This article shall be known as the "Delinquent
Tax and Municipal Claim Attorney Fees Ordinance."
[Amended 12-12-2006 by Ord. No. 1190;
at time of adoption of Code (see AO)]
1. A schedule of
attorneys' fees is hereby adopted and approved as reasonable attorneys'
fees to be imposed in connection with the collection of municipal
claims.
2. Each fee shall
be as recorded and charged in units of 1/10 of an hour for all time
devoted to enforcement and collection. Counsel, whether duly employed
or duly appointed by the Borough, shall not deviate from the current
fee schedule absent an ordinance amending the same.
The notice required by Section 1(a.3)(1) of
the Act, shall be provided in accordance therewith and shall be
incorporated into the first and all subsequent collection or delinquency
notices sent by the Borough of Homestead or its agent or counsel.
Fees shall accrue for all efforts in collection from and after the 30th day following the notice provided under §
1-703 of this article, on all accounts referred to counsel for enforcement. Fees accumulated as a result of enforced collection shall be certified by the Borough Solicitor or duly appointed counsel for the Borough of Homestead and, if not collected in due course with the debt as by voluntary agreement, shall be included in all claims (including liens) filed on behalf of the Borough of Homestead in the course of enforcement, including, if accrued before liening, any claim originally filed with the Prothonotary.
This article shall take effect on January 1,
1997, and shall apply to delinquent claims for the 1990 tax year and
thereafter, as permitted by law. However, in no event shall the Borough
of Homestead's right to charge and assess reasonable attorney fees
under Act 1 of 1996 be impaired by the fact that any claim may also include
any amounts of delinquent tax years prior to 1990.