Getting their 2 cents' worth out of the Uniform Construction Code was not as important to the Salem Township supervisors as giving it.
When the supervisors announced June 17 that they would fine residential-use class violators of the unpopular code a maximum of 2 cents, it appeared to have a dual purpose.
One was to show their contempt for the law, which a vocal segment of township residents vilified as a flagrant and burdensome government intrusion into their lives.
The other was to soften the blow of their decision to opt in to enforcing the code in the face of residents' opposition. The supervisors claimed it was the best choice in order to maintain some control in setting the fines and appointing inspectors instead of letting the state enforce it.
"I don't think it's legal doing that, but if you're going to do it, do it and we'll see," Tom Ridella, a township resident, told the supervisors at the meeting when they announced the 2-cent fine.
He was referring to the fact that the new code provides for fines of up to $1,000 per day.
It is legal, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry, which wrote the code regulations.
"They are free to do that if they want to because basically that is beyond the scope of the UCC," said Troy Thompson, a Labor and Industry spokesman. "That could be considered an administrative penalty, and the UCC doesn't deal with administration."
Township Solicitor Gary Falatovich, who came up with the idea of a 2-cent fine, said the law left the door open for the township to do that by not setting a minimum fine.
"When you don't have a minimum fine as part of a statewide structure, then you have the right to set a minimum," he said. "That would be our argument."
Falatovich said the use class to which the 2-cent fine applies is for one- or two-family dwellings, the class that most people felt was overburdened by the original UCC, which required even minor repairs such as a water heater replacement to go through the permitting process.
"For anything that is more than a one- or two-family dwelling we have set a minimum fine of $600," he said.
Falatovich also said the township has ways of stopping a flagrant violator from taking advantage of the low fine by refusing to correct violations. He said seeking an injunction to halt construction would be one alternative and the township could refuse to issue an occupancy permit, which would prevent utilities from being installed at the building in question.
Thompson said the 2-cent fine would not eliminate the possibility of a greater fine being levied.
"If they are the officiating agency administering the code on the local level, they could say, 'You are in violation, here is the fine' instead of taking it to court," Thompson said. "How they handle the process on the municipal level decides whether it would go to court or not."
He said if the case goes to a district justice, the district justice could impose a fine of up to $1,000 per violation per day.
"Those teeth are still there in the event that it still goes to court," Thompson said.
But the two district justices who handle cases from Salem Township, Charles Conway and Lawrence Franzi, said that is not the case.
"The act allows a fine up to $1,000 but under the Second Class Township Code, what Salem has is the ability to set the fine and, of course, they can't set it higher than $1,000. But it doesn't say there is a minimum fine," Conway said. "If someone came in and had a hearing and had a lawyer, what the lawyer would argue is that I can't have a separate fine other than what is on the books (ordinance).
"The township code allows them to enforce the law with their ordinance, and that is their ordinance," Conway said. "I think a defense attorney would argue that you can't go higher than the ordinance."
Franzi was even more firm.
"There's no way I can supersede a township government," Franzi said. "I have no power to supersede their ordinances or regulations."
However, Franzi noted that if the township files a violation, the citation issued will be processed through the district justice's office and there will be costs added. He said that would be an additional $42 for court costs and postage, even without a hearing.
"They are going to be punished more by the costs set by the Legislature than the fine," he said. "If they plead guilty they would pay $42 and 2 cents."
