H. B. 3085
(By Delegates Yost, Reynolds, Klempa
and Hutchins)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing an enforcement
mechanism for cities to collect serious delinquent municipal
fees by providing that liens be placed on property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
PART III. SPECIAL CHARGES FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES.
§8-13-13. Special charges for municipal services.
Notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary, every
municipality which furnishes any essential or special municipal
service, including, but not limited to, police and fire protection,
parking facilities on the streets or otherwise, parks and
recreational facilities, street cleaning, street lighting, street
maintenance and improvement, abatement of uninhabitable, abandoned
structures, sewerage and sewage disposal, and the collection and
disposal of garbage, refuse, waste, ashes, trash and any other similar matter, shall have plenary power and authority to provide
by ordinance for the installation, continuance, maintenance or
improvement of such service, to make reasonable regulations with
respect thereto, and to impose by ordinance upon the users of such
service reasonable rates, fees and charges to be collected in the
manner specified in the ordinance: Provided, That any sewerage and
sewage disposal service and any service incident to the collection
and disposal of garbage, refuse, waste, ashes, trash and any other
similar matter shall be subject to the provisions of chapter
twenty-four of this code. The municipality shall, not however,
have a lien on any property as security for payments due under such
ordinance. Notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article
eleven of this chapter, any ordinance enacted or substantially
amended under the provisions of this section shall be published as
a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication
area for such publication shall be such municipality. In the event
thirty percent of the qualified voters of the municipality by
petition duly signed by them in their own handwriting and filed
with the recorder of the municipality within fifteen days after the
expiration of such publication protest against such ordinance as
enacted or amended, the ordinance shall not become effective until
it shall be ratified by a majority of the legal votes cast thereon
by the qualified voters of such municipality at a regular municipal
election or special municipal election, as the governing body shall
direct. Voting thereon shall not take place until after notice of such submission shall have been given by publication as above
provided for the publication of the ordinance after it is adopted
or substantially amended. The powers and authority hereby granted
to municipalities and to the governing bodies thereof are in
addition and supplemental to the powers and authority named in any
charters thereof. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
section, in the event rates, fees and charges herein provided for
shall be imposed by the governing body of any municipality for the
purpose of replacing and in amounts approximately sufficient to
replace in its general fund such amounts as shall be appropriated
to be paid out of ad valorem taxes upon property within the
municipality pursuant to an election duly called and held under the
Constitution and laws of the state to authorize the issuance and
sale of general obligation bonds of the municipality for public
improvement purposes, in the call for which election it shall be
stated that the governing body of the municipality proposes to
impose rates, fees and charges in specified amounts under this
section for the use of one or more of the services above specified,
which shall be related to the public improvement proposed to be
made with the proceeds of the bonds, no notice, publication of
notice, or referendum or election or other condition or
prerequisite to the imposition of such rates, fees and charges
shall be required or necessary other than the legal requirements
for issuance and sale of such general obligation bonds: Provided,
however, That liens placed for fee collection have a first priority
when any subject property is sold, even in State Tax Commission sales. Whenever a banking institution has a first-in-time priority
status, any municipal fee would share such status and in no case
shall such municipality collect less than fifty percent of said fee
or lien. After six months have passed from the date a municipal
lien is recorded, any liens that remain unsatisfied by payment in
full to the municipality shall be subject to sale by the
municipality to satisfy the lien. The sale shall be conducted in
the same manner as all municipal property in accord with section
eighteen, article twelve, chapter eight of this code, after legal
notice has been given to the property owner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide an enforcement
mechanism for cities to collect serious delinquent municipal fees
by providing that liens be placed on property. Liens for
delinquent fees will have a first priority should the property be
sold.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.