§ 8. Funding.

(1)

The board of fire commissioners is hereby authorized to levy and impose an annual assessment or service charge against all property in the district in an amount adequate to fund the operations of the district, and shall advertise and conduct all public hearings necessary for the imposition of the same in the manner required by Florida Statutes prior to adoption of the resolution hereinbelow specified in subsection (2).

(2)

The aforementioned annual assessment or service charge shall be levied and imposed by the board of fire commissioners by resolution which shall be reduced to writing and a copy of such resolution shall forthwith be forwarded to the property appraiser of Okaloosa County, the tax collector of Okaloosa County, and the board of county commissioners. The board of fire commissioners shall comply with all state laws relative to the levy of the annual assessment or service charge.

(3)

All assessments to be levied and collected pursuant hereto shall be due and assessed and certified by the property appraiser of Okaloosa County and collected by the tax collector of Okaloosa County in the same manner as municipal property taxes of the various municipalities in Okaloosa County, Florida.

(4)

The annual assessment or service charge hereby authorized to be levied, assessed, and imposed shall thereupon become a lien upon property within the district and enforced in the same manner as liens for ad valorem taxes. Such lien for such district annual assessment or service charge shall be a first lien superior in dignity to all other liens except ad valorem tax liens.

(Ord. No. 90-33, § 1, 8-7-90; Ord. No. 94-21, § 1, 5-24-94)