Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
~"A,Ch (Y12n~" ~ g <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Frank W. Clifton, Jr. County Manager <br />Cc: Michael Talbert, Interim Assistant County Manager <br />Frank Montes de Oca, Emergency Services Director <br />John Roberts, County Attorney <br />FROM: Annette M. Moore, Staff Attorney <br />RE: Fire Protection Tax Districts <br />DATE: September 1, 2011 <br />The County Attorney's Office was asked to provide a legal opinion on the options <br />available to the County for fire protection tax districts. <br />The North Carolina General Statutes ("Statutes") authorizes, but does not mandate, <br />counties to establish and maintain county fire depattments.~ Counties have the authority to <br />provide financial assistance to incorporated volunteer fire departments and to contract for fire <br />fighting or prevention services with one or more counties, cities or one or more incorporated <br />volunteer fire departments.2 Counties also have authority to designate fire districts or parts of <br />districts and prescribe boundaries for insurance districts.3 The County is not required to provide <br />fire service equally to all residents in the County. <br />Several revenue options are available to counties to fund fire service. General property <br />tax revenues can be used to fund fire service in the entire County or the County can be divided <br />into special tax districts and a tax levied on the property of individual districts to fund fire <br />service within that district.4 There are two types of special tax districts: rural fire protection tax <br />districts and fire service tax districts. The two districts differ in the way they are created and <br />how they can be altered or dissolved. <br />Rural fire protection districts <br />Creation of Rural fire protection districts <br />A rural fire protection tax district is created in an unincorporated area after receipt of a <br />signed petition by the Board of County Commissioners (hereinafter refen•ed to as "Board" )of at <br />Least 35 percent of the resident fieeholders in a proposed district and an election where a majority <br />of qualified voters in the proposed district vote to allow the county to levy a district tax for fire <br />protections Fire protection also includes "the levy, appropriation and expenditure of funds for <br />I N.C.G.S § 153A-233 <br />2 Id. <br />3 Id. <br />'~ N.C.G.S. § 153A-149(11) and N.C. Const, Art. V, §2(4) <br />s N.C.G.S. § 69-25.1 <br />