Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Lower Southampton recoups more than $6K in lost fees, but more owed

Posted Aug. 13, 2019
Lower Southampton has recouped more than $6,000 of an estimated $65,000 to $75,000 in lost revenue from zoning and land development fees it undercharged applicants over five years, but it remains unclear if the township plans to continue seeking reimbursement from more applicants whose projects remain open.
Lower Southampton received checks for $2,700 and $3,500 from developers Frank DiSandro and County Builders respectively after the township notified them of underpayments of application fees for their respective projects earlier this year, according to documents obtained through Right to Know requests.
But those township records suggest the two developers may still owe money.
The township did not seek reimbursement of $2,500 in underpaid application fees from DiSandro for a 2013 sketch plan review application for his three-lot subdivision project in the 1800 block of Buck Road, which is still considered active, township records show. County Builders also reimbursed the township only half of the $7,000 in undercharged 2015 application fees for its 48-townhouse Brickyard development in the 500 block of Street Road.
This news organization also identified at least four other developers who were charged incorrect application fees related to currently active projects and owe a combined $9,280.
It is unclear if the township has made any reimbursement efforts on those additional applicants. Payment requests for Toner Homes, Pike Road LLC, Citadel Bank, and St. George Georgian Orthodox Church were not among the documents received as part of Right to Know requests in April and July seeking copies of notices sent to applicants for underpaid application fees.
Lower Southampton officials have been tight-lipped about efforts to recoup the lost fee revenue. Township Manager Joe Galdo and Zoning Officer William Oettinger have not responded to multiple email asking about efforts.
Chairman Ray Weldie said at a March board meeting that the supervisors authorized the township solicitor to review each case involving alleged undercharged fees and the likelihood for reimbursement. The solicitor was also authorized to send collection notices to developers with active projects to recoup revenue losses.
The decision to seek possible reimbursement followed an internal review of fees charged for 56 zoning and land development projects between 2012 and 2017 that found discrepancies between what the zoning department charged some applicant and what the township fee schedule required totaling an estimated $75,845 in lost revenue.
The township review was prompted by a 2018 investigation this news organization conducted that reviewed 134 zoning and land development projects during the same five-year time period and estimated that the township lost at least $60,450 in revenue as a result of wrongly charged application fees.
This news organization’s ongoing investigation has found no records explaining why incorrect fees were charged. Only supervisors are authorized to change or waive fees in the fee schedule, and they must act at a public meeting. No records of such votes place between 2012 and 2017 were found in zoning project files or township meeting minutes.
Township officials have not provided a detailed update on its efforts in billing and collecting the undercharged fees, though its solicitor Frank Dillon wrote in an email seeking an update that “all pending matters are being reviewed and billed for the correct fees.”
“Applicants who were charged a fee; paid the fee; had their matter closed and have been given a permit are not being further charged,” Dillon added.

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