In rural Arkansas, can the quorum court raise volunteer fire department dues without going back to the voters, and can the dues be charged on a timberland parcel that doesn't have a house or business on it?
Subject
Whether a quorum court can increase volunteer fire department dues under A.C.A. § 14-20-108 without an election, and whether such dues can be assessed on rural parcels (such as timberland) that have neither a residence nor a business with an occupiable structure.
Plain-English summary
Senator Steve Crowell asked the AG two questions about volunteer fire department funding under A.C.A. § 14-20-108, as amended by Act 673 of 2025.
Increasing dues. Whether a quorum court can raise dues without going back to the voters depends on what the voters originally approved. If the underlying voter-approved measure didn't fix a specific rate of dues, the quorum court can increase the dues without resubmitting to voters. If voters approved a specific rate, then a new vote is required to change it. The AG cited Opinion 2022-013 for this principle. Act 673 of 2025 doesn't substantially change this aspect of the law.
Assessing timberland. Under A.C.A. § 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a), as amended by Act 673 of 2025, quorum courts can levy dues for a volunteer fire department whose protection district covers an unincorporated county area "on each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure." That's the entire universe of assessable property. The only built-in exemption is for "active member[s] of a volunteer fire department" under § 14-20-108(a)(3).
The AG addressed the argument that some statutory language uses "by parcel" terminology. The annual reports a volunteer fire department must file (§ 14-20-108(g)(2)(D)) reference dues charged "by parcel or on each residence or business having an occupiable structure." The AG ruled that the reporting language doesn't expand the assessable-property definition in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i)(a). Reporting statutes describe what gets reported; substantive assessability statutes describe what can be assessed. They're different things.
So a tract of timberland with no residence and no occupiable business structure cannot be assessed for volunteer fire dues. Whether a particular thing on a tract counts as a "residence" or an "occupiable business structure" is a question of fact for the county assessor or quorum court, not the AG.
The AG also footnoted that Act 673 of 2025 has no emergency clause or specified effective date, so it took effect August 5, 2025 (per the AG's effective-date opinion 2025-032).
What this means for you
County judges and quorum-court members
If you're considering raising volunteer fire department dues, pull the file on the underlying voter-approved measure. The dispositive question is whether voters fixed a specific rate. If they didn't, you can raise dues by ordinance without a new election. If they did, you can't raise the rate without going back to voters. Build the discussion around that documented record, not around what people remember about the original vote.
You can't reach timberland or vacant rural acreage with these dues. The base is "residences" and "businesses with an occupiable structure." That's it. If your fire department's revenue forecast depended on assessing dues across all parcels in the protection district, that forecast doesn't survive § 14-20-108 as written.
Timberland owners and rural landowners
If your county has been billing you fire-department dues for a parcel without a residence or occupiable business structure on it, the bill is wrong as a matter of law. Push back with a copy of A.C.A. § 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a) and this opinion. The county can only assess "on each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure." A bare tract of land doesn't qualify.
If there is something on your parcel that the county is calling a "business with an occupiable structure" and you don't think it is, that's a factual dispute. The AG explicitly said this is not a question for him; it's a question for the county. Document what's on the parcel and why you think it doesn't qualify.
Volunteer fire department officers
You're operating with a defined revenue base that doesn't include vacant rural acreage. Your annual reports (under § 14-20-108(g)) need to track dues charged "by parcel or on each residence or business having an occupiable structure," but the underlying assessment can only happen against residences and occupiable business structures. Don't conflate the reporting language with substantive authority to charge.
If the voter-approved measure that authorized your dues didn't set a specific rate, you can ask the quorum court for an increase. If it did, you'll need to go back to voters.
County assessors
Whether a structure on a parcel qualifies as a "residence" or an "occupiable business structure" is your call (or the quorum court's, depending on local arrangement). The AG explicitly punted that factual question. Document the criteria you use: foundation, electrical service, presence of fixtures, intended use, etc. Apply them consistently across similar parcels.
Active volunteer firefighters
You're statutorily exempt from dues under § 14-20-108(a)(3) regardless of how the underlying ballot measure was structured. Make sure the county knows your name is on the active-member list each year.
Common questions
Q: Our 1995 vote authorized "fire dues for the protection district." It didn't say a specific dollar amount. Can the quorum court raise the dues today?
Yes, if the vote really didn't fix a specific rate. Pull the actual ballot measure or ordinance text, not the campaign mailers. The AG's analysis turns on what the voters approved on paper.
Q: Our 2010 vote said "$50 per residence." Can the quorum court raise it to $75?
No, not without a new vote. The voters fixed a specific rate. The AG cited Opinion 2022-013, which holds that the quorum court can't change a voter-fixed rate without going back to voters.
Q: I own 200 acres of timberland with a hunting cabin on it. Can the county charge me dues?
The cabin matters. If the cabin is a "residence," it's assessable. The AG didn't define "residence" because that's a factual call for the county. But a structure that someone could live in (even seasonally) typically meets the definition. A bare-bones hunting blind might not. Talk to your county assessor about how they classify your structures.
Q: I have a barn that's used to store equipment. Is that a "business with an occupiable structure"?
Probably not, on two grounds. A barn isn't typically a "business" in the operational sense, and pure equipment storage isn't usually an "occupiable" use even if the barn has a roof. But again, this is a factual question for the county. If they're billing you, ask them which prong of § 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a) they're invoking.
Q: We have a cell tower on our timberland that's leased to a wireless carrier. Is that a "business"?
This is closer to a real legal question. There's a business on the parcel, but is the cell tower "an occupiable structure"? Probably not in the everyday sense (no one occupies a cell tower the way they occupy a building). The AG didn't address this scenario, so it's a question for the county and ultimately a court if challenged.
Q: What if the volunteer fire department's protection district covers an incorporated city, not an unincorporated area?
Section 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a) specifically addresses unincorporated areas. The AG opinion addresses that scenario. For dues in an incorporated municipality, different statutory framework may apply. Consult the city's fire-protection authority and the relevant municipal ordinances.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 14-20-108 is the operative statute for volunteer fire department dues in unincorporated county areas. It allows quorum courts, after a successful local vote, to levy dues to fund a volunteer fire department whose protection district covers part or all of an unincorporated area.
Subsection (a)(1)(B)(i)(a) sets the assessable base: "each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure." This was the same in pre-Act 673 versions of the law and remained unchanged by the 2025 amendment. The key word is "and" between "residence" and "business," because the pairing exhausts the list. Other parcels (timberland, vacant lots, easements, etc.) are outside the assessable base.
Act 673 of 2025 amended other provisions of § 14-20-108 (notably some procedural details), but did not change the core assessable-base language. Because Act 673 has no emergency clause and no specified effective date, it became effective August 5, 2025, the day after the referendum-petition window closed (the AG laid out this calculation in Opinion 2025-032).
The exemption for "active member[s] of a volunteer fire department" is at § 14-20-108(a)(3) and was discussed in AGOp. 2013-008.
The reporting requirement at § 14-20-108(g)(2)(D), which references "by parcel or on each residence or business having an occupiable structure," uses different language because it's describing the form of the report, not the substantive assessability. AG opinions consistently read reporting and substantive provisions of the same statute as serving different functions.
The "voter-approved rate" issue draws from AGOp. 2022-013, which set the rule: if the voter-approved measure fixed a specific rate, the quorum court can't change it without a new vote; if it didn't, the quorum court can adjust within the authority the voters granted.
Citations
- A.C.A. § 14-20-108 (volunteer fire department dues, as amended by Act 673 of 2025)
- A.C.A. § 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a) (assessable base: residences and businesses with occupiable structures)
- A.C.A. § 14-20-108(a)(3) (exemption for active volunteer firefighters)
- A.C.A. § 14-20-108(g)(2)(D) (annual reporting requirement)
- Act 673 of 2025
- AGOp. 2022-013 (voter-approved rate analysis)
- AGOp. 2013-008 (active member exemption)
- AGOp. 2025-032 (effective date of acts without emergency clause)
- Black's Law Dictionary 1336 (12th ed. 2024) (definition of "parcel")
Source
Original opinion text
101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
Opinion No. 2025-019
June 6, 2025
The Honorable Steve Crowell
State Senator
Post Office Box 352
Magnolia, Arkansas 71754
Dear Senator Crowell:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion on a quorum court's authority to increase dues for volunteer fire departments under A.C.A. § 14-20-108. Act 673 of 2025 amended A.C.A. § 14-20-108. Because the Act does not have either an emergency clause or a specified effective date, it is effective August 5, 2025. See Ark. Att'y Gen. Op. 2025-032.
You ask two questions:
- May a quorum court increase the levied dues for volunteer fire departments without an election?
Brief response: The answer depends on whether the voters originally set a specific rate of dues.
- May dues for volunteer fire departments be assessed on a rural parcel (timberland) without either a residence or business with an occupiable structure?
Brief response: No. Under A.C.A. § 14-20-108, as amended by Act 673 of 2025, quorum courts are authorized to levy dues for a volunteer fire department whose fire protection district covers an unincorporated area of the county only "on each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure."
DISCUSSION
Question 1: May a quorum court increase the levied dues for volunteer fire departments without an election?
Whether a quorum court may increase levied dues for volunteer fire departments depends on what the voters originally approved. Under A.C.A. § 14-20-108, a quorum court could increase the dues on property tax statements without resubmitting to voters if the original voter-approved measure did not set a specific rate of dues. But if the voters authorized a specific rate, a quorum court cannot increase the rate of dues without directly submitting to voters for approval. (For purposes of this question, Act 673 of 2025 does not substantially change the law concerning the authority of a quorum court to assess fire department dues.)
Question 2: May dues for volunteer fire departments be assessed on a rural parcel (timberland) without a residence or a business with an occupiable structure?
Under § 14-20-108(a)(1)(B)(i)(a), as amended by Act 673 of 2025, quorum courts are authorized to levy dues for a volunteer fire department whose fire protection district covers an unincorporated area of the county "on each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure." (Act 673 of 2025 does not change the "on each residence and on each business having an occupiable structure" requirements under current law.) The only exemption from such assessment is for "active member[s] of a volunteer fire department." And while annual reports that a volunteer fire department files must contain dues charged "by parcel or on each residence or business having an occupiable structure," such language does not expand subsection (a)(1)(B)(i)(a)'s meaning to include as assessable property "parcels" (or "tract[s] of land") without a residence or a business with an occupiable structure. (Act 673 of 2025 does not amend such substantive language.)
Thus, under A.C.A. § 14-20-108, dues for volunteer fire departments cannot be assessed on a tract of land that does not either contain a residence or a business with an occupiable structure. But whether a specific thing on a tract of land is a "residence" or a "business with an occupiable structure" is a question of fact that is outside of the scope of this opinion.
Assistant Attorney William R. Olson prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General