(a) The expense of establishing and maintaining a district shall be paid for from the proceeds of any service charge or fire dues which shall be levied and collected in an amount sufficient to pay the expense. The service charge or any fire dues shall be levied upon and collected from the property owners served by the system. The service charge or fire dues shall be the personal obligation of the owner of the property served by the system; and to secure the collection of any service charge or fire dues there shall be a lien against the property in favor of the district. The lien may be enforced in either of the following ways:
(1) The lien shall be enforceable by sale thereof in the same manner in which the foreclosure of a municipal assessment for public improvements is authorized.
(2) The tax assessor, tax collector, or other public official performing the functions of the Tax Assessor and Tax Collector of Jefferson County, upon request and resolution of the board of trustees of a fire district, shall implement procedures necessary and appropriate in order to collect any delinquent service charge or fire dues levied by any fire district in Jefferson County. The service charge or fire dues shall be a lien upon any property to which it may be levied, and shall be collected and enforced as ad valorem taxes are collected and enforced. The Jefferson County Tax Assessor and Tax Collector or other public official performing the functions of the Tax Assessor and Tax Collector of Jefferson County are hereby authorized to each retain a two percent commission on the collections, which shall be deposited to the county general fund.
(b) The board of trustees may provide that upon a person being in default for more than 60 days in paying any service charge or fire dues due by him or her, he or she shall be liable to pay any reasonable attorney's fee incurred by the district in its effort to enforce payment of the service charge or fire dues, whether suit is filed or not.
Last modified: May 3, 2021