An Act To Authorize Municipalities To Create Municipal Fire Districts
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1414
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: DUPLESSIE, PERRY, BARSTOW, BLANCHETTE, PILON, TUTTLE, VALENTINO, MITCHELL, SCHNEIDER
Amends: 30-A MRSA §3158, 30-A MRSA §3538

Legislative Document 
No. 1414 
H.P.978 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2005 
An Act To Authorize Municipalities To Create Municipal Fire 
Districts 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative DUPLESSIE of Westbrook. 
Cosponsored by Senator PERRY of Penobscot and 
Il/~ 
/J1. 7I/d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BARSTOW of Gorham, BLANCHETTE of Bangor, PILON of Saco, 
TUTTLE of Sanford, VALENTINO of Saco, Senators: MITCHELL of Kennebec, 
SCHNEIDER of Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3158 is enacted to read: 
§3l58. 
Municipal fire districts 
1. 
Ordinance. 
A municipal legislative body may enact an 
ordinance 
to 
create 
a 
municipal 
fire 
district 
within 
the 
municipality. 
The municipal fire district may contain all or 
part of the municipality. 
2. 
Services charges. 
A municipal fire district ordinance 
must establish service charges for fire protection within the 
municipal fire district based on an estimation of the cost of 
providing the services. 
The service charges 
must be levied 
against all property owners or parties in possession within the 
municipal fire district, including institutions and organizations 
otherwise exempt from tax under Title 36, 
section 652. 
With 
respect to the determination of service charges, appeals must be 
made in accordance with an appeals process to be provided by 
municipal ordinance. 
3. 
Unpaid service charges; collection. 
The collection of 
unpaid service charges levied pursuant to subsection 2 must be 
carried out in the same manner as provided in Title 38, section 
li.Q.a.... 
4. 
Reyenues; use. 
Municipalities shall use the revenues 
accrued from service charges levied pursuant to subsection 2 to 
fund, as much as possible, the cost of fire protection. 
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §3538, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 698, §2, 
is amended to read: 
§3538. Warrant for taxes; service charges 
1. 
Warrant. 
The directors shall issue their warrant in the 
same form as the warrant of the Treasurer of State for taxes, 
with proper 
changes, 
to 
the assessors of 
the municipalities 
eempFisiB~ composing the district. 
The warrant must require the 
municipalities to assess the sum allocated to each municipality 
for payment of the costs of the district ~peB-~Re-~aHaB~e-es~a~es 
Wi~RiB-~Re6e-~£4£4pa~4~4€£-~~~~~~~~~-a&&e&~&~-~9-~Re 
eeBs~aB~e-~-~~~~~-ef-~~-m~Bieipali~ie&r--~£€-~~~-e~ 
ee**ee~eF-Ra6-a~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~-~be&e-~aHes 
as __ i&_~~_~_~aw 
__ ~e_~~~e~_~~r_~~_a~4 
__ m~Bieipa* 
~aHesT __ W4~£4~_~_Qay&_af~€~_~~-aa~_fiHea_~~~_m~Bieipa*i~y 
eB_~~_it6_~~_a~e_~, 
__ tRe_~~~~ 
__ eE_~~_m~Bieipa*ity 
6aa**-~-~~-ame~B~-~--~be-~a~ ~ssesse~-~Bae~-~£4t-~~-te 
tae-tFeas~~e~-eE-tae-aist~ietT~ 
A. 
Upon the taxable estates within those municipalities; or 
B. 
In accordance with a municipal fire district ordinance 
enacted by a municipality pursuant to section 3158. 
The 
municipalities 
shall 
commit 
their 
assessments 
to 
the 
constables or collectors of the municipalities. 
The constable or 
collector has all the authority and powers to collect these taxes 
or service charges as is vested by law to collect state, county 
and municipal taxes. 
Within 30 days after the date fixed by the 
municipality on which its taxes are due, the treasurer of the 
municipality shall pay the amount of the tax assessed under this 
section to the treasurer of the district. 
2. 
Failure to pay. 
If the treasurer of a municipality 
fails to pay the sum assessed under this section, or fails to pay 
any part of the sum by the date set in the year in which the tax 
or service charge is levied, the treasurer of the district may 
issue a warrant for the amount of the tax or service charge, or 
so much of the tax as or service char<Je that remains unpaid, to 
the sheriff of the appropriate county, requiring the sheriff to 
levy the tax or service charge by distress and sale on real and 
personal property of any of the inhabitants of the municipality. 
The sheriff or a deputy shall execute the warrant. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes municipalities to create municipal fire 
districts that may, by ordinance, charge service charges for fire 
protection. 
The 
bill 
also 
amends 
a 
statute 
to 
authorize 
municipalities to collect regional fire district service charges 
in addition to taxes.