[Adopted 11-4-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-5]
This article is adopted pursuant to Section 2003 of the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 67003. The purpose of this article is to establish a scheme for the imposition and collection of a uniform annual assessment upon Township properties benefited by public lighting.
A. 
Beginning in the year 2025 and continuing for each year thereafter unless modified by an ordinance of the Board of Supervisors, a uniform annual assessment shall be imposed upon each property located wholly or partially within the Township if any portion of any property boundary line of such property is located within 250 feet of a streetlight operated and paid for by the Township.
B. 
Each property subject to assessment pursuant to Subsection A, above, shall only be issued one annual assessment, regardless of the number of Township streetlights located within 250 feet of the property's boundary lines.
C. 
The annual assessment described herein shall be uniform upon each property regardless of its size, length, shape, assessed value, market value, or amount of frontage.
D. 
The annual assessment described herein will be imposed regardless of whether:
(1) 
The use of the property is private, public, or charitable;
(2) 
The property is partially or completely exempted from county, school district, or Township real estate tax; and/or
(3) 
The property is improved or vacant land.
E. 
The rate of the assessment described herein shall be as set forth in the Township's duly adopted fee schedule, as the same may be amended from time to time.
A. 
The assessment described herein shall be collected by the Township's Tax Collector in accordance with Section 3301 of the Second Class Township Code, as amended, 53 P.S. § 68301.
B. 
Annually, the Township shall file with the Township Tax Collector a roster of properties subject to the assessment, in accordance with Section 3301 of the Second Class Township Code, as amended, 53 P.S. § 68301.
C. 
The assessment shall be issued to property owners on such property owners' annual real estate bill for general purposes.
D. 
Following the installation of any new streetlight by the Township, the Township shall file with the Township's Tax Collector a list of properties which were not previously subject to an assessment hereunder, but which have become subject to an assessment by virtue of such streetlight installation. The Tax Collector shall thereafter issue to the owner of such properties an interim bill for the assessment in accordance with Section 3301 of the Second Class Township Code, as amended, 53 P.S. § 68301.
E. 
In accordance with Section 3301 of the Second Class Township, as amended, 53 P.S. § 68301, if an assessment issued pursuant to this article remains unpaid for 90 days after the due date, it shall be turned over to the Township Solicitor for collection by means of an action in assumpsit for recovery or a municipal lien filed against the property of the delinquent owner for the amount of the unpaid assessment, plus interest at a rate of 10% per annum from the date the assessment was due.
F. 
The Tax Collector is authorized to collect the same commission for the collection of the assessments described herein as for the collection of the general Township tax.
G. 
The assessment described herein, when collected, shall be paid over to the Township Treasurer, who shall deposit and keep same in a separate account, to be paid out only for expenses incurred in providing public lighting.
A. 
A property owner issued an assessment pursuant to this article may appeal the imposition of such assessment to the Township's Board of Supervisors by submitting a written request for a public hearing to the Township within 21 days of the property's owner receipt of the tax bill containing such assessment. A copy of the tax bill must be included with the written request for a hearing.
B. 
The Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing on the property owner's appeal within 45 days of the Township's receipt of the property's owner written request for a hearing. Such hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Local Agency Law, as amended, 2 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 551-555, 751-754.
C. 
The Board of Supervisors' standard of review in making a determination on a property owner's appeal pursuant to this section shall be limited to making a factual determination as to whether any portion of any property boundary line of the property is located within 250 feet of a streetlight operated and paid for by the Township. If so, then the Board of Supervisors shall deny the appeal. Otherwise, the appeal shall be granted.
D. 
Upon receipt of a petition as described in Subsection A, above, the Board of Supervisors shall immediately notify the Tax Collector. If an appeal taken pursuant to this section is unsuccessful, then the Tax Collector shall delay the due date for the assessment by a number of days equal to the number of days that elapsed between the date of the Township's receipt of the property owner's written request for a hearing and the date of mailing of the Board of Supervisors' decision with respect to the assessment.
E. 
If an appeal is granted pursuant to this section, the Township shall immediately notify the Township Tax Collector who shall immediately thereafter rescind the assessment or otherwise notify the property owner that they are not liable for the assessment.
If any provision, sentence, clause, section, or part of this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections, or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the Board of Supervisors that the article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid provision, sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included herein.
All previous ordinances of the Township providing for the imposition of an assessment for the benefit of public lighting, if any, insofar as they are inconsistent with this article, are hereby repealed.