[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Whitemarsh 1-3-1983 by Ord. No. 454. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Upon the petition of the owners of a majority of the linear-foot frontage
along any road, highway or portion thereof within the Township, the Township
Supervisors may enter into contracts with electric, gas or other lighting
companies to light and illuminate said roads and highways and other public
places with electric light, gaslight or other illuminant and charge all property
owners within the linear-front footage for reimbursement of their proportionate
share of the installation fee.
When streetlights are provided pursuant to such a petition of property
owners, the Township Supervisors may annually assess or cause to be assessed
the cost and expense of the maintenance of said lights, whether or not the
property is exempt from taxation by existing law, by an equal assessment on
all property in proportion to the number of feet the same fronts on the street
or highway or portion thereof to be lighted. The Supervisors may provide for
an equitable reduction from the frontage of lots at intersections or where,
from the peculiar or pointed shape of lots, an assessment of the full frontage
would be inequitable. No such assessment shall be made against any farmland,
but vacant lots between built-up sections, whether tilled or untilled, shall
not be deemed to be farmlands. The assessment per front foot against vacant
lots shall be only 25% of the assessment per front foot against property with
improvements thereon.
[Amended 2-14-1985 by Ord. No. 508; 3-19-1987
by Ord. No. 546]
All such assessments for streetlighting shall be filed with the Township
Finance Director, who shall give two months' written or printed notice
that the assessments are due and payable, stating the due date to each party
assessed, either by service on the owner of the property or by mailing such
notice to the owner at his last known post office address. If the whole amount
of the assessment is paid within two months after the date of the assessment
notice, there shall be a 2% discount on the amount of the assessment due.
A 10% per annum penalty, which shall become part of the tax due and included
in the base on which all other delinquent interest and penalties are calculated,
shall be added to the amount of the assessment not paid within four months
after the date of the notice of the assessment. If the assessments, or any
of them, remain unpaid at the expiration of four months from the date of the
assessment notice, they shall be placed in the hands of the Township Solicitor
for collection. The Solicitor shall collect the same, together with reasonable
attorney's fees, by a municipal claim filed against the property of the
delinquent owner in like manner as municipal claims are by law filed and collected.
Where an owner has two or more lots against which there is an assessment for
the same year, all such lots shall be embraced in one claim. All assessments,
when collected, shall be paid over to the Township Finance Director.
