On petition of a majority of the property owners of any territory within the township, the board of supervisors may designate the territory as a district for the purpose of providing police protection. The board of supervisors may annually assess the cost of the maintenance of the police protection by an equal assessment on all property benefited by the protection in proportion to the number of feet the property fronts on the street or highway or portion thereof to be protected. The board of supervisors may provide for an equitable reduction from the frontage of lots at intersections or where, due to the irregular shape of lots, an assessment of the full frontage would be inequitable. No assessment shall be made against any farmland, but vacant lots between built-up sections, whether tilled or not tilled, are not farmland. The assessment for each foot front against vacant lots shall be only twenty-five percent of the assessment for each foot front against property with improvements. All assessments for police protection shall be filed with the township tax collector under section 3301(a).¹