Request By:
Dennis M. Clare, Director
Fire Protection Program of
Jefferson County
Suite 200
Hart Block Building
730 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By William S. Riley, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to the Attorney General it is stated that your office represents fire protection districts and volunteer fire departments located in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Several questions have arisen as to the application of House Bill 44, passed by the 1979 Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly, particularly the amendment to KRS 139.470 to tax rates in such districts.
KRS 139.470 deals with exemptions from sales tax. I believe you are referring to KRS 132.023. That statute provides that notwithstanding any statutory provisions to the contrary no taxing district other than the state, counties, school districts, cities and urban-county governments, shall levy a tax rate for 1979-80 which will produce more revenue, exclusive of revenue from net assessment growth, than would be produced by application of the maximum tax rate that could have been levied in 1978-79 to the 1978-79 assessment.
In succeeding years, no taxing district other than the state, counties, school districts, cities and urban-county governments, shall levy a tax rate which will produce more revenue, exclusive of revenue from net assessment growth, than would be produced by application of the tax rate that was levied in the preceding year to the preceding year's assessment. The only exception is for a taxing district which has been authorized to levy a tax and has not yet levied any such tax. In that case, the district can levy a tax rate with a maximum which will not produce more revenue than would have been produced by application of the maximum authorized tax rate in the year authorized to that year's assessments.
No taxing district other than the state, counties, school districts, cities and urban-county governments, can levy a tax rate within the limits imposed in this statute which exceeds the compensating tax rate defined in KRS 132.010 until the taxing district has complied with the advertisement and notice provisions set out in the statute.
Three questions are asked as follows:
(1) Under KRS 75.040, a fire protection district and volunteer fire department district is permitted to levy a tax not more than 10 per $100 evaluation as assessed for county tax purposes on real estate and personal property located in the district. 1972 legislation excluded this statute from the application of the roll back statute. The question is whether KRS 132.023 is applicable to fire protection districts and volunteer fire departments.
Answer: Since KRS 132.023 was amended by the 1979 Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly and states "notwithstanding any statutory provisions to the contrary, no taxing district, . . .", the answer is yes, the statute applies to fire protection districts and volunteer fire departments.
(2) Does Section 4(1)(a) of KRS 132.023 allow fire protection districts to increase its rate to 10 pursuant to KRS 75.040 for fiscal year 1979-80 or when using the formula as set out by the statute, would the rate for the fiscal year 1979-80 be something less than 10 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Answer: KRS 132.023(4)(a) states that that portion of a tax rate levied by an action of a tax district, other than the state, counties, school districts, cities and urban-county governments which will produce revenue from real property, exclusive of revenue from new property, more than 4% over the amount of revenue produced by the compensating tax rate defined in KRS 132./u/ from real property shall be subject to a recall vote or reconsideration by the taxing district such as the case may be as provided for in KRS 132.017 and shall be advertised as provided for in paragraph (b) of the statute.
It is our opinion that the statute applies to the first fiscal year 1979-80 and the maximum tax rate allowed is something less than 10 per $100 of assessed valuation.
(3) In determining the net assessment growth, does "revenue" include monies earned from interest, special fees, contributions, or any other nontaxing revenue?
Answer: No. KRS 132.010(7) defines "net assessment growth" to mean the difference in the total valuation of property subject to taxation by the county, city, school district or special district in the preceding year, less the total valuation exempted by the homestead exemption provision of the Constitution in the current year of that exempted in the preceding year, and the total valuation of property subject to taxation by the county, city school district or special district for the current year. This, of course, is referring to real property.