(A) There is hereby established, imposed, and implemented an annual parcel fee on all occupied individual residential units and all occupied individual commercial, religious, charitable, educational, and public use units located within the territorial limits of the county, outside the limits of the City of Paducah, as determined from the records of the County Property Valuation Administrator's office. The fee shall be used for the delivery of enhanced 911 emergency telephone service as provided for by KRS 65.760 and the associated maintenance of systems and devices, including but not limited to, operating costs of the Paducah- McCracken County 911 Services Center and purchase and maintenance of E911 equipment.
(B) (1) The County Fiscal Court hereby imposes the following annual parcel fees on all parcels of occupied real property, as more accurately defined in division (C) below, which are located within the jurisdictional limits of the county, outside the limits of the City of Paducah:
(a) Super commercial unit (contains structure in excess of 25,000 sq. ft.): $1,550.
(b) Large commercial unit (contains structure between 7,500 and 25,000 sq. ft.): $860.
(c) Medium commercial unit (contains structure between 2,500 and 7,500 sq. ft.): $325.
(d) Small commercial unit (structure between one and 2,500 sq. ft.): $210.
(e) Parking lots (which shall include, but not be limited to, parking lots, garages, or other areas designed for the parking of motor vehicles as defined by KRS 186.010(4) whereby the owner, occupant, lessee, or possessor of any portion of the parcel leases, rents, licenses, bails, or otherwise allows the parking or storage of motor vehicles in exchange for consideration): $150.
(f) Public use units (emergency service, governmental, religious, charitable, and educational): $35.
(g) Residential units: $45.
(2) In the event a parcel is mixed use, the parcel shall be assessed at the highest applicable assessment rate.
(C) Definitions.
OCCUPIED RESIDENTIAL UNIT. Each residential space designed and/or utilized for occupancy for residential purposes and includes each apartment and/or duplex unit, house, and mobile home as a separate residential unit.
OCCUPIED COMMERCIAL UNIT. A non-residential building space of any size designed and/or utilized for occupancy by an individual nonresidential business or private enterprise which involves the manufacture, sale. lease, or rental of goods, or services to the public.
OCCUPIED PUBLIC USE UNIT. Any parcel owned or leased by:
(a) Any city, county, state, or federal government in which the parcel is used for the purposes of conducting the regular business of its government, its police department, or its fire department.
(b) A fire district so long as the parcel is used by the district to deliver fire protection services pursuant to KRS Ch. 75.
(c) A non-residential building space of any size designed and/or utilized for occupancy for religious activities and/or worship.
(d) A non-residential building space of any size designed and/or utilized for occupancy for the carrying out a charitable purpose as determined by § 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(e) A non-residential building space of any size designed and/or utilized for occupancy for the purpose of education, the administration thereof or extracurricular activities.
(D) The 911 parcel fee shall be placed upon the county's property tax bills prepared by the County PVA, County Sheriff and the County Clerk beginning with the 2024 tax bill and continuing every year thereafter. The due dates shall be the same as the property tax due dates set by statute.
(E) For the first year only, owners of all occupied residential rental units shall be eligible to claim a rebate of $22.50 per unit against the annual fee due. This rebate, which is the equivalent of a six-month share of the fee, is granted to allow owners of rental property additional time to recover some or all of the amount of the fee from tenants. In subsequent years, the full amount of the annual 911 parcel fee shall be paid for all occupied residential rental units. In order to be eligible forr this rebate, the property owner of the occupied rental unit(s) shall complete and submit the form, attached to Ordinance No. 2024-06, to the County Judge Executive, which shall be received by the Judge Executive on or before March 1, 2025.
(F) Any property owner may appeal the classification of their property under the terms of this section. However, an appeal shall not affect the date the parcel fee is due. A property owner wishing to appeal a classification shall file an appeal by delivering a notice of appeal to the County Judge Executive by no later than December 1 of the year for which the fee is clue. The Joint Appeals Board shall set a date for a meeting in which the property owner can present evidence and otherwise be heard on the issue of classification. The property owner shall bear the burden of proof that the property has been incorrectly classified by clear and convincing evidence. The county shall also have the right to present evidence of proof that the classification is appropriate. If the property owner presents sufficient proof of lack of occupancy and/or any other evidence to indicate that the parcel was inappropriately classified, the Joint Appeals Board shall provide relief to the party by a majority vote, including, but not limited to, a refund of all or a portion of the parcel fee paid during the applicable tax year.
(G) All real estate parcel fees shall be collected by the County Sheriff.
(H) The real estate parcel fees collected shall be accounted for and kept separate and apart from other accounts and may only be used for the funding of emergency 911 services as permitted by state law and as more fully set forth in § 30.09.
(I) The failure of any owner of real property to pay the fee as set forth in this section shall be punishable as a Class A misdemeanor and/or by civil collection process.
(J) As more fully set forth in § 30.09, the 911 Board shall review the fee imposed by this section and by no later than April 1 of each year make a recommendation to the Fiscal Court as to any adjustments to the then-effective parcel fee to ensure adequate funding of the joint 911 services.
(K) Unless otherwise determined by the County Fiscal Court, commencing April 1, 2025, and on April 1 of each successive year thereafter, all parcel fees set forth in this section shall be automatically adjusted based on the Urban Consumer Price Index for the South Region as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the prior January.
(Ord. 2024-06, passed 6-24-2024)