[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.
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).