{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-75.450","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 75.450","heading":"Fees for services -- Exemptions -- Response to all fires in jurisdiction","body":"required -- Mission statement -- Inclusion of fees on property tax bills --\nCollection and distribution -- Collection fee for sheriff.\n(1) A fire department which collects membe rship charges or subscriber fees for\ncombatting fires or serving in other emergencies shall base its annual fee or charge\non the level of protection offered.\n(2) A fire department that responds to a fire or other emergency on the property of a\nnonmember or nonsubscriber may charge the following fees for services rendered:\n(a) Up to five hundred dollars ($500) for single family residential units; utility\noccupancies of two thousand (2,000) or fewer square feet; assembly and\nbusiness occupancies having a capa city which does not exceed one hundred\n(100) persons; equipment; vehicles; and grass or woods fires; and\n(b) Up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for multifamily residential units;\nassembly and business occupancies having a capacity exceeding one hundred\n(100) persons; storage occupancies; utility occupancies of more than two\nthousand (2,000) square feet; and all industrial, educational, or institutional\noccupancies; and\n(c) Up to five hundred dollars ($500) for responding to emergencies not covered\nin paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, including response to high hazard\noccupancies as defined in KRS 198B.010. The department may be entitled to\nrecover necessary and reasonable costs in excess of the five hundred dollar\n($500) limit based upon submission  of a written itemized claim for the total\ncosts incurred. Disputes involving fees in excess of the five hundred dollar\n($500) limit shall be submitted to arbitration by the commission.\n(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) and (b) of this section, the  meaning of\nassembly, business, industrial, educational, and institutional occupancies shall be as\ndefined in KRS 198B.010. The meaning of storage and utility occupancies shall be\nas defined in the Kentucky Building Code, Sections 311.1 and 312.1 respectiv ely,\npromulgated pursuant to KRS 198B.050.\n(4) Property owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the federal government\nshall be exempt from charges.\n(5) If more than one (1) department responds to a fire or other emergency, the fee shall\nbe paid only to the department which is authorized to protect the property pursuant\nto KRS 75.440(2)(a).\n(6) A fire department shall respond within its jurisdiction to all fires and to other\nemergencies for which it is responsible as set forth in its mission statement. A copy\nof each fire department mission statement shall be filed with the commission. A\nnew department shall file its statement when it is incorporated. A department in\nexistence on July 15, 1994, shall file its mission statement by July 1, 1995. A copy\nof the mission statement shall be posted in a conspicuous location in each station of\nthe department, and shall be filed with the county clerk of each county in which the\ndepartment has jurisdiction pursuant to KRS 75.440(2)(a). The mission statement\nshall remain in effect until amended, and filed and posted by the fire department in\nthe locations as required by this subsection.\n(7) If a fire department collects membership charges or subscriber fees, the fiscal court\nmay adopt an ordinance to require the annual membership charges or subscriber\nfees to be added to property tax bills. In any county where the fiscal court has\nadopted such an ordinance, the county clerk shall add the annual membership\ncharges or subscriber fees to the tax bills of the affected proper ty owners in a place\nseparate from the bill of the fire district tax or fire subdistrict tax so that ratepayers\ncan ascertain the amount of the membership charges or subscriber fees apart from\nthe fire district tax.\n(8) The membership charges or subscriber fees shall be collected and distributed by the\nsheriff to the appropriate fire departments in the same manner as the other taxes on\nthe bill and unpaid fees or charges shall bear the same penalty as general state and\ncounty taxes. This shall be a lien on the property against which it is levied from the\ntime of the levy. The fiscal court shall, in the ordinance set forth in subsection (7) of\nthis section and in consultation with the sheriff and the fire department, set a\ncollection fee for the sheriff to re tain an amount not to exceed four and one -fourth\npercent (4.25%) of the membership charges or subscriber fees collected.","path":["KRS Chapter 75"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40217","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:35Z","sha256":"7d13a9cae68dfe2edbb52b5a8a3d0ebe8e22cc984e0f1e53f908d591ba0bb89c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-75.440","next":"us-ky/krs-75.460"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}