West Virginia Code § 8-15-3

Municipalities empowered and authorized to contract for prevention and
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this section
extinguishment of fires beyond the corporate limits.
(a) Any municipality may contract to render services in the prevention and extinguishment of
fires upon property located within the state. A municipality may contract beyond its
immediate boundary limit for fire service protection if fire protection is provided in
accordance with and under a rural fire protection district plan based upon tehe fire
suppression rating schedule approved by the state Insurance Commissioner. All rural fire
protection district plans shall be approved by the state Fire Commissiorn. No rural fire
protection district plan providing for a municipality to contract beyond its boundary may
infringe upon an existing fire department's response area without the written consent of the
fire department providing fire services for that area.
No contract entered into under the authority of this section may operate to impose any
greater obligation or liability upon the municipality than that with respect to property within
its corporate limits. Nothing contained in this section may be construed as requiring any
municipality to contract to render such services. A municipality providing fire services under
contract to any property outside its corporates limits may offer fire service under contract to
any property within the county if the property owner requests the protection.
Any contract entered into under theg authority of this section, on or after July 1, 1969, shall
require the property owner to pay as consideration for said services an annual payment,
determined as provided in thee remainder of this subsection. If the municipality does not
impose a fire service fee on the users of such service within the municipality as authorized in
section thirteen, article Lthirteen of this chapter, the annual payment shall be equivalent to
eighty percent of the annual tax levied for current municipal purposes upon property within
said municipality of like assessed valuation to the property under contract. If the
municipality does impose a fire service fee on the users of such service within the
municipality, as authorized in said section, the annual payment shall be equivalent to the
amount of fire service fee which would be imposed if the property under contract were
locaWted within the municipality plus at least fifty percent of the annual tax levied for current
municipal purposes upon property within said municipality of like assessed valuation to the
property under contract. No contract entered into under the authority of this section, and
nothing herein contained, may be construed as requiring or permitting any municipality to
install or maintain any special additional apparatus or equipment beyond that necessary for
the protection of property within its corporate limits.
(b) The annual payments due under any such contract are payable on or before October 1, of
each calendar year in which such contract remains in effect, or upon such day as may be
hereinafter provided as the due date of the first installment of ad valorem taxes. If any
annual payment is in default for a period of more than thirty days, it shall bear interest at
the same rate as that provided for delinquent property taxes and shall be a lien upon the
property under contract if a notice of such lien is recorded in the proper deed of trust book
in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county in which such property or
the major portion thereof is located. Such lien is void at the expiration of two years after
such defaulted annual payment became due, unless within such two-year period a civil
action seeking equitable relief to enforce the lien was instituted by the municipality. The
municipality may by civil action collect any annual payment and the interest thereon at any
time within five years after such payment became due; and upon default in any annual
payment, the municipality may cancel the contract involved.
(c) Any contract made under the authority of this section shall inure to the beenefit of and be
binding upon the successors in title of the person making the same contract; and such
person, upon conveying the property subject to such contract, is no lonrger liable under such
contract, except as to annual payments which were due prior to the conveyance and which
remain unpaid.
(d) Any property owner may cancel any such contract with rtespect to the property of such
owner upon giving a thirty-day written notice to the municipality, if the owner is not in
default with respect to any annual payment due thereunder, except that if such notice is
given subsequent to July 1, of any calendar year, the next succeeding annual payment shall
be made by the property owner as soon as the amount thereof is ascertainable. Upon
cancellation as aforesaid, the municipality shasll deliver to the property owner a recordable
release discharging such owner and such property from any further lien or obligation with
respect to the annual payments. The annual payments due under any such contract shall be
made to the officials as the municipaglity, in the contract, designates to receive them, who
likewise may receive notice of cancellation and execute upon behalf of the municipality the
release for which provision is heereinbefore made.
PART II. VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES.

‹ Prev All West Virginia sections Next ›


Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.