[Adopted 4-18-2017 by Ord. No. 17-02]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
All areas of service by volunteer fire departments established
pursuant to KRS 75.420 within Henderson County, with the exception
of any areas served primarily by the Henderson Fire Department.
Any membership charge or subscriber fee or due that is charged
by a volunteer fire department to an owner of a parcel of real property
within its service area.
Any person or legal entity that owns a parcel of real property
in Henderson County for which a tax bill is generated.
A certified volunteer fire department established under the
provisions of KRS Chapters 75 and 273 and recognized by the Commonwealth
of Kentucky as a department in good standing.
A.
No tax bill shall be generated if the total amount due, exclusive
of volunteer fire department membership charges, would be less than
$10. A membership charge of $55 shall be added to the property tax
bill of each real estate parcel located within a certified volunteer
fire department area for which a tax bill is generated. The charge
will be listed as its own line item and included in the total amount
due.
B.
Property located inside the corporate limits of the City of Henderson
or located outside the service area of a certified volunteer fire
department shall not be assessed the above fees.
C.
The 10 certified volunteer fire department areas shall develop a
uniform appeals process whereby any property owner may appeal membership
charges assessed to him/her.
D.
All participating volunteer fire departments shall ensure that their
service area is accurately defined within the Henderson City-County
Geographic Information System (HCCGIS) and immediately advise HCCGIS
of any changes in its area served. HCCGIS staff shall, no later than
April 1 of each year, provide to the Property Valuation Administrator,
the Henderson County Clerk, and/or any other entity necessary to effectuate
the terms of this article, a list of parcels matched with the volunteer
fire departments by which they are served in an electronic format
specified by the Property Valuation Administrator for integration
into the existing tax roll software.
A.
Any property owner subject to the membership charges subject to this
article shall have the right to opt out of the volunteer fire department
membership charges placed on the property tax bill. This right to
opt out specifically includes, but is not limited to, those receiving
a homestead exemption on his or her real property taxes.
B.
Those property owners wishing to opt out shall file a petition with
the Henderson County Judge-Executive's office between January 1 and
May 31 prior to the issuance of each year's property tax bills. However,
for 2017, the opt-out period shall be extended to June 9. Opt-out
forms may be picked up from and returned to the Henderson County Judge-Executive's
office during normal operating hours. The County Judge-Executive shall
ensure that the opt-out form is also posted on the County website.
The opt-out notification shall include the following:
C.
Any property owner who chooses to opt out will not have membership
dues included on his or her property tax bill for that tax year. This
procedure must be repeated each year by those wishing to continue
to opt out.
D.
Each year during the first week of June (second week of June for
the year 2017), the County Judge-Executive's office shall prepare
a spreadsheet of all parcels for which owners have opted out and provide
same to the County Clerk, HCCGIS and any other necessary entity.
E.
Nothing in this section shall prevent a volunteer fire department
from soliciting membership charges or subscriber fees from property
owners who opt out or those qualifying for homestead exemption by
other legal means. Annually, the County Judge-Executive shall provide
a list to each volunteer fire department of all parcels in their service
area for which the owner has opted out. Pursuant to KRS 75.450(2),
nonmembers and nonsubscribers to a volunteer fire department may be
charged for emergency services rendered, pursuant to the discretion
of the board of directors of each volunteer fire department.
A.
Pursuant to KRS Chapter 75 and Chapter 273, the membership charges
or subscriber fees shall be collected and distributed by the Henderson
County Sheriff to the appropriate certified volunteer fire department
in the same manner as taxes on the bill. A record of membership charges
collected and distursed for each volunteer fire department shall be
maintained by the Sheriff.
[Amended 11-7-2017 by Ord. No. 17-02A]
B.
The Sheriff shall not accept less than the total amount due for property
tax bill payments. If the property owner did not opt out and membership
charges were printed on the tax bill for a parcel, then the volunteer
fire department membership charges must be paid along with the remainder
of the bill. Property owners aggrieved by this process will be provided
with information on how to appeal to the board of the applicable volunteer
fire department for a potential refund along with information on how
to opt out the following year.
C.
Pursuant to KRS 75.450(8) and KRS 273.401(2), unpaid fees or charges
shall bear the same penalty as general state and County taxes. This
shall be a lien on the property against which it is levied from the
time of the levy.
D.
Pursuant to KRS 75.450(8) and KRS 273.401(2), the Henderson Fiscal
Court, in consultation with the Sheriff and the fire departments,
hereby sets a collection fee for the Sheriff to retain an amount not
to exceed 4.25% of the membership charges or subscriber fees collected.
This money shall be used to defray the costs of administration, collection
and disbursement of funds along with any software acquisition and
software reprogramming fees associated with compliance with this article.
The Sheriff shall keep a record of the costs of compliance and shall
provide same for review upon request of the Henderson Fiscal Court.
The Henderson Fiscal Court shall, in consultation with the volunteer
fire departments and the Sheriff, review the Sheriff's fee percentage
on an annual basis to determine whether the amount may be reduced.
A.
A volunteer fire department may choose to opt-out of having its membership
charges or subscription fees included on County tax bills by resolution
of its board of directors delivered to the County Judge-Executive
prior to May 31 of each year.
B.
A volunteer fire department may have its privilege to have membership
charges or subscription fees added to tax bills revoked for cause,
including, but not limited to, the following grounds, at the sole
discretion of the Henderson Fiscal Court:
(1)
Misappropriation of collected funds or failure to provide operations
and financial information as required;
(2)
Fees collected exceed the reasonable needs of the fire department;
(3)
Failure of the volunteer fire department to provide fire protection
services as required by law or to activate protection through its
mutual aid agreement;
(4)
Dissolution of the volunteer fire department;
(5)
Failure of the volunteer fire department to provide support to the
Henderson City-County Rescue Squad at a level determined by the Henderson
Volunteer Fire Department Chiefs Association;
(6)
Failure to abide by the terms of this article; or
(7)
Other violations of applicable law or policies as set by the Henderson
Fiscal Court.
C.
There is hereby created as a committee of the Henderson Fiscal Court
a Volunteer Fire Department Committee which shall include the Judge-Executive
and the magistrates from the three rural districts. Each volunteer
fire department participating in the collection of membership charges
or subscriber fees on tax bills shall, no later than February of each
year, provide to the Committee a copy of its annual operations and
financial report. Once every three years, a participating volunteer
fire department shall provide to the Committee an independent audit
of the prior term by February 1 if the department's fiscal year ends
prior to July or by June 1 if the department's fiscal year ends in
July or after. The Committee shall make all reports submitted available
for review by the public both in person and on the County's website.
The Committee shall review the reports and audits of each participating
department, consult with the Sheriff regarding the costs of collection
and shall make policy recommendations to the Henderson Fiscal Court.
