the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

non-electoral debt-Debt which is incurred by the governing body without the approval of a
majority of the voters in a referendum. Limited by the Local Government Unit Debt Act. Can
be reclassified as electoral debt by referendum.
non-feasance-Failure to perform a required duty of public office.
notary public-A public officer whose function it is to administer oaths, to attest and certify,
by hand and official seal, on certain classes of documents, to give them credit and
authenticity.
occupation tax-Authorized by Act 511 and the various municipal codes, levied on residents
of a taxing jurisdiction regardless of where their occupation is practiced. May be a flat rate,
with a maximum of $10.00, or a system by which occupations are classified by county
assessors into groups and assigned a value.
occupation privilege tax-An Act 511 tax, levied on residents and nonresidents alike who are
employed within the taxing body’s jurisdiction. Current maximum is $10.00, subject to
sharing between the municipality and school district when enacted by both bodies.
open space-Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside,
dedicated, designed or reserved for public or private use.
optical disk-A non-contact, random-access disk tracked by optical laser beams and used for
mass storage and retrieval of digitized text and graphics. Types include WORM (write once,
read many), CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), and CI-I (compact diskinteractive)
and erasable optical disks.
ordinance-An enforceable municipal law, statute or regulation which applies to all citizens
within that municipality; penalty provisions may apply.
payments in lieu of taxes-Payments by another unit of government to the reporting
government in lieu of taxes that it would have had to pay if its property or other tax base had
been subject to taxation by the reporting government.
pecuniary-Consisting of or measured in money; of or relating to money.
per capita tax-A flat rate tax levied upon each adult within the taxing district. Commonly
referred to as “head tax,” “residence tax” or “poll tax”. For political subdivisions under the
Local Tax Enabling Act the maximum is $10.00, shared equally when the school district also
adopts.
percolation (“perc”) test-A field test conducted to determine the absorption capacity of soil
to a specific depth in a given location for the purpose of determining suitability of soil for
on-lot sewage disposal.
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