If a property owner pays property taxes but skips the volunteer fire department dues that are listed on the same tax bill, can the county treat the property as tax-delinquent and put it through forfeiture and sale?

Plain-English summary

Representative Charlene Fite asked about dues for the Prairie Grove-Farmington Rural Fire Association. According to the request, voters in part of Washington County had approved the dues, and the dues appeared on real property tax statements. She asked what happened if a property owner paid property taxes but left the fire-association dues unpaid: could the collector mark the taxes delinquent, place a lien, and send the property for forfeiture and sale?

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge answered the delinquency question conditionally: if recording taxes as delinquent would subject the property to forfeiture for unpaid fire dues, the answer was no. She also said there was no property lien for those dues. That made the proposed sale through a lien moot.

The opinion quotes an earlier analysis of the instruction to collect fire dues “at the same time and in the same manner” as real property taxes. That analysis says the language likely includes the 10% delinquency penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-202(b). But it does not extend to certification under A.C.A. § 26-37-101 et seq., which leads to forfeiture and sale of tax-delinquent property. Tax and some improvement-district assessment liens have express legal bases; the AG said volunteer fire dues have no comparable lien. The opinion notes that a later amendment removed an earlier statutory lien provision for these dues.

For collection, the AG said the delinquency should be reported to the Association. The Association may then pursue collection in court. She declined to give a fuller account of possible remedies without legislative clarification. Although she agreed with prior opinions, the stored text does not identify them by number.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Verify the current fire-dues statute and collection rules before relying on the result; the AG expressly called for legislative clarification on remedies beyond those she discussed.

Common questions

Can unpaid dues make already-paid property taxes delinquent? The AG said no if that designation would subject the property to forfeiture for nonpayment of dues. Her response did not decide every administrative way a collector might record an unpaid dues balance.

Do volunteer fire dues create a property lien? The AG said no. The opinion contrasts fire dues with taxes and assessments for which a lien is expressly provided and notes that an earlier fire-dues lien provision was removed.

Can the land commissioner sell property solely to collect these dues? The AG treated the sale question as moot after finding no lien for the dues and no authority to use the tax forfeiture process described.

Who pursues collection of unpaid dues?
The opinion says delinquencies go to the Association, which may pursue collection through court proceedings. It does not specify a court or decide the details of a claim or judgment.

Does “same manner as property taxes” include the 10% penalty? The quoted earlier analysis says it likely does. That was not a categorical holding that every property-tax enforcement procedure also applies to fire dues; the opinion specifically rejects forfeiture through tax certification.

Background and statutory framework

A.C.A. § 14-20-108 addresses volunteer fire department dues. The opinion quotes an earlier analysis that distinguishes collection timing and method from a tax lien and state certification. It refers to A.C.A. § 26-36-202(b) for a likely 10% penalty, A.C.A. § 26-34-101(b) for tax liens, and A.C.A. § 26-37-101 et seq. for certification leading to forfeiture and sale. It compares statutes giving express liens to various improvement districts and notes that Acts 2001, No. 984 removed earlier lien authority for fire dues.

Citations

• A.C.A. § 14-20-108 (volunteer fire department dues)
• A.C.A. § 26-36-202(b) (10% delinquency penalty discussed as likely applicable)
• A.C.A. § 26-34-101(b) (tax lien)
• A.C.A. § 26-37-101 et seq. (certification and forfeiture)
• Acts 2001, No. 984 (removal of earlier fire-dues lien authority)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

STATE OF ARKANSAS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE

Opinion No. 2015-009
April 2, 2015
The Honorable Charlene Fite
State Representative
Post Office Box 7300
Van Buren, Arkansas 72956-0262
Dear Representative Fite:

You have requested my opinion on several questions concerning A.C.A. § 14-20- 108, which addresses volunteer fire department dues. As background for your questions, you state that an election was held on July 9, 2013, in the unincorporated part of Washington County served by the Prairie Grove- Farmington Rural Fire Association ("Association") on the question of the levy of the Association's dues on each residence and business with an occupiable structure. You report that the voters approved the measure, which also provided that the dues were to be listed annually on real property tax statements and collected in the same manner as ad valorem taxes.

With this background in mind, you ask:

1. Is the non-payment of fire association dues collected by the county
   collector handled in the same manner as the non-payment of property taxes? For instance: (a) If a property owner in a fire association district pays his assessed property taxes but does not pay the fire association dues to the county collector, may the county collector record his property taxes as being delinquent? (b) If the county collector can record the property taxes as being delinquent, may the county place a lien on the property in an attempt to collect the delinquent fire association dues? (c) If a lien may be placed on the property, can the property be turned over to the Land Commissioner and sold at auction?
2. If the answer to Question 1 is no, what is the proper manner for a
   county collector or fire association to collect delinquent dues?

RESPONSE
With regard to Question 1(a), if recording the taxes as delinquent would mean the property is subject to forfeiture proceedings for nonpayment, I believe the answer is "no." The answer to Question 1(b) is "no," in my opinion. Question 1(c) is therefore moot. It is my opinion in response to Question 2 that delinquencies are to be reported to the Association for collection and that the Association may enforce collection through court proceedings.

DISCUSSION
This office has previously issued several opinions addressing the available remedies for nonpayment of volunteer fire department dues. The following excerpt reflects the opinions' conclusion that the legislature has not clearly provided for the collection of delinquent dues through forfeiture proceedings:

The language requiring collection of the dues "at the same time and in the same manner" as real property taxes likely includes the 10% penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-202(b) that applies with respect to delinquent real property taxes. . . . This phrase cannot, however, in my opinion, reasonably be construed to include the certification procedures under A.C.A. § 26-37-101 et seq. . . . These procedures involve the forfeiture and sale of tax-delinquent property to enforce the state's lien for taxes. The lien arises from the time state taxes are assessed. See A.C.A. § 26-34-101(b) (Repl. 1997) ("[a]ll taxes assessed shall be a lien upon and bind the property assessed from the first Monday of January of the year in which the assessment shall be made. . . .") The legislature has, similarly, given liens for taxes in favor of municipal improvement districts (A.C.A. § 14-90-805(a)) and other various types of improvement districts. See, e.g., A.C.A. § 14-92-228 (suburban improvement districts), 14-93- 119 (property owners' improvement districts), 14-123-409 (drainage improvement districts). Additionally, the legislature has clearly identified those instances in which collection may be enforced through certification to the state for redemption or sale. See A.C.A. § 14-92-232 (suburban improvement districts). Unlike these taxes and assessments, however, volunteer fire department dues do not become a lien against the property. Nor is there any other language in A.C.A. § 14-20-108 suggesting that the state certification procedures apply. Although there was previous authority under § 14-20-108 for imposing a lien, a subsequent amendment removed this authority. See Acts 2001, No. 984. Had the legislature intended for the certification procedures to apply in case of delinquent volunteer fire department dues, it could easily have so indicated.

Section 14-20-108 has not been amended to give a lien for volunteer fire department dues. I agree with the previous opinions of this office that the legislature has not clearly expressed its intent for the collection of delinquent dues to be enforced through forfeiture and sale proceedings.

It is therefore my opinion that the answer to Question 1(a) above is "no" if recording the taxes as delinquent would subject the property to forfeiture proceedings for nonpayment.

The answer to Question 1(b) is "no," in my opinion, for the reasons explained above. This renders moot Question 1(c).

With regard to Question 2 concerning the proper manner of collecting delinquent dues, delinquencies are to be reported to the Association for collection and the Association may pursue collection through court proceedings. I cannot opine further in this regard absent legislative clarification.

Deputy Attorney General Elisabeth A. Walker prepared the foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve.

LESLIE RUTLEDGE
LR/EAW:cyh