PRINTER'S NO. 1141
No. 959 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY HENNESSEY, HERMAN, BAKER, DENT, LEH, ITKIN,
STABACK, BELARDI, ARGALL, DeLUCA, BATTISTO, CAWLEY,
TRAVAGLIO, RAYMOND, GEIST, GLADECK, VAN HORNE, BROWNE,
L. I. COHEN, FARGO, BENNINGHOFF, RAMOS, STETLER, STEELMAN,
CIVERA AND PETRONE, MARCH 25, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, MARCH 25, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), entitled
2 "An act concerning townships of the first class; amending,
3 revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating
4 thereto," further providing for property.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Section 1501 of the act of June 24, 1931
8 (P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township Code,
9 reenacted and amended May 27, 1949 (P.L.1955, No.569) and
10 amended June 26, 1995 (P.L.66, No.13), is amended to read:
11 Section 1501. Suits; Property.--Townships of the first class
12 may--
13 I. Sue and be sued.
14 II. Purchase, acquire by gift, or otherwise, hold, lease,
15 let and convey, by sale or lease, such real and personal
16 property as shall be deemed to be to the best interest of the
17 township: Provided, That no real estate owned by the township
1 shall be sold for a consideration in excess of one thousand five
2 hundred dollars except to the highest bidder after due notice by
3 advertisement for bids or advertisement of a public auction in
4 one newspaper of general circulation in the township. Such
5 advertisement shall be published once not less than ten days
6 prior to the date fixed for the opening of bids or public
7 auction, and such date for opening bids or public auction shall
8 be announced in such advertisement. The award of contracts shall
9 be made only by public announcement at a regular or special
10 meeting of the board of township commissioners or at the public
11 auction. All bids shall be accepted on the condition that
12 payment of the purchase price in full shall be made within sixty
13 days of the acceptance of bids.
14 The board of township commissioners shall have the authority
15 to reject all bids if such bids are deemed to be less than the
16 fair market value of the real property. In the case of a public
17 auction, the board of township commissioners may establish a
18 minimum bid based on the fair market value of the real property.
19 Except as otherwise hereinafter provided in the case of
20 personal property of an estimated fair market value of less than
21 one thousand dollars, no township personal property shall be
22 disposed of, by sale or otherwise, except upon approval of the
23 board of township commissioners, by ordinance or resolution. In
24 cases where the board of township commissioners shall approve a
25 sale of such property, it shall estimate the fair market value
26 of the entire lot to be disposed of. If the board of township
27 commissioners shall estimate the fair market value to be one
28 thousand dollars or more, the entire lot shall be advertised for
29 sale once, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in
30 the township, not less than ten days prior to the date fixed for
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1 the opening of bids or public auction, and such date of opening
2 of bids or public auction shall be announced in such
3 advertisement, and sale of the property so advertised shall be
4 made to the best responsible bidder. The board of township
5 commissioners may reject any bids received if the bids are
6 believed to be less than the fair market value of the property.
7 The board of township commissioners shall, by resolution, adopt
8 a procedure for the sale of surplus personal property, either
9 individual items or lots of items, of an estimated fair market
10 value of less than one thousand dollars and the approval of the
11 board of township commissioners shall not be required for any
12 individual sale that shall be made in conformity to such
13 procedure.
14 The provisions of this clause shall not be mandatory where
15 township property is to be traded in or exchanged for new
16 township property.
17 The provisions of this clause shall not prohibit the sale or
18 exchange of township property to public utilities.
19 The provisions of this clause requiring advertising for bids
20 or sale at public auction and sale to the highest bidder shall
21 not apply where township real or personal property is to be sold
22 to a county, city, borough, town, township, institution
23 district, school district, volunteer fire company, volunteer
24 ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad located within the
25 township, or municipal authority pursuant to the Municipality
26 Authorities Act of 1945, or to a nonprofit corporation engaged
27 in community industrial, commercial or affordable housing
28 development or reuse or where real property is to be sold to a
29 person for his exclusive use in an industrial development
30 program or where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit
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1 corporation organized as a public library, or where real
2 property is to be sold to a nonprofit medical service
3 corporation as authorized by clause LXXII of section 1502, or
4 where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit housing
5 corporation as authorized by clause LXXIII of section 1502. When
6 real property is to be sold to a nonprofit corporation organized
7 as a public library or to a nonprofit medical service
8 corporation or to a nonprofit housing corporation the board of
9 township commissioners may elect to accept such nominal
10 consideration for such sale as it shall deem appropriate. Real
11 property sold pursuant to this clause to a volunteer fire
12 company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad,
13 nonprofit medical service corporation or to a nonprofit housing
14 corporation shall be subject to the condition that when the
15 property is not used for the purposes of the company, service,
16 squad or the corporation the property shall revert to the
17 township.
18 Any officer who sells and each officer who votes in favor of
19 selling any township property, either real or personal, without
20 the provisions of this section having been complied with, shall
21 be subject to surcharge in the amount of any loss sustained by
22 the township by reason of such sale.
23 The exemption granted by this clause to nonprofit
24 corporations engaged in community, industrial, commercial or
25 affordable housing development or reuse shall not apply to
26 property owned and operated by the township or subcontracted or
27 operated on the behalf of the township in order to conduct
28 existing governmental functions.
29 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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