SUNBURY – In the Northumberland County Courthouse last Thursday, Senior Judge Dudley Anderson heard the latest arguments in the ongoing Northumberland County vs. Coal Township dispute. You’ll recall it involves the hundreds of thousands of dollars in permit fees being charged by the township.
Judge Anderson gave both parties 30 days to settle the dispute themselves before he’ll be announcing his ruling.
Northumberland County originally filed suit against Coal Township in January 2018 after a lengthy battle over the fees for the county’s $2.2 million prison project.
Background and timeline
The county bought the property form Northwestern Human Services in June 2016, filing applications for building permits less than two months later.
Coal Township’s permit fee ordinance had been adopted by the township ten years earlier and reads, “All building fees for new structures or the renovation or rehabilitation of an existing structure shall be one percent of the total construction estimate but not less than $10 for the first $1,000. There shall be no maximum fee.”
It is not known whether the county and township commissioners discussed the ordinance and its associated fees before the permit process began. Northumberland County Commissioner Sam Schiccatano attempted to meet with the township several times before the county resorted to filing suit.
The prison project’s permits for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protection were approved in August 2017. Susan Burns, Coal Township Clerk, sent an invoice to the county two days later, itemizing Uniform Construction Code inspection and plan-review fees totaling $161,724 and a Coal Township permit fee of $220,801.
The county then pays part of the fee: A check from the Northumberland County Controller’s Office made payable to Coal Township for $161,724 was dated August 18, 2017 and cashed one week later. At that time, the county made no formal mention of any dispute over the fee structure.
In September 6, 2017 Coal Township Manager Robert Slaby Jr. drafted a letter to the Northumberland County Board of Commissioners acknowledging receipt of $161,724 and threatening a stop-work notice if the remaining balance of $220,801 was not received by close of business September 13, 2017.
Northumberland County Chief Clerk Maryrose McCarthy submitted a letter of protest with the check for $220,801 within the week. The letter not only protested this final payment, but questioned the legitimacy of every fee in the original invoice. The county requested a revised permit fee, threatening a possible class action suit if forced to litigate the matter. They cited six state judicial decisions to back their claim the $220,801 fee is a tax, not a permit fee, and permit fees must directly relate to costs incurred by the township in the approval process.
The letter also stated the township would have until September 20, 2017 to prove they “actually incurred, or will be charged” the costs of state inspections and plan reviews, and provide further proof the Coal Township Permit Fee “in any way relates to the costs to the township in performing services related to the permitting of the prison.”
This point was controversial at last Thursday’s hearing, as Northumberland County Solicitor Frank Garrigan argued the township “has had three years to provide proof of reasonably commensurate fees and actual costs of administration” while township’s counsel Paul Logan countered specificity was never requested in any prior briefs or correspondence.
Logan told the judge he received Garrigan’s latest brief only 15 minutes before the trial, which was presented to the judge at the start of the hearing. This latest brief, which is not a matter of public record, is believed to have requested a detailed accounting of the township’s costs throughout the permit approval process.
Judge Anderson asked Garrigan to concede Coal Township is due administrative fees because the county’s most recent motion for summary judgment, filed February 18 of this year, requested a refund of $268,415.46 plus all court costs and “any other remedies the court shall find appropriate.”
The judge was inclined to allow for administrative costs, but implied it was hard to believe the $382,525 total reflected actual costs incurred by the township.
Garrigan said the county would be back in court if administrative costs were more than $1,500.
