; 12-30-1991 by Ord. No. 1256]
E.
Whenever a property upon which a sewer rental is hereby
imposed uses water from the Water Company or other source a significant
portion of which is not discharged into the sewerage system of the
Township, the quantity of water so used and not discharged into the
Township sewers shall be excluded in determining the sewer rental
of the said property, provided that the quantity of water so used
and not discharged into the Township sewers is measured by a meter
approved by the Sewer Committee and installed without cost to the
Township, and provided, further, that where, in the opinion of the
Sewer Committee, it is not practical to install a meter to continuously
determine the quantity of water not discharged into the Township sewers,
the Sewer Committee shall determine periodically, in such manner and
by such method as it shall prescribe, the percentage of water discharged
into the Township sewers, and the sewer rental for such property shall
be based on the amount so determined. Any dispute as to the estimated
amount shall be submitted to the Board of Commissioners whose decision
on the matter shall be final for the current year.
F.
Where a property uses water, all or part of which
is from a source or sources other than the Water Company's supply
system, there shall be a sewer rental separate from and in addition
to any sewer rental based on the use of water from the Water Company's
supply system. Such separate and additional sewer rental shall be
measured by the quantity of water from the source or sources other
than the Water Company's supply system which is discharged into the
Township sewers from said property. The owner of each property shall
install, without cost to the Township, an approved meter or meters
to measure the quantity of water received from other than the Water
Company's supply system and discharged into the Township's sewers.
The sewer rental based upon water received from other than the Water
Company's supply system shall be the same in amount as is required
to be paid by the owner of a metered property receiving the same quantity
of water from the Water Company's supply system. If the owner of said
property fails to install an approved meter or meters, the Sewer Committee
shall make and furnish an estimate of the amount of water from sources
other than the Water Company's supply system which is discharged into
the Township sewers from said property. Any dispute as to the estimated
amount shall be submitted to the Board of Commissioners, whose decision
on the matter shall be final for the current year.
G.
All sewer rental charges shall be a lien against the
property serviced by the sewer facilities of the Township until said
sewer rental charges, penalties, interest and costs are paid in full.
A penalty of 10% shall be added to all unpaid accounts after four
months from the date of the bill. Prior to January 1 of any year,
the Board of Commissioners may, by resolution, provide for a discount
to be allowed on all bills of the next ensuing year under such terms
as it deems in the best interest of the Township, but in no case shall
the discount be such that the anticipated revenue from sewer rentals
for the year will amount to less than 110% of the current obligations
to the various sewer authorities. In addition, any costs and/or attorney's
fees incurred by Springfield Township shall be added to the unpaid
rental fees along with all penalties as set forth above, and the aggregate
of the same shall be entered as a lien on the property served. The
Township Manager/Secretary or his designee may proceed with the collection
of such unpaid charges by an action in assumpsit or, at the election
of the Board of Commissioners, in any manner provided by law. Where
suit is brought for the recovery of such fees, penalties, interest
or costs, the person liable therefor shall, in addition, be liable
for the legal costs of collection.
[Amended 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 1146; 7-10-1990 by Ord. No. 1230]
H.
The foregoing directions as to the time in which to
procure information from the Water Company and other sources and of
the time to make out bills shall be considered directory and not mandatory,
and the failure to do one or some of them or all of said acts on time
shall not invalidate any bill rendered and shall not invalidate or
forgo the collection of any sewer rental or charge. This ordinance
when referring to sewers, sewerage system or sewage treatment works
is intended to mean sanitary sewers, sanitary sewerage system and
sanitary sewage treatment works and is not intended to include or
relate to surface water treatment.
I.
Amount of annual rental or charge; request for refund.
[Amended 12-8-1998 by Ord. No. 1349; 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 1458; 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 1471; 1-8-2013 by Ord. No. 1535]
(1)
That for the year 2022, and annually thereafter, unless otherwise
determined, the owner of any property located in the Township of Springfield,
and/or served by the sewer system of the Township, shall pay to the
Township of Springfield an annual rental, or charge, for the use of
the said sewer or sewer system equal to $10.70 per 1,000 gallons of
water consumed, said amount being determined and declared necessary
to produce revenue sufficient to meet the requirements hereinbefore
set forth. Notwithstanding the provisions of the chapter as to billing
for sewer rentals, all property owners connected to the sewer system
in the Township shall pay a minimum rental of $25 per year.
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Ord. No. 1553; 1-12-2016 by Ord. No. 1567; 1-14-2020 by Ord. No. 1606; 12-15-2020 by Ord. No. 1613; 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 1616]
(2)
The owner of a residential building or tenant obligated by the lease
agreement to pay the sewer assessment is eligible for a sewer assessment
rebate of $25, provided the following conditions are met:
J.
In all cases in which the above rates are not exactly
applicable, the Sewer Committee shall fix an applicable rate with
the same force and effect as if set out herein.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the
Board of Commissioners to provide all necessary books, records, bills
and other forms and stationery and to keep a proper record of all
assessments, charges, service rates and rentals and all payments hereunder,
whether collectible by the Treasurer or the Solicitor or otherwise.
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer and Solicitor to notify the
Secretary monthly of all payments received.
The Board of Commissioners may, at its discretion,
upon application in a form prescribed by the Sewer Committee, supervise
the construction of any proposed extensions of said system of sewers
to be built at the expense of any owner of private property and may
take over the same when completed, and all such extensions when accepted
and taken over shall become part of said system of sewers and shall
thereafter be subject to the provisions hereof with regard to connections,
service rentals, etc.
[Added 5-8-2001 by Ord. No. 1379]
A.
There is hereby imposed upon each owner of property
connecting to the sanitary sewer system a tapping or connection charge
of $1,000 per E.D.U. (equivalent dwelling unit). Connections are to
be made by a lateral of the sewer system at the curbline or property
line.
B.
For purposes of determining the number of E.D.U.s
(equivalent dwelling unit), the following classifications are created:
|
User Classification
|
Number of E.D.U.
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Single-family dwelling
|
1.0
| |
|
Apartment house (per unit)
|
0.75
| |
|
Fire house/municipal building
|
1.0
| |
|
Church
|
1.0
| |
|
Hospital, nursing home, assisted care facility
or similar institutions based upon the projected daily average number
of patients or residents. Permanent employees and other personnel
shall be classified as patients for E.D.U. determination.
|
0.36 per patient
| |
|
Mobile homes
|
5.4 per unit
| |
|
Retail gas station without car washing facilities
|
1.4
| |
|
Retail gas station with automatic car washing
facilities
|
4.0
| |
|
Self-service laundry
|
1.14 per machine
| |
|
Factories or commercial establishments not dispensing
food or beverage for consumption on the premises.
|
0.10 per employee, plus 1.0 for each restroom
| |
|
Each restaurant, tavern or other commercial
establishment which dispenses food or beverage for on-site consumption
|
0.10 per employee, plus 1.0 for the first 10
seats, plus 0.10 for each seat over 10 intended for customer use
| |
|
Offices
|
0.04 per employee, plus 1.0 for each restroom
| |
|
Retail stores
|
0.10 per employee, plus 1.286 for each public
restroom
| |
|
Schools
|
Based upon the daily average number of pupils
enrolled on days when school will be in session during the full school
year. Teachers and employees shall be classified as pupils for E.D.U.
determination, .04 per pupil
| |
|
Multiple use
|
In the case when a combination of one or more
private dwellings or living units with one or more commercial establishments
in one building and each having the use of the Township sanitary sewer
system through one sewer connection, each such private dwelling or
living unit and each such commercial establishment shall be charged
the foregoing rates, as though each were in a separate structure and
as though each had a direct separate connection to the Township Sanitary
Sewer System.
|
C.
In the event of a change in user classification of
a commercial establishment where an increase in water consumption
is projected, the new tenant will be responsible for the payment of
a sewer tapping fee based on the net increase in E.D.U.'s.
D.
The tapping fee or connection charge shall be payable
upon application for permit to make such connection.
[Added 5-8-2001 by Ord. No. 1379]
If any of the provisions, sections, sentences,
clauses or parts of this chapter or the application of the provisions
hereof shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining portions of this chapter, it being the
intention of the Board of Commissioners that such remainder shall
be and remain in full force and effect.
