There is hereby imposed and levied a streetlight assessment
against each and every property benefited in the Township. A property
that is benefitted is defined as a property which lies within one
or more of the following:
A. A streetlight district created by means of a streetlight petition,
as requested from the Township by a resident, and securing signatures
from all of the property owners within the stated boundaries in the
petition of the streetlight district of which 70% of the owner(s)
must be in favor of the streetlights.
B. A streetlight district created within the boundaries of a subdivision.
C. A streetlight district within the Township established by the Board
of Supervisors for the purpose of illuminating the highways, roads,
and other public places of the Township as may be appropriate and
in the best interest of the Township.
The calculation of each assessment is based on the location
or light district in which the property is located and the type of
light erected for which the assessment applies. The streetlight assessments
are billed annually on March 1 of every year. The levy and assessment
runs from March 1 of the current year to March 1 of the next year.
The light districts and their respective assessments for each
pole contained therein is set forth on Exhibit A, attached hereto
and incorporated herein by resolution each year.
The deadline or due date for each streetlight assessment is
June 30 of the respective year.
The streetlight assessment shall be sent to each benefited property
along with the real estate tax notices by the real estate Tax Collector.
Payments for streetlight assessments shall be collected by the
real estate Tax Collector until June 30 of each year, after which
the assessments are deemed delinquent and shall be collected and enforced
by authorized representatives of the Township.
Delinquent assessments shall be indexed as liens at the Erie
County Courthouse against the real estate benefited after the second
year of delinquency has accrued.
A penalty of 5% of the principal amount of the assessment shall
be added after the due date, June 30, and interest at the rate of
10% shall accrue from July 1 forward and be added to any delinquent
assessment.
In the event the Township seeks to enforce and collect its delinquent
streetlight assessments, a reasonable attorneys' fee of 25% of the
total amount due or not less than a minimum of $250, whichever is
greater, shall be recoverable.
This article supersedes any prior ordinance or resolution governing
the levy, assessment and collection of streetlight assessments.
Should any section of this article be deemed invalid, the remaining
portions of this article shall still be effective.
This article shall become effective January 1, 2013, and remain
effective yearly thereafter, with only the rate of assessment changing
from year to year, depending on costs, and with that rate change being
acknowledged and approved by resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors
at the reorganization meeting shortly after the first of each new
year.