[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of West Manchester 3-28-2019 by Ord. No. 19-03. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Tax Collector — See Ch. 36.
This chapter shall be known as the "Attorneys' Fees and
Lien Enforcement Collection Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to specifically authorize the
Township of West Manchester to collect, in addition to the amount
of any delinquent account, claim, charge, tax, assessment, levy, fee,
or obligation, reasonable attorneys' fees, charges, filing fees,
and expenses incurred by the Township in the collection of unpaid
claims assessments covered by the Pennsylvania Municipal Claims and
Tax Liens Law, 52 P.S. § 7101 et seq. It is further the
purpose of this chapter to set forth a schedule of attorneys'
fees, charges, filing fees, and expenses to be collected from a delinquent
property owner, which are deemed reasonable by the Supervisors of
West Manchester Township.
As used in this chapter, the following fees shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any fee, including an hourly rate, for professional service
related to the collection of delinquent claims, charges, taxes, assessments,
levies, or obligations, charged to the Township by an attorney, a
member of a law firm, or a paralegal, including, but not limited to,
the Township Solicitor.
Any sums due and owing to the Township which have not been
paid within the time required by the Township's ordinances, rules,
regulations, or policies, including, but not limited to, charges for
municipal trash collection; removal of nuisances; repair or replacement
of a sidewalk or curb; sewer fees; or any other amount or charge which
may lawfully be imposed by the Township and for which a municipal
claim may be filed.
Any amount of money charged by a court of competent jurisdiction
to file a document or pleading with such court.
A per-hour fee charged by an attorney, to include the Township
Solicitor, a law firm, or a paralegal, employed by the Township in
pursuit of collection of unpaid or delinquent accounts.
Any claim arising out of, or resulting from, a tax assessed,
service supplied, work done, or improvement authorized and undertaken
by the Township which the Township may pursue in accordance with the
Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act, 52 P.S. § 7101 et seq.
A.
The Township shall ensure the following requirements are met prior
to assessing or imposing attorneys' fees upon a delinquent account:
(1)
At least 30 calendar days prior to assessing or imposing attorneys'
fees in connection with the collection of a delinquent account, the
Township shall mail, or cause to be mailed, by certified mail, return
receipt requested, a notice of such intention to the property owner
or taxpayer liable for the account.
(2)
If, within 30 calendar days after mailing the notice in accordance with Subsection A(1) above, the certified mail to the property owner or taxpayer is refused or unclaimed, or the return receipt is not received, then in such event, a second notice shall be mailed, via first class mail, at least 10 calendar days prior to the assessing or imposing such attorneys' fees.
(3)
All notices required by this chapter shall be mailed to the delinquent
account owner's last known post office address, as recorded in
the records of the Township, or such other address as it may be reasonably
able to obtain from the County Office of Assessment and Revision of
Taxes.
(4)
Each notice, as described above, shall include the following:
(5)
The type and amount of tax or other charge owed and the date it became
due;
(a)
A statement of the Township's intent to impose or assess
attorneys' fees;
(b)
The manner in which such attorneys' fees may be avoided
by payment of the account, including the place of payment and the
name and telephone number of the Township official designated as responsible
for collection matters.
The Township hereby approves the fee schedule set forth as Exhibit
A of this chapter and deems the fees set forth to be reasonable. The
fee schedule attached as Exhibit A to this chapter may be amended
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, as deemed
appropriate by the Board of Supervisors. The fees contained in Exhibit
A shall serve to compensate the Township Solicitor or any other attorney
employed by the Township for collection of unpaid claims, which fees
shall be added to the unpaid claim.
All delinquent accounts which may be subject to lien pursuant
to the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act, the Second Class Township
Code, or any other statute, rule, regulation, or authority which shall
permit the filing of liens or collection of municipal claims and obligations,
shall be subject to interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the
date of the filing of the municipal lien.
If any provisions of this chapter should conflict with provisions
of Pennsylvania state law, the state law shall prevail.
