[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Kidder as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-9-2006 by Ord. No. 129]
The article shall be known as the "Municipal Claim and Municipal Lien
Charges, Expenses, Fees, Penalty, Interest, Attorney Fees and Commissions
Ordinance."
All sums paid or incurred by the Township to file, preserve and collect
unpaid claims, including but not limited to prothonotary and sheriff fees,
postage expenses, title search expenses, fees for non-sheriff's service
of process, investigation of the whereabouts of interested parties and other
necessary expenses shall constitute reimbursable charges, expenses and fees
and shall be charges to and become a part of the amount of each delinquent
claim.
To reimburse the Township for the recordkeeping and time incurred with
regard to the collection of delinquent claims, the Township hereby adopts
and approves a ten-percent penalty to be charged to and become a part of the
amount of each delinquent claim. Servicing of claims may result in voluntary
payment without the initiation of enforcement proceedings. It is the intent
of this article to pass the cost of servicing on to the delinquent person
or property as part of each claim. The recovery of the penalty established
herein shall not be contingent upon the initiation of active collection efforts.
However, such penalty is due even when active collection efforts are initiated.
The purpose of this section is to pass the cost and expense associated with
servicing delinquent claims on to the delinquent person or property and to
make the Township whole on all delinquent claims collected.
Interest at a rate of 10% shall be collectible on all claims from the
date that a claim is filed as a lien.
A.
All claims that are filed as a lien by the Township,
but that do not require "active collection efforts," as hereinafter defined,
by the Township Solicitor for collection, shall have charged to and shall
become a part of the amount of the claim the following approved attorney fees
that are determined to be reasonable:
(1)
For municipal claims and liens, an amount equal to one
hour of the Solicitor's standard hourly rate for the cost of the Township's
Solicitor to file the claim as a lien and an amount equal to one hour of the
Solicitor's standard hourly rate for the cost of the Township's
Solicitor to satisfy the municipal claim as a lien.
B.
In addition to attorney fees charged and collected pursuant to Subsection A above, for all claims that involve active collection efforts, as hereinafter defined by the Township Solicitor, in addition to the filing of a claim as a lien the Township hereby adopts and approves the Solicitor's hourly rate as a reasonable fee pursuant to Act 1 and Act 20. All such fees charged by the Solicitor to collect a claim shall be charged to and become a part of the claim being collected. Active collection efforts shall mean all efforts by the Solicitor to collect delinquent claims, other than the filing and satisfying of liens. Active collection efforts shall include, but not be limited to, initiating and pursuing legal proceedings in assumpsit or a writ of scire facias negotiating and documenting payment plans, filing claims with the Sheriff's office for properties being sold by other parties, filing proof of claim forms in bankruptcy proceedings, and participating in and pursuing the collection of claims in bankruptcy proceedings.
All charges, expenses, fees and commissions agreed to be paid by the
Township by contract to a third-party collector for delinquent claims shall
be charged to and become a part of the amount of each delinquent claim collected.
All charges, expenses, fees and commissions agreed to be paid by the Township
by contract to a third-party collector for current claims shall be paid by
the Township.
Partial payments received by or on behalf of the Township shall be applied
to an outstanding claim in the following order:
A.
First, to current claim amounts due;
B.
Second, to the commissions to be paid to third-party
collectors for delinquent claim amounts;
C.
Third, to the unpaid interest owed on liened claims;
and
D.
Fourth, to the unpaid balance of a delinquent claim (which
shall include the face or principal amount of the delinquent claim plus all
charges, expenses and fees, penalty and attorney fees).
