(a)The expense of establishing and maintaining a district shall be paid for by the proceeds of an annual service charge which shall be levied and collected by the board in an amount sufficient to pay expenses. The service charge shall be levied upon and collected from persons and properties served by the system except boards of education and county, state, and municipal property shall be exempt. The charge shall be a personal obligation of the owner of the property served by the system; and to secure the collection of the charge, there shall be a lien against the property in favor of the district, which lien shall be enforceable by sale thereof in the same manner in which the foreclosure of a municipal assessment for public improvements is authorized.
(b)A property owner who owns a struc
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(a)
The expense of establishing and maintaining a district shall be paid for by the proceeds of an annual service charge which shall be levied and collected by the board in an amount sufficient to pay expenses. The service charge shall be levied upon and collected from persons and properties served by the system except boards of education and county, state, and municipal property shall be exempt. The charge shall be a personal obligation of the owner of the property served by the system; and to secure the collection of the charge, there shall be a lien against the property in favor of the district, which lien shall be enforceable by sale thereof in the same manner in which the foreclosure of a municipal assessment for public improvements is authorized.
(b) A property owner who owns a structure, used solely as a residence, which at the time of its original construction was situated on a county line, may avoid the payment of a service charge which is based upon the presence of the structure if:
(1)
At no time between June 14, 1977, and the effective date of this amendment, was the structure assessed for taxes in Shelby County.
(2)
At no time between June 14, 1977, and the effective date of this amendment, was any homestead exemption claimed for the structure in reduction of taxes assessed in Shelby County.
(3)
The property owner furnishes proof to the district of an agreement between the property owner and another district or municipality located in the county within whose boundaries the remaining portion of the structure is located, to provide firefighting and emergency medical services to the property owner’s property so long as the structure is existent.
(4) The property owner furnishes to the district an irrevocable waiver of liability absolving the district from any and all liability for failure to respond to calls for firefighting or emergency medical services to any portion of the owner’s property contiguous to the aforesaid structure, and an agreement that any service charges imposed with respect to future construction on the property shall constitute a lien upon the entire property located within the district, including the property upon which the residence is situated.
(c) Subsection (b) may be applied retroactively in respect of unpaid service charges if:
(1)
In the opinion of the board of trustees the waiving of previously imposed service charges will have no significant impact on the financial viability of the district; and
(2) The district has long term debt outstanding, the aggregate amount of which is such that retroactive waiver for all properties covered by subsection (b) is no more than one-tenth of one percent of the amount of the long term debt then outstanding.
(d) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall have retroactive effect to June 14, 1977.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, for property in a district that has been annexed by a municipality that has a municipal fire department prior to May 25, 1999, no service charge shall be assessed to or against any property or portion thereof except the payment of a buy-out amount as provided herein. The owner of the property may pay an amount equal to six times the amount of dues that the property owner paid to the fire district for the preceding year in one lump-sum payment paid within 120 days of May 25, 1999. As an alternative to a lump-sum payment, the property owner may continue to pay to the district the amount of the annual dues as established in the preceding year. This amount shall be paid for the next eight years. Upon the sale of any property subject to this subsection, any remaining payments due to complete the buy-out provisions shall be paid to the fire district on or before the transfer of the property.
(f) As of May 25, 1999 for property annexed prior to May 25, 1999, a district shall not have responsibility for fire or emergency medical services in any area in the corporate limits of a municipality that has a municipal fire department. The boundaries of the fire district shall be reduced by removal of those properties located within the corporate limits of the municipality that has a fire department as of May 25, 1999. The owners of properties removed from the fire district pursuant to this subsection shall no longer be permitted to vote in fire district elections, or to otherwise participate in the operations of the fire district. Until the property owner has remitted the full amount of the buy-out payment required by this section, in order to secure the collection of the payment, the district shall retain all rights and remedies as provided in subsection (a).
(g)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, the boundaries of the fire district may be decreased by the removal from the district of property which is annexed subsequent to May 25, 1999, by a municipality that has a municipal fire department. Prior to the municipality’s annexation of proper-ty located within the boundaries of a fire district, as a condition precedent to the annexation, the owner of the property to be annexed into the municipality shall pay to the fire district an amount equal to six times the amount of the fire district service charges assessed against that property for the preceding year. The payment shall be made in one lump sum, and upon receipt thereof the fire district shall certify to the municipality that all fire district service charges for the subject property have been paid in accordance with this subsection, thereby satisfying the condition precedent for the municipality’s annexation of the subject property. The fire district shall have responsibility for fire protection and emergency medical service until the annexation procedure is completed. The fire district shall be notified by the municipality by certified mail that the annexation is complete on the next business day thereafter.
(h) Within 30 days after May 25, 1999, a municipality whose corporate limits include property located within a fire district as of May 25, 1999 shall give notice of the buy-out provisions of this part to all owners of the property by certified mail and provide a copy of the mailing list to the respective fire district.
(i) Upon the removal of properties from within the fire district boundaries pursuant to this section, the fire district shall immediately be relieved of paying any rent or other service charges for fire hydrants located within the boundaries of the property so removed. The district shall be responsible for paying rent or other fire hydrant charges only for fire hydrants located within the then existing boundaries of the district. The municipality shall assume the obligation of the district with respect to those fire hydrants located within its municipal boundaries.