TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE BOROUGH OF CONSHOHOCKEN:
NOTICE is hereby given that the Borough Council of the Borough of Conshohocken, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, will consider adoption of the following ordinance at its public meeting on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 7:00 PM to be held at Borough Hall, 400 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, PA 19428. The ordinance under consideration is as follows:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF CONSHOHOCKEN, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 24 TAXATION OF THE BOROUGH’S CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING A NEW PART 11 EFFECT OF FAILURE TO RECEIVE REAL ESTATE TAX NOTICE PURSUANT TO ACT 57 OF 2022; REPEALING PRIOR INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES AND PARTS OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND CONTAINING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Borough Code, the following is a brief summary of the proposed ordinance:
The ordinance amends Chapter 24 Taxation of the Borough’s Code of Ordinances pursuant to Act 57 of 2022, which requires tax collectors to waive certain “additional charges” in certain circumstances where a taxpayer does not receive the required real estate tax notice.
The ordinance first reaffirms the general rule under state law—that failure to receive a tax notice does not relieve a taxpayer of its obligation to pay taxes. The ordinance then creates a procedure whereby taxpayers can avoid paying “additional charges”, defined as “any interest, fee, penalty or charge” in excess of the face value of the tax, where: the taxpayer purchased their property (or manufactured or mobile home), i.e. ownership was transferred to taxpayer, in the last year or, in the case of a lease agreement for a manufactured or mobile home, the lease agreement commenced within the last year (these occurrences are referred to in the ordinance, and Act 57 of 2022, as “qualifying events”).
In order to qualify for waiver of additional charges, a taxpayer must meet all requirements of the ordinance, which mirror the requirements of Act 57 of 2022, specifically: (1) providing a waiver request to the tax collector within twelve months of a “qualifying event” (e.g. 12 months of the date of transfer of ownership); (2) attesting that the tax notice was not received; (3) providing proof of the date of the qualifying event; and (4) paying the face value amount of the tax notice with the waiver request. The ordinance contains other provisions effectuating the requirements of Act 57 of 2022. This waiver program applies to the first tax year after the effective date of Act 57 of 2022.
The ordinance contains a severability clause, repeals prior inconsistent ordinances or parts of ordinances, and contains an effective date.
A copy of the ordinance under consideration can be found on the Borough’s website at www.conshohockenpa.gov, or may be obtained by calling the Borough’s offices at 610-828-1092 or by e-mailing brogers@conshohockenpa.gov, or in person at the offices of Conshohocken Borough, 400 Fayette Street, Suite 200, Conshohocken, PA 19428 during normal business hours. Copies of the ordinance will be provided free of charge by. Copies of the ordinances have also been provided to the newspaper in which this notice is published.
