[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Directors of the Valley Forge Sewer Authority: Art. I, 9-4-1975; Art. II, 11-14-1983. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-4-1975]
The Authority hereby approves the report and plan of the consulting engineers and authorizes the construction of the sewer facilities in and for the townships[1] in accordance with the plans, drawings and specifications prepared by the consulting engineers in the streets, alleys, roads and rights-of-way as therein set forth.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Townships of Charlestown, East Pikeland and Schuylkill.
The Authority hereby undertakes and directs that certain of the costs of the construction of the sewer facilities in the townships are hereby charged and assessed against the properties abutting or fronting thereupon or adjacent thereto and benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, in accordance with the foot-front rule, at the rate of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) per foot front, which is hereby declared and determined to be less than the assessable cost per foot front of the sewer facilities to be so constructed. When in the opinion of the Authority an assessment by the foot-front rule cannot properly be made against, or would not adequately measure the benefit of the sewer facilities to any property, the cost of construction may, in the discretion of the Authority, be assessed against such property according to the extent of benefits, as determined under Paragraph (r), Subdivision B of Section 4 of the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, P.L. 382, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 306B(r).
Assessments under the foot-front rule shall be made in the following manner:
A. 
Whenever the construction of the sanitary sewer or sewers has been completed which shall abut upon, front upon or are adjacent to a particular property or group of properties benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, and has been approved for assessment purposes by the consulting engineers (which term shall mean and include any successor consulting engineers duly appointed by the Authority), the consulting engineers shall file with the Authority a statement or statements certifying that the sanitary sewer or sewers has or have been completed and approved by them for assessment purposes, stating the date of such completion and describing such sewer or sewers in reasonable detail.
B. 
Upon receipt by the Authority of any certificate or certificates of the consulting engineers, as provided for in Subsection A above, the Authority shall examine the same and shall determine the property or properties abutting upon or accessible to such sewer or sewers which are benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, and shall determine the amount or amounts of the proposed assessment or assessments, computed in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and shall determine the name or names of the owner or owners of such property or properties. Thereupon, the consulting engineers shall certify to the Authority that the proposed assessment or assessments, together with all assessments theretofore made by the Authority under the provisions hereof and together with the estimated amount of all assessments thereafter to be made under the provisions hereof, will not exceed the respective estimated costs heretofore approved by the townships or the actual cost of construction. After making such determination, or adjustments thereof, if required and after receiving the certificate of the consulting engineers as provided for in this Subsection B, the Authority shall direct the preparation of proper assessment bills, describing the properties benefited, improved or accommodated by the sewer facilities, naming the owner or owners of such properties and setting forth the amount charged against the properties.
C. 
The assessment bills so prepared shall be dated and signed on behalf of the Authority by its Chairman or Vice Chairman or such other agent as the Authority shall, by resolution (a certified copy of which shall be furnished to the Trustee under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), duly appoint and shall be collected from the owner or owners of each of the properties against which such assessments are charged and assessed hereby.
D. 
A schedule of all assessments shall be kept by the Secretary of the Authority and filed with the Trustee under the Trust Indenture between such Trustee and the Authority, dated as of October 15, 1971, and the Indenture supplemental thereto dated as of September 1, 1975 (hereinafter the "Indenture"), and a duplicate copy thereof shall be filed with the Treasurer of the Authority. The Secretary of the Authority may also cause a brief notice to be inserted in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the townships that assessment bills have been prepared and will forthwith be served upon the property owners subject to assessment in the townships.
E. 
Within thirty (30) days after the filing with the Authority of the certificate or certificates provided for in Subsection A above, the assessment bills, so dated and executed, shall be served by the Authority or its employees and/or agents upon the owner or owners of such properties, either personally or by leaving the same with an adult member of the family with whom the owner or owners reside. If the owner or owners of such properties have no residence or cannot be found in the townships, then the assessment bill shall be posted upon the assessed property or a copy thereof left with the occupant, if there be one, and shall further be mailed by registered or certified United States Mail to the owner or owners or his or her agent or attorney at his or their last known address.
A. 
Where any property shall be situate at the intersection of or is otherwise abutting upon, adjacent to or fronting on more than one (1) street, road or other highway used by the public in which sewer lines shall be constructed, which sewer lines shall therefore abut upon, front upon or be adjacent to more than one (1) side of such property, the owner or owners of such assessable property shall be assessed for the full frontage of one (1) [if unequal in length, then the shortest] side of such property, which shall be designated as the front thereof, and shall in addition thereto be assessed for only such part of each other side, so adjacent to or abutting or fronting upon such sewers, which exceeds one hundred (100) feet.
B. 
It is the intention of this Article that equitable assessments be made against the assessable properties benefited, improved or accommodated by the sewer facilities according to the foot-front rule or according to benefits, and the Authority reserves the right to make any other adjustments in such assessments as may be necessary to carry out such intention.
All such assessments, whether by the front foot or by benefits, shall be payable forthwith to the Treasurer of the Authority who shall pay or cause to be paid over to the Trustee under the Indenture on the business day next succeeding the collection or receipt thereof all revenues received therefrom, together with the interest and penalties, if any, paid thereon, but less than any proper cost, including legal fees, accompanied by a statement showing the amounts collected. Until so paid over, all such revenues shall be segregated separate from any funds of the Authority not relating to the sewer facilities and shall be held in trust for the purposes of the Indenture above referred to. The Trustee shall, upon receipt thereof, deposit all such revenues as shall be provided in the Indenture.
A. 
If any owner or owners, against which such an assessment shall have been made, refuse or neglect to pay such assessment within sixty (60) days after service thereof shall have been made in the manner set forth in § 134-3E hereof, the Authority shall forthwith cause to be filed a municipal claim or lien therefor, which shall include interest thereof at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of completion of the work. A penalty of five percent (5%) shall be added to any assessments not paid within ninety (90) days after service thereof, unless such owner or owners have been granted the privilege of paying such assessments in installments as provided by § 134-7 hereof, and the interest as aforesaid shall be computed on the total thereof. The Treasurer of the Authority shall certify to the Authority Solicitor all such unpaid assessments, and the Authority Solicitor shall file municipal claims therefor in the proper office of Chester County, as provided by law, against the property or properties upon which such assessments shall have been made. The Authority Solicitor shall thereupon proceed to collect the same under the general law relating to the collection of municipal claims, including, if so directed by the Authority, the filing of suits in assumpsit, unless the owner or owners shall have been granted the privilege of paying such assessment or assessments in installments as provided in § 134-7 hereof and is currently not in default in such installment payments. All such municipal claims shall be filed not later than the last day permitted by law for the filing of such municipal claims. The certificates of the consulting engineers filed with the Authority pursuant to § 134-3A shall be conclusive as to times of the completion as therein set forth.
B. 
In case of default in the payment of any assessment fee, the entire balance of the assessment fee plus a penalty of five percent (5%) on such balance and accrued interest on the total thereof is due and payable. The unpaid principal shall bear interest at the rate hereinafter set forth and shall be calculated as set forth in §§ 134-6 and 134-7 as originally adopted. The interest rate on principal remaining unpaid after January 1, 1982, shall bear interest at a rate of ten percent (10%) per annum until paid.
[Added 12-10-1981]
A. 
Any owner or owners of property against whom and against which assessments have been made as above provided shall have the privilege, upon written request in the form prepared by the Authority and filed with the Secretary of the Authority within thirty (30) days after service of the assessment bill has been made as provided in § 134-3E hereof and upon payment of not less than one-fifth (1/5) of the amount of the assessment plus lien costs against the property, of paying the balance of such assessment, plus lien and satisfaction costs, in equal annual or semiannual installments within the next following four (4) years, and the unpaid installments shall bear interest at the rate of six percent (6%) from the date of completion of the work; provided, however, that the granting of such privilege of paying the assessment in installments shall not relieve the Authority of the duty of filing a lien or municipal claim for every assessment not paid in full within sixty (60) days of such service of the assessment bill.
B. 
In case of default in the payment of any assessment fee, the entire balance of the assessment fee plus a penalty of five percent (5%) on such balance and accrued interest on the total thereof is due and payable. The unpaid principal shall bear interest at the rate hereinafter set forth and shall be calculated as set forth in §§ 134-6 and 134-7 as originally adopted. The interest rate on principal remaining unpaid after January 1, 1982, shall bear interest at a rate of ten percent (10%) per annum until paid. It shall be the duty of the Authority Treasurer when any such default shall occur to notify the Authority Solicitor thereof promptly, and the Authority Solicitor shall thereupon proceed to collect the same under the general law relating to the collection of municipal claims, including, if so directed by the Authority, the filing of suits in assumpsit.
C. 
Any such owner who has been granted the privilege of paying such assessment in installments as provided in this section may pay the balance remaining due in full at any time, with interest thereon to the next installment payment date, together with the costs of filing and satisfying the lien, and such payment shall discharge the lien or claim against such owner and such property.
The proper officers of the Authority are hereby authorized and directed to do all matters and things required to be done by the Acts of Assembly and by this Article for the purpose of carrying out the purposes hereof.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 134-6 hereof, the Authority may make settlements with property owners as to the amount of their assessments, if the Authority receives an opinion of the Authority Solicitor to the effect that a failure to make such settlement may endanger the possibility of making recovery of such assessment from such property owners or to the effect that a failure to make such settlement would not be in the best interest of the Authority, and stating the reason or reasons therefor.
[Adopted 11-14-1983]
The Authority hereby again approves the plan and again authorizes the construction of the sewer facilities in and for the township[1] in accordance with the plans, drawings and specifications.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Township of Schuylkill.
The Authority hereby undertakes and directs that certain of the costs of the construction of the sewer facilities in the township are hereby charged and assessed against the properties abutting or fronting thereupon or adjacent thereto and benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, in accordance with the front-foot rule, at the rate of seventeen dollars ($17.) per front foot, which is hereby declared and determined to be less than the assessable cost per front foot of the sewer facilities to be so constructed. When in the opinion of the Authority an assessment by the front-foot rule cannot properly be made against or would not adequately measure the benefit of the sewer facilities to any property, the cost of construction may, in the discretion of the Authority, be assessed against such property according to the extent of benefits, as determined under Paragraph (r), Subdivision B of Section 4 of the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, P.L. 382, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 306B(r).
Assessments under the front-foot rule shall be made in the following manner:
A. 
Whenever the construction of the sanitary sewer or sewers has been completed which shall abut upon, front upon or are adjacent to a particular property or group of properties benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, and has been approved for assessment purposes by Buchart-Horn (the "consulting engineers," which term shall mean and include any successor consulting engineers, duly appointed by the Authority), the consulting engineers shall file with the Authority a statement or statements certifying that the sanitary sewer or sewers has or have been completed and approved by them for assessment purposes, stating the date of such completion and describing such sewer or sewers in reasonable detail.
B. 
Upon receipt by the Authority of any certificate or certificates of the consulting engineers, as provided for in Subsection A above, the Authority shall examine the same and shall determine the property or properties abutting upon or accessible to such sewer or sewers which are benefited, improved or accommodated thereby, and shall determine the amount or amounts of the proposed assessment or assessments, computed in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and shall determine the name or names of the owner or owners of such property or properties. Thereupon, the consulting engineers shall certify to the Authority that the proposed assessment or assessments, together with all assessments theretofore made by the Authority under the provisions hereof and together with the estimated amount of all assessments thereafter to be made under the provisions hereof, will not exceed the respective estimated costs heretofore approved by the township or the actual cost of construction. After making such determination, or adjustments thereof, if required and after receiving the certificate of the consulting engineers as provided for in this subsection, the Authority shall direct the preparation of proper assessment bills, describing the properties benefited, improved or accommodated by the sewer facilities, naming the owner or owners of such properties and setting forth the amount charged against the properties.
C. 
The assessment bills so prepared shall be dated and signed on behalf of the Authority by its Chairman or Vice Chairman or such other agent as the Authority shall by resolution duly appoint, and shall be collected from the owner or owners of each of the properties against which such assessments are charged and assessed hereby.
D. 
Within thirty (30) days after the filing with the Authority of the certificate or certificates provided for in Subsection A above, the assessment bills, so dated and executed, shall be served by the Authority or its employees and/or agents upon the owner or owners of such properties, either personally or by leaving the same with an adult member of the family with whom the owner or owners reside. If the owner or owners of such properties have no residence or cannot be found in the township, then the assessment bill shall be posted upon the assessed property or a copy thereof left with the occupant, if there be one, and shall further be mailed by registered or certified United States Mail to the owner or owners or his or her agent or attorney at his or their last known address.
A. 
Where any property shall be situate at the intersection of, or is otherwise abutting upon, adjacent to or fronting on more than one (1) street, road or other highway used by the public in which sewer lines shall be constructed, which sewer lines shall therefore abut upon, front upon or be adjacent to more than one (1) side of such property, the owner or owners of such assessable property shall be assessed for the full frontage of one (1) [if unequal in length, then the shortest] side of such property, which shall be designated as the front thereof, and shall in addition thereto be assessed for only such part of each other side, so adjacent to or abutting or fronting upon such sewers, which exceeds one hundred (100) feet.
B. 
It is the intention of this Article that equitable assessments be made against the assessable properties benefited, improved or accommodated by the sewer facilities according to the front-foot rule or according to benefits, and the Authority reserves the right to make any other adjustments in such assessments as may be necessary to carry out such intention.
All such assessments whether by the front-foot rule or by benefits shall be payable forthwith to the Authority.
If any owner or owners, against which such an assessment shall have been made, refuse or neglect to pay such assessment within sixty (60) days after service thereof shall have been made in the manner set forth in § 134-12D hereof, the Authority shall forthwith cause to be filed a municipal claim or lien therefor, which shall include interest thereof at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from the date of completion of the work. A penalty of five percent (5%) shall be added to any assessments not paid within ninety (90) days after service thereof, and the interest as aforesaid shall be computed on the total thereof. The Treasurer of the Authority shall certify to the Authority Solicitor all such unpaid assessments, and the Authority Solicitor shall file municipal claims therefor in the proper office of Chester County, as provided by law, against the property or properties upon which such assessments shall have been made. The Authority Solicitor shall thereupon proceed to collect the same under the general law relating to the collection of municipal claims, including, if so directed by the Authority, the filing of suits in assumpsit. All such municipal claims shall be filed not later than the last day permitted by law for the filing of such municipal claims. The certificates of the consulting engineers filed with the Authority pursuant to § 134-12A shall be conclusive as to times of the completion as therein set forth.
A. 
Any owner or owners of property against whom and against which assessments have been made as above provided shall have the privilege, upon written request in the form prepared by the Authority and filed with the Secretary of the Authority within thirty (30) days after service of the assessment bill has been made as provided in § 134-12D hereof and upon payment of not less than one-fifth (1/5) of the amount of the assessment plus lien costs against the property, of paying the balance of such assessment, plus lien and satisfaction costs in equal annual or semiannual installments within the next following four (4) years and the unpaid installments shall bear interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) from the date of completion of the work; provided, however, that the granting of such privilege of paying the assessment in installments shall not relieve the Authority of the duty of filing a lien or municipal claim for every assessment not paid in full within sixty (60) days of such service of the assessment bill.
B. 
In case of default of any owner in the payment of any installment and interest as aforesaid for a period of sixty (60) days after it shall become due, the entire balance of the assessment plus a penalty of five percent (5%) on such balance and accrued interest on the total thereof shall become due and payable, and it shall be the duty of the Authority Treasurer, when any such default shall occur, to notify the Authority Solicitor thereof promptly, and the Authority Solicitor shall thereupon proceed to the same under the general law relating to the collection of municipal claims, including, if so directed by the Authority, the filing of suits in assumpsit.
C. 
Any such owner who has been granted the privilege of paying such assessment in installments as provided in this section may pay the balance remaining due in full at any time, with interest thereon to the next installment payment date, together with the costs of filing and satisfying the lien, and such payment shall discharge the lien.
The proper officers of the Authority are hereby authorized and directed to do all matters and things required to be done by the Acts of Assembly and by this Article for the purpose of carrying out the purposes hereof.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 134-19 hereof, the Authority may make settlements with property owners as to the amount of their assessments, if the Authority receives an opinion of the Authority Solicitor to the effect that a failure to make such settlement may endanger the possibility of making recovery of such assessment from such property owners or to the effect that a failure to make such settlement would not be in the best interest of the Authority, and stating the reason or reasons therefor.