[Ord. 97-9, 9/11/1997, § 1; as amended by Ord. 2007-04, 11/8/2007]
A schedule of attorney fees to be assessed, imposed and collected in actions involving collection of municipal claims, reflecting consideration of those factors enumerated in 53 P.S. § 7106(a.1) as amended by Act 1 of 1996, is hereby established, as follows:
A. 
No attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed or collected by Allen Township in connection with the preparation, filing or satisfaction of municipal liens which involve no contested or litigated proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction;
B. 
In actions under the general municipal law, including 53 P.S. § 7187 as amended by Act 1 of 1996, for the collection of municipal claims and liens under civil proceedings or a scire facias sur municipal lien proceeding, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected as follows:
(1) 
In an action brought by the Township seeking judgment upon a lien in which no affidavit of defense is filed by the property owner or otherwise and judgment is obtained without contested proceedings, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly rate to be established, from time to time, by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all legal services performed, fees in an uncontested proceeding and execution action not to exceed an amount to be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, this maximum based upon services involved therein;
(2) 
In a civil or scire facias sur municipal lien proceeding brought by a property owner or party other than the Township in which the property owner or other party asserts a defense to the Township's lien or otherwise challenges or seeks to avoid collection of a municipal claim by the Township, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly rate to be established, from time to time, by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all legal services performed on behalf of the Township in said proceeding;
(3) 
In a civil or scire facias sur municipal lien proceeding brought by the Township in which the property owner or other party asserts a defense to the Township's lien or otherwise challenges or seeks to avoid collection of a municipal claim by the Township, attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly rate to be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all services rendered for the Township in said proceeding;
(4) 
In any proceeding at law or in equity brought by a property owner or other third party against the Township seeking to enjoin or avoid a liability to the Township or any of its departments which by law constitutes a municipal lien under 53 P.S. § 7102, et seq., attorney fees shall be assessed, imposed and collected at an hourly rate to be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for all legal services performed on behalf of the Township in said proceeding;
(5) 
Attorney fees under this schedule shall be assessed and imposed for all legal services provided to and on behalf of the Township in all of the above proceedings in any court, and shall continue to be earned, assessed imposed as to all legal services provided for and on behalf of the Township in any appeal filed by the other party which results in a verdict, award or other resolution more favorable to the Township than that claimed by the property owner or other party to be due;
(6) 
This schedule is not intended to establish any duplication in recovery of attorney's fees and reflects a consideration of the time and nature of legal services involved, the skill requisite to properly represent the Township and an hourly rate for services lower than that customarily charged by members of the local bar but which is commensurate with rates paid by the Township for services. In that the Township does not institute scire facias sur municipal liens unless the delinquent sum warrants such an action and the services involved in proceedings to obtain judgment and execution are mandated by statute and rules of procedure without regard to the amount in controversy, the Board of Supervisors finds that the contingency or certainty of compensation is irrelevant to determining a proper fee.
[Ord. 97-9, 9/11/1997, § 2; as amended by Ord. 2007-04, 11/8/2007]
Where in actions of scire facias sur municipal lien, execution upon judgments or otherwise applicable rules of civil procedure require that all sums sought by the Township be set forth with particularity, sums assessed with regard to collection of municipal claims as attorney fees shall be stated in an amount to be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors in accordance with § 1-601(B)(1) of this Part, subject and without prejudice to an increase in said attorney fees in the event of contested proceedings subject to § 1-601(B)(2)-(5) of this Part. In all taxes and prior to actual collection of sums for attorney fees, the Township Solicitor or other attorney retained to represent the Township in such matter shall prepare and file with the Township Secretary and the court having jurisdiction over the matter a verified certification which shall describe the services performed, state the time devoted to representation of the Township in the matter and the fees due at the specified approved hourly rate therefore. Upon filing of such certification, the Township by its counsel in the matter shall file in the court having jurisdiction over the matter such documents as may be required to establish the specific sum due for attorney fees, which sum shall be prima facie evidence of the facts averred therein, constitute a lien upon the subject property as provided in amended 53 P.S. § 7106(a) and be subject to collection together with the municipal claim and other charges, expenses and fees incurred as a result of nonpayment thereof.