(A) There shall be an annual availability fee imposed upon the owner of each improved property, as defined herein, within the county whether inside or outside incorporated areas, to recover all or a portion of the costs of solid waste management in the county. This fee shall be collected by the county and paid into the Landfill Enterprise Fund.
(B) The amount to be charged as an availability fee for solid waste management shall be established and adjusted as necessary by the Board of Commissioners, shall be recorded in the official minutes of the Board meeting at which the availability fees are adopted, and shall appear on a fee schedule on file with the Finance Officer.
(C) (1) The availability fee for solid waste management shall be effective and commence on July 1, 1997, for the fiscal year which begins July 1, 1997, and continues for 12 months through June 30, 1998. The availability fee shall be initially assessed and billed on the basis of improved property, as defined herein, owned on January 1, 1997, and this initial fee for 12 months will be billed on the annual ad valorem tax bill to improved property owners which will be due on September 1, 1997. Each year thereafter the billing period will commence with the fiscal year which begins on July 1, and continues until the following June 30.
(2) Availability fees will be assessed and billed on the basis of improved property owned on January 1, prior to the fiscal year covered by the availability fee. The availability fee is due on each September 1 and shall become delinquent if not paid before the following January 6. There shall be a penalty charge of 2% if the availability fee is not paid before each January 6 and 0.75% per month for each succeeding month that the availability fee remains unpaid. The availability fee shall be discounted in the same manner as property taxes paid prior to the due date when a discount for taxes paid prior to the due date is authorized by the Board of Commissioners. The collection of the availability fee, delinquent fee and collection costs will be governed by the North Carolina General Statutes involving the collection of ad valorem taxes on real or personal property.
(D) The availability fee shall be assessed, billed and collected by the Tax Collector from the owners of all improved property, as defined herein, within the county. The owner will be assessed an availability fee for each occurrence of above-described improvements on the applicable tax bill.
(1) Solid waste is collected from improved property by the county, Elizabeth City or private contractor and the collection fee includes a charge for the availability and use of the county’s solid waste management system; or
(2) On the date the availability fee is billed the improved property is:
(a) Uninhabited and has been uninhabited on and after January 1; and
(b) The improved property will remain uninhabited during the period for which the availability fee is assessed.
(E) (1) Request for the exemption set forth in division (D)(2) above must be submitted by affidavit to the Tax Assessor who shall investigate and determine whether the exemption is warranted. The Tax Assessor shall report availability fee exemptions to the Board of Commissioners monthly and the exemptions shall be recorded in the official minutes of the meeting where the report is made.
(2) An applicant whose availability fee exemption is denied by the Tax Assessor may in writing appeal the denial to the Board of Commissioners for review.
(F) The availability fee shall be billed with property taxes, shall be payable in the same manner as property taxes, and in the case of nonpayment, shall be collected in any manner by which the delinquent personal or real property taxes can be collected and the fees are a lien on the real property described in the bill that includes the fee.
(Ord. passed 12-16-1991; Ord. 95-1, passed 1-9-1995; Ord. passed 7-21-1997; Ord. passed 9-22-1997)