[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of West Manheim 12-19-2017 by Ord. No. 2-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township hereby declares its intention and reasonable expectation to seek reimbursement via assessment from the owners of any properties receiving the benefit of fire hydrant services ("benefitted properties"). "Benefitted properties" is defined as all real estate abutting upon highways, streets, roads, alleys or portions thereof, within 780 feet of any public fire hydrant that is not farmland or an airport which is privately owned and which is not open or intended to be open to the public. Vacant lots between built-up sections, whether tilled or not tilled, shall not be deemed to be farmland under this chapter.
A. 
The amount of the assessment imposed hereby shall be based upon a uniform annual assessment upon each benefitted property which has been determined as an equitable means of assessment by the Township Board of Supervisors.
B. 
The formula for the imposed assessment shall be as follows: the total amount charged by the local water company plus an administration and collection fee divided by the number of benefitted properties. The assessment shall be set forth by resolution as adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
C. 
All assessments will be due by June 30 in the respective calendar year of assessment.
D. 
A 10% late fee will be added to the assessment for payments received after that date.
E. 
Every person subject to the assessment imposed who fails to make payment of the whole amount thereof and any applicable late fee by the end of the calendar year shall be subject to interest thereafter on the unpaid amount at a rate of 1.5% per month, or fraction of part of a month, computed upon the amount of the assessment due until the date of payment thereof.
F. 
After January 15 of the following calendar year, unpaid prior year assessments and any additional fees due thereon will be turned over to the District Magistrate for enforcement in accordance with § 138-5 and submitted to the solicitor for filing a municipal lien.
The Board of Supervisors hereby authorizes the Township Tax Collector to prepare billing statements for the assessment and collect the same from all benefitted properties. The Township Secretary will provide the Township Tax Collector with a list of the benefitted properties by February 15 of each calendar year so billing statements can be prepared and mailed with the calendar year municipal tax billings.
The Township Engineer shall prepare a summary of the benefitted properties within the Township. The original and all updated summaries shall be completed in accordance with the timing proscribed in § 138-3 herein. The Board of Supervisors may authorize updated summaries of the same on an annual basis which updated summaries shall be approved by official vote of the Board.
A. 
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution and restitution including but not limited to payment of the assessment, late fees, interest, attorney fees and costs of collection proceedings. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense,
B. 
Any assessment, late fee, interest, or other charge assessed or permitted to be charged to the property owner under this chapter may be placed as a lien against the property if payment in full is not made by the end of the calendar year in which such charge is imposed.
This chapter shall take effect immediately. All prior ordinances and/or portions thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phase of this chapter is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. West Manheim Township hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter without the sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases declared to be unconstitutional.