BERKELEY
COUNTY FIRE SERVICE FEE ORDINANCE
Most
Recent Amendments Dated 11/3/2005
SECTION 1
An amended ordinance
creating the Berkeley County Fire Service User Fee: Providing for an
annual charge based on square footage; providing that the Assessor shall
fix the square footage of property; and providing for publication of the
user fee as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the
provision of Article 3, Chapter 59, of the Code of West Virginia.
SECTION II
There is hereby
created a Berkeley County Fire Service User Fee to be imposed by the
County Commission upon the users of the fire service.
SECTION III
Rates
Square
Footage
Residential
Amount
0-2500
$30.00
2500 and Up
$40.00
Square
Footage
Commercial
Amount
0-2500
$80.00
2501-7500
$162.50
7501-20,000
$400.00
20,001
and Up
$975.00
Airport hangers shall be assessed at a rate of $500.00,
notwithstanding the size of such hanger.
Agricultural buildings, such as barns, not to include farmhouses
used for residential purposes, shall not be assessed a
fee.
SECTION
IV
The
County Assessor is hereby empowered and authorized to fix the square
footage of property for the purpose of establishing the user service fee
charged under this ordinance.
The
County Assessor is further empowered and authorized to classify
properties into residential or commercial property classifications for
the purpose of establishing the user fee charged under this ordinance.
SECTION
V
This ordinance shall
be published once a week for two successive weeks in a qualified
newspaper published in this county.
SECTION VI
Continuation,
Maintenance and Improvement of Fire Service
The service of fire
protection shall be continued, maintained, and improved by the Fire
Service Board, in part, at the charge and expense of the owners of all
buildings of every kind and nature within the county which said owners
are declared to be users and beneficiaries of such fire protection
service. The charges and expenses with respect to each of such users and
beneficiaries shall be imposed, assessed and collected as set out in
this Ordinance. In the event the county fire board determines an
increase in any such fee imposed by this section is necessary, it shall,
by resolution, request the County Commission for such an increase.
Procedures set forth in Article 17, Chapter 7; Section 12 of the Code of
West Virginia for the initial levy of such a fee shall be followed by
the County Commission in the event an increase is sought.
SECTION VII
Definitions:
Continuation, Maintenance and Improvement of Fire Service; Legislative
Intent; Fire Board to Administer Regulations; Use of Funds; Severability;
and Assessment of Fees
“Residential
Building”
“Any building owned, used and occupied by the owner exclusively for
residential purposed, including mobile homes. Residential buildings
classified as such by the County Assessor shall be considered
residential buildings for the purposes of this ordinance.”
“Commercial
Building” and “Institutional Building” Any building which is used for commercial,
institutional or industrial purposes but shall also include hotels,
motels, or other buildings intended for transient lodging. Rental
housing of any type is considered to be commercial for the purposes of
this ordinance. Commercial and institutional buildings classified as
such by the County Assessor, and industrial buildings classified as such
by the West Virginia Department of Taxation and Revenue shall be
classified as commercial for the purposes of this ordinance. When
determining the proper fee for commercial properties, classified as such
by the Berkeley County Assessor, the total square footage of commercial
buildings owned by a legal entity shall be considered and one fee
applied per individual plat as recorded
at the Berkeley County Court House
“Mixed
Use Building”
means any building (excluding basement) that has a combination of
residential and commercial and /or institutional uses. The predominant
usage shall determine the classification.
“Story”
means that part of a structure included between any floor and the floor
or roof next above, excluding basements and attics.
“Basement”
shall
mean that portion of a building which is located below the level or the
adjoining ground, and which is unfurnished and not utilized as a part of
the living or working area of the building.
“Total
square footage” means that sum as measured by the exterior dimensions of the structure
multiplied by the number of stories, but shall not include any part of a
structure encompassed by the following: porches, (unless entirely
enclosed for all weather purposes); basement (not utilized as the living
or working area of the building); attics, garages and other buildings.
SECTION VIII
Effective Date:
Schedule of Payments; Penalty
This Ordinance shall
become effective August 31, 1986. The fire protection fee assessed and
levied by this ordinance shall be for services rendered from July 1,
1986 to June 30, 1987, and each year thereafter.
The Fire Protection
Users Fees imposed under this ordinance shall be due an payable by
halves; the last date to pay the first half being September 30th
of each year and the last date to pay the second half being April 30th
of each year.
The Fire Protection
Users Fee assessed and levied under the provisions of the ordinance
shall be a debt due the Berkeley County Commission and shall be a
personal obligation of the user of the special and essential service of
the fire protection within the county. A penalty of ten percent (10%) of
the Fire Protection Users Fee shall be added for the failure to pay the
installment within ten (10) days of the due date. In case of service to
a property on which the fire fee has not been paid at the time of such
service, the service call will result in a bill for fees for such call
in the amount of $500.00, in addition to all delinquent fees and
penalties. Such delinquent fees and penalties may be, at the discretion
of the Fire Board, recovered through civil action filed in the courts of
this State and County. In such case, the Fire Board is authorized to
recover its court costs and fees, if any, including attorney’s fees.
It shall be unlawful
for any person to refuse to pay the Fire Protection Users Fee provided
for herein. In addition to the above penalty, it shall be the Users
responsibility to pay and all reasonable court cost and fees, for
delinquent accounts.
SECTION IX
Use of Funds for
Fire Protection Only
The revenues received
for the collection of Fire Protection User Fees shall be used only to
defray the cost of the continuance, maintenance, or improvement of fire
protection service within the county, and no part of such revenues shall
be used for any other county purposes. Any fees imposed under this
article are dedicated to the county fire board of the purpose provided
in this article.
SECTION X
Legislative Intent
The imposition of
Fire Service Users Fee under this Ordinance is pursuant to authorization
set for in Chapter 7, Article 17, of the West Virginia Code. In
accordance with said statute, it is the legislative intent of the
Ordinance that the fees imposed hereunder are based, in part, upon
recognition of the following legislative finding:
a)
The size of a building (as reflected by the total square footage) is a
factor which affects the cost of providing fire protection. Therefore,
it is the intent and purpose of this Ordinance that the fees imposed
hereunder be related, in part, to the size of the building.
SECTION XI
The Board is here
authorized to promulgate such regulations as are necessary and
reasonable to carry out the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION XII
Review and Appeal
Procedure
a)
Any affected property owner may appeal any charge imposed pursuant to
this Ordinance. The property owner to whom such notice is given may,
within thirty days after service thereof, either personally or by
certified mail, file with the Board a petition in writing, setting forth
the particular items of the charge objected to, together with the
reasons for the objection. If no petition is filed, the fee imposed
shall become final and not subject to administrative or judicial review.
The amount of the fee imposed shall be due and payable on the day
following the date upon which the assessment becomes final.
b)
When a petition provided for in the preceding paragraph is filed within
the time prescribed for such filing, the Board shall assign a time and a
place for a hearing thereon and shall notify the petitioner of such
hearing by written notice at least twenty days in advance thereof. The
hearing shall be held within one hundred days of the filing of the
petition.
The hearing shall be informal and shall be conducted in an
impartial manner by the Board or a hearing examiner designated by the
Board.
The burden of proof shall be upon the petitioner to show that the
fee imposed is incorrect and contrary to law, in whole or in part. After
any such hearing, the Board shall, within a reasonable time, give notice
in writing of its decision. Such decision may be appealed to the Circuit
Court.
c)
If no appeal is taken within thirty days after service of the
administrative decision, the
Board’s decision shall become final and conclusive. The amount,
if any, due the
Board under the decision shall be due and payable on the day
following the date upon
which such decision becomes final.
SECTION XIII
Exoneration or
Modification
Any property owner
requesting total or partial exoneration from any charge may do so either
personally or in writing to the Board. The Board within a reasonable
time, shall cause to be investigated any request for exoneration. The
board shall at the next regular meeting after completion of the
investigation, make and communicate to the County Commission its
recommendation regarding the exoneration. If good cause for exoneration
is found by the Commission, it shall exonerate or modify any or all
imposed charges, and shall notify the property owner in writing of its
actions. If the Commission does not exonerate or modify as requested by
the property owner, an appeal may be filed in pursuance to this article,
with the Circuit Court of Berkeley County.
SECTION XIV
It is hereby declared
to be the intention of the County Commission that the sections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this Ordinance be
severable and if any section paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of
this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances
shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by the judgment
or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality
or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining sections,
paragraphs, sentences, causes or phrases of this Ordinance or the
application thereof to any other person or circumstance.
BERKELEY COUNTY COMMISSION
_________________________________
Steven C. Teuful, President
_________________________________
Howard L. Strauss
_________________________________
Ronald K. Collins
Date: June 27, 2002
Amended August 24,
1995
Amended Section VIII
May 29, 1997 (Effective 5/29/97)
Amended Section III
June 27, 2002 (Effective 6/27/2002)
Amended Section III
June 2, 2005 (Effective 6/2/2005)
Amended Section VII
October 7, 2005 (Effective 11/3/2005)
Amended Section VII and VIII November
3, 2005 (Effective 07/1/2006)
