Chapter 3.4 Fire Tax
3.4.10 Purpose of this Chapter
The purpose of this Chapter is to provide for the establishment and implementation of a Fire Tax for the City of La Habra Heights.
3.4.20 Imposition of Fire Tax
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, a special tax to fund fire prevention and protection services and life safety services is hereby imposed on every parcel of land in the City of La Habra Heights. The tax shall be imposed in each fiscal year in amounts deemed necessary by the City to furnish or cause to be furnished adequate fire prevention, fire protection, and life safety services, including paramedic services and emergency medical response services, in the City, but in no event shall the tax exceed the maximum amounts permitted by this Chapter. The tax imposed by this Chapter shall be a tax upon each parcel of property, and the tax shall not be measured by the value of the property.
3.4.30 Maximum Tax Amounts
The maximum amount of the tax imposed on each parcel pursuant to this Chapter shall be determined as follows:
A. Acreage Charge: Sixty-two dollars and twenty cents ($62.20) on each parcel, other than a parcel maintained and irrigated for golf course use, for each acre or part thereof up to and including the tenth acre; plus thirty-two dollars and ten cents ($32.10) for each acre or part thereof in excess of ten acres, up to and including the twentieth acre; plus sixteen dollars and two cents ($16.02) for each acre or part thereof in excess of twenty acres. For each parcel maintained and irrigated for golf course use the charge shall be twelve dollars and eighty-seven cents ($12.87) for each acre or part thereof.
B. Residential Structure Charge: In addition to the acreage charge described above, for each parcel improved with one (1) or more residential structures, if the total habitable area is up to and including seven thousand square feet (7,000 square feet), a charge of three-hundred seventy-five dollars and sixty-one cents ($375.61) is hereby imposed; if the total habitable area is more than seven thousand square feet (7,000 sq ft.), a charge of six hundred six dollars and fifteen cents ($606.15) is hereby imposed.
C. Commercial and Institutional Structure Charge: In addition to the acreage and residential structure charges described above, fifteen cents ($0.15) per square foot of enclosed habitable area for parcels improved with one (1) or more commercial structures; and one-thousand three hundred thirty-eight dollars and nineteen cents ($1,338.19) is hereby imposed on each parcel improved with one (1) or more institutional structures.
D. Fuel Storage Facility Charge: In addition to the acreage, residential structure and commercial and institutional structure charges described above, two-thousand six-hundred seventy-six dollars and forty-one cents ($2,676.41) is hereby imposed on each parcel improved with a fuel storage facility, pump station, natural gas underground storage facility or compressor station.
3.4.40 Exemptions
A. The following parcels shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter:
1. Parcels owned by Federal or State governmental agencies;
2. Parcels owned by local governmental agencies;
3. Parcels exempt from taxation by the City pursuant to the laws or constitutions of the United States and the State of California.
B. Any person claiming an exemption from the tax imposed by this Chapter shall file a verified statement of exemption on a form prescribed by the City Manager prior to June 30th of the first fiscal year for which the exemption is sought.
3.4.50 Administrative Determinations; Appeal Procedures
A. The records of the Los Angeles County Assessor as of March 1st of each year shall determine the use and improvement of each parcel for the calculation of the tax applicable to that parcel in the following fiscal year. As used in this Chapter, "parcel" shall mean each contiguous unit of improved or unimproved real property held in separate ownership, including but not limited to, any single-family residence, or any other unit of real property subject to the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code Section 66410 et seq.
B. The City Manager shall administer this Chapter. Appeals of any determination of the City Manager shall be submitted in writing to the City Clerk not later than July 1st of the fiscal year for which the tax is imposed. The City Council shall consider the appeal and issue a decision to the appellant in writing.
3.4.60 Special Fund; Use of Tax Proceeds; Accountability Measures
A. The proceeds of the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be placed in a special fund to be used to provide or cause to be provided fire protection, fire prevention, and life safety services, including, but not limited to, paramedic services and emergency medical response services. The costs of providing fire protection, fire prevention, and life safety services shall include, but not be limited to, salaries and benefits of personnel providing these services, costs associated with the acquisition, maintenance, or construction of equipment, facilities and supplies used for the provision of such services, administrative costs of the fire protection, fire prevention and life safety services program, and the cost of any other expenditure necessary or useful to the provision of these services. Proceeds shall be used for no purposes other than this purpose.
B. The City Manager shall annually prepare the report required by Section 50075.3 of the California Government Code with respect to the proceeds of the tax.
3.4.70 Annual Determination of Tax Amounts; Inflation Adjustments
The annual Special Fire Tax adjustments for inflation shall be determined through the following procedures:
A. The City Council shall annually act by resolution to determine the amount of revenue necessary to provide adequate fire protection and prevention services to the City and to establish tax amounts sufficient to generate that revenue. However, the City Council may not impose tax amounts in excess of those provided by Section 3.4.30 of this chapter, adjusted for inflation as provided in subsection B of this section, without the approval of two-thirds (2/3) of the voters of the City voting on the question.
B. The maximum tax amounts specified by Section 3.4.30 of this chapter shall be increased by the lesser of (i) three (3%) percent or (ii) the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, or any successor to that index, increases in the twelve (12) months prior to March of the year in which the adjustment is made. The City Manager shall annually recalculate the maximum tax amounts pursuant to this subsection B and shall give notice of that determination in the manner required by law for notice of ordinances of the City.
3.4.80 Collection with Property Taxes
The special tax imposed by this chapter shall be due in the same manner, on the same dates, and subject to the same penalties and interest as established by law for other charges and taxes fixed and collected by the County of Los Angeles on behalf of the City of La Habra Heights. The special tax imposed by this chapter, together with all penalties and interest thereon, shall constitute a lien upon the parcel upon which it is levied until it has been paid, and shall constitute a personal obligation of the owners of the parcel on the date the tax is due.