GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

HOUSE BILL 651
RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO ALLOW BRUNSWICK COUNTY TO ASSESS A FIRE PROTECTION FEE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Fee-supported fire districts.
Section 1.(a)  Request for Fee-Supported District. – A county may create a fee-supported fire district for insurance grading purposes if it receives one of the following:
(1)	A written request to create the district signed by at least two-thirds of the members of the board of directors of a fire department that contracts with the county to provide fire protection within an area of the county.
(2)	A petition requesting creation of a district signed by fifteen percent (15%) of the resident freeholders living in an area in the county.  The petition must describe the area to be designated as the district.
Section 1.(b)  Creation of Fee-Supported District. – Upon receipt of a request as provided in subsection (a), the county may adopt a resolution establishing a fee-supported fire district and imposing annual fees for the provision of fire protection services within the district. The fee may be established or changed only after the county board of commissioners has received the recommendations of the committee for that district, established under subsection (b1) of this section. The district may not include any area that is within (i) a tax-supported fire district established under Article 3A of Chapter 69 of the General Statutes; (ii) a county service district established under Article 16 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes for fire protection purposes; or (iii) another fee-supported fire district.  The district may not include any area that is within the corporate limits of a municipality unless the governing body of the municipality agrees to the inclusion.  However, it is not necessary to obtain the consent of a municipality if the municipality has not levied a tax, performed any official act, nor held any elections within a period of 10 years preceding the adoption of the resolution including the area within the district.
Section 1.(b1) Committee for District. – Each district shall have a committee to allow local control over the fee-setting process.  In each district that does not include any territory in a participating municipality, the committee shall consist of five members as follows:  The Fire Chief, the member of the board of county commissioners in whose electoral district more than fifty percent (50%) of the land area of the district lies, a community member chosen by the Fire Department Board of Directors, a community member chosen by the board of county commissioners, and the Fire Marshal.  In each district that does include any territory in a participating municipality, the committee shall consist of members as follows:  The Fire Chief, the mayor of each participating municipality in the district, the member of the board of county commissioners in whose electoral district more than fifty percent (50%) of the land area of the district lies, a community member chosen by the Fire Department Board of Directors, a community member chosen by the board of county commissioners, and the Fire Marshal.  In either type of district, the Fire Marshal shall chair the committee, but may vote only to break a tie.  The committee shall conduct an inquiry into the amount of funds required by the district to meet its needs, and shall make findings on the issue.  The committee will communicate these findings to the board of county commissioners and recommend a fee.  The board of county commissioners will then set the fee.  The same process shall be used for changes to the fee once established.
Section 1.(c)  Fees. – The fees imposed by the county may not exceed the cost of providing fire protection services within the district and may be imposed on owners of all real property that benefits from the availability of fire protection and on owners of all manufactured or mobile homes that benefit from the availability of fire protection.  For the purpose of this section, the term 'fire protection' includes furnishing emergency medical, rescue, and ambulance services to protect persons in the district from injury or death.  The county shall establish a schedule of fees for different classes of property and the fee for each class of property shall be proportional to the estimated cost of providing fire protection services to that class of property.  The schedule of fees shall include the following classes of property and the fee on each class of property shall not exceed the following maximums:
(1)	A single-family dwelling or manufactured or mobile home, and appurtenant structures, plus up to five acres of surrounding land.  The fee on this class of property may not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per site per year.
(2)	Unimproved land other than the five acres of land classified as part of a single-family dwelling or manufactured or mobile home.  The county may establish a maximum fee for unimproved land of not more than five dollars ($5.00) per year.
(3)	An animal production or horticultural operation.  The fee on this class of property may not exceed ten dollars ($10.00) per site per year.
(4)	A commercial facility other than an animal production or horticultural operation.  The fee on this class of property may not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per site per year for commercial facilities with structures encompassing less than 5,000 square feet and one hundred dollars ($100.00) per site per year for commercial facilities with structures encompassing 5,000 square feet or more.
(5)	A multiple-family dwelling.  Each unit in a multiple-family dwelling shall be treated as a single-family dwelling under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(6)	Any other class of property selected by the county.  The fee on these classes of property may not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per year.
Section 1.(d)  Billing of Fees. – The county may include a fee imposed under this section on the property tax bill for the real property, or the manufactured or mobile home, on which the fee is imposed.
Section 1.(e)  Use of Fees. – The county shall credit the fees collected within the district to a separate fund to be used only to furnish fire protection in the district.  The board of commissioners shall administer the fund to provide fire protection by one or more of the following methods:
(1)	Contracting with any municipality, any incorporated nonprofit volunteer or community fire department, or the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
(2)	Furnishing fire protection itself if it maintains an organized fire department.
(3)	Establishing a fire department in the district.
Section 1.(f)  Audit of Fire Department. – If the county contracts with a fire department to provide fire protection services in a fee-supported fire district, the fire department shall prepare an annual budget based on anticipated revenues and shall submit the budget to the county for processing and approval through the county's regular budget procedure.  Upon request of the county, the fire department shall make quarterly or semiannual reports to the county detailing its revenues, expenditures, and activities.  The county may audit the fire department's financial records upon reasonable notice to the fire department.
Section 1.(g)  Extension of Area of District. – The county may by resolution annex to any fee-supported fire district any territory that it could include in a new district under subsection (c) of this section, upon finding that:
(1)	The area to be annexed is contiguous to the district, with at least one-eighth of the area's aggregate external boundary coincident with the existing boundary of the district; and
(2)	The area to be annexed requires the services of the district.
The county may also by resolution annex to any fee-supported fire district any territory it could include in a new district under subsection (c) of this section if seventy-five percent (75%) of the real property owners in the territory to be annexed have petitioned the board of commissioners for annexation to the service district.
The area of any fee-supported fire district may be increased by including within the boundaries of the district any adjoining territory lying within a municipality if the territory is not already included in another fire protection district, and both the municipal governing body and the county commissioners of the county in which the district is located agree by resolution to the inclusion.  However, it is not necessary to obtain the consent of a municipality if the municipality has not levied a tax, performed any official act, nor held any elections within a period of 10 years preceding the adoption of the resolution including the area within the district.
Section 1.(h)  Annexation of District. – When any portion of a fee-supported fire district has been annexed by a municipality furnishing fire protection to its citizens, and the municipality has not agreed to allow territory within it to be in the district, then the portion of the district annexed is no longer part of a fee-supported district.  For the purposes of this section and regardless of the actual effective date of annexation, the date of annexation shall be considered to be a date in the month of June.
Section 1.(i)  Abolition of District. – Upon finding that there is no longer a need for a given fee-supported fire district, the board of commissioners may repeal the resolution establishing the district and thus abolish the district.
Section 2.  This act applies to Brunswick County only.
Section 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of July, 1999.

	─────────────────── 
	Dennis A. Wicker
	President of the Senate

	─────────────────── 
	James B. Black
				eaker of the House of Representatives