[Adopted 4-18-2017 by Ord. No. 17-02]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AREA
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.
MEMBERSHIP CHARGES
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.
PROPERTY OWNER
Any person or legal entity that owns a parcel of real property in Henderson County for which a tax bill is generated.
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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:
(1) 
The name, address, phone number and signature of the property owner;
(2) 
The specific Property Valuation Administrator map/parcel number(s) of the property(s) for which the property owner is opting-out.
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.