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AN ACT relating to fire protection. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 75.450 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) A fire department which collects membership charges or subscriber fees for 4
combatting fires or serving in other emergencies shall base its annual fee or charge 5
on the level of protection offered. 6
(2) A fire department that responds to a fire or other emergency on the property of a 7
nonmember or nonsubscriber may charge the following fees for services rendered: 8
(a) Up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500)[ five hundred dollars 9
($500)] for single family residential units; utility occupancies of three 10
thousand five hundred (3,500)[two thousand (2,000)] or fewer square feet; 11
assembly and business occupancies having a capacity which does not exceed 12
five hundred (500)[one hundred (100)] persons; equipment; vehicles; and 13
grass or woods fires; and 14
(b) Up to three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500)[one thousand dollars 15
($1,000)] for multifamily residential units; assembly and business 16
occupancies having a capacity exceeding five hundred (500)[one hundred 17
(100)] persons; storage occupancies; utility occupancies of more than (five 18
thousand (5,000)[two thousand (2,000)] square feet; and all industrial, 19
educational, or institutional occupancies; and 20
(c) Up to three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500)[five hundred dollars 21
($500)] for responding to emergencies not covered in paragraphs (a) and (b) 22
of this subsection, including response to high hazard occupancies as defined 23
in KRS 198B.010. The department may be entitled to recover necessary and 24
reasonable costs in excess of the three thousand five hundred dollar 25
($3,500)[five hundred dollar ($500)] limit based upon submission of a written 26
itemized claim for the total costs incurred. Disputes involving fees in excess 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 351
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of the three thousand five hundred dollar ($3,500)[five hundred dollar 1
($500)] limit shall be submitted to arbitration by the commission. 2
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) and (b) of this section, the meaning of 3
assembly, business, industrial, educational, and institutional occupancies shall be as 4
defined in KRS 198B.010. The meaning of storage and utility occupancies shall be 5
as defined in the Kentucky Building Code, Sections 311.1 and 312.1 respectively, 6
promulgated pursuant to KRS 198B.050. 7
(4) Property owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the federal government 8
shall be exempt from charges. 9
(5) If more than one (1) department responds to a fire or other emergency, the [fee shall 10
be paid only to the ]department which is authorized to protect the property pursuant 11
to KRS 75.440(2)(a) may charge the nonmember or nonsubscriber up to one 12
thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for services rendered. Any other 13
department that responds may charge up to five hundred dollars ($500) for 14
services rendered. 15
(6) A fire department shall respond within its jurisdiction to all fires and to other 16
emergencies for which it is responsible as set forth in its mission statement. A copy 17
of each fire department mission statement shall be filed with the commission. A 18
new department shall file its statement when it is incorporated. A department in 19
existence on July 15, 1994, shall file its mission statement by July 1, 1995. A copy 20
of the mission statement shall be posted in a conspicuous location in each station of 21
the department, and shall be filed with the county clerk of each county in which the 22
department has jurisdiction pursuant to KRS 75.440(2)(a). The mission statement 23
shall remain in effect until amended, and filed and posted by the fire department in 24
the locations as required by this subsection. 25
(7) If a fire department collects membership charges or subscriber fees, the fiscal court 26
may adopt an ordinance to require the annual membership charges or subscriber 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 351
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fees to be added to property tax bills. In any county where the fiscal court has 1
adopted such an ordinance, the county clerk shall add the annual membership 2
charges or subscriber fees to the tax bills of the affected property owners in a place 3
separate from the bill of the fire district tax or fire subdistrict tax so that ratepayers 4
can ascertain the amount of the membership charges or subscriber fees apart from 5
the fire district tax. 6
(8) The membership charges or subscriber fees shall be collected and distributed by the 7
sheriff to the appropriate fire departments in the same manner as the other taxes on 8
the bill and unpaid fees or charges shall bear the same penalty as general state and 9
county taxes. This shall be a lien on the property against which it is levied from the 10
time of the levy. The fiscal court shall, in the ordinance set forth in subsection (7) of 11
this section and in consultation with the sheriff and the fire department, set a 12
collection fee for the sheriff to retain an amount not to exceed four and one-fourth 13
percent (4.25%) of the membership charges or subscriber fees collected. 14