(A) (1) The city provides its residents and owners of buildings with the essential and special services of fire protection, street maintenance, and police service protection.
(2) Under W. Va. Code 8-13-13, as amended, municipalities in the state are authorized to impose fees upon the users of these services to defray the costs of providing same. Insomuch as revenues from other sources are insufficient to allow the city to provide these services adequately, it is necessary to impose a service fee upon the users thereof to order that these services may continue for the benefit of the residents and building owners in the city.
(B) (1) The imposition of the municipal service system contemplated under this subchapter is pursuant to authorization set forth in W. Va. Code 8-13-13, as amended.
(2) In accordance with said statute, it is a legislative intent of this subchapter that the fees imposed hereunder are based, in part, upon recognition of the following legislative finding: the residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and/or governmental, use of a building is a factor which affects the cost of providing municipal services. In order to provide fire protection, police protection, and street maintenance, the city has acquired and it will be necessary to acquire in the future, equipment at a substantial expense, and to establish and regularly train and maintain qualified police officers and firefighters to enable it to provide effective fire and police protection in the city, and that nonresidential owner-occupied property as compared to residential owner-occupied property requires additional equipment and manpower to provide municipal services and therefore, it is the intent of this subchapter that owners and occupiers of owner-occupied residential buildings pay a lesser charge for municipal services to reflect the reduced cost of providing municipal services.
(Ord. passed 3-2-2009)