Could a Louisiana fire district keep taxing land annexed by a city without a service agreement?

Plain-English summary

St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 12 asked whether Covington's annexation of land inside the district automatically ended the district's ability to collect taxes there. The Attorney General concluded annexation alone did not prohibit the district from collecting those taxes. The city and district had made no agreement under La. R.S. 33:221 granting Covington exclusive service jurisdiction in the annexed area.

The opinion relied on a Louisiana appellate decision interpreting that statute. It said a service agreement giving the city exclusive jurisdiction would change the district's authority to impose new maintenance taxes, but the statute preserved levies for outstanding tax-secured bonds and previously authorized maintenance taxes for the authorized period. Without an agreement, the AG said the district could continue and renew taxes in the annexed area.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy.

Common questions

Did annexation alone end the fire district's tax collections?

No. The AG said the district was not barred from collecting taxes on the annexed land without an agreement giving the city exclusive service authority.

What kind of agreement mattered?

La. R.S. 33:221 allowed a municipality and special service district to contract for one of them to have the exclusive right to serve annexed territory. The opinion said none existed between Covington and the district.

If the city took exclusive service jurisdiction, would all district taxes end at once?

No. The quoted statute preserved taxes for outstanding tax-secured bonds and previously authorized maintenance taxes for their authorized term, while limiting new maintenance taxes and new bond levies there.

Could the district renew taxes without such an agreement?

The AG said it could renew and collect taxes in the annexed area in the absence of a future agreement.

Background and statutory framework

Covington had annexed property inside the fire district after the district incurred bonded debt. The opinion applied La. R.S. 33:221's service-contract and tax provisions and quoted Caddo Parish Fire Districts Two, Three, Five and Six v. A. T. "Mike" Clingan C.L.A. on the district's continued rights before any exclusive-jurisdiction contract.

Citations

• La. R.S. 33:221 (service contracts and taxes on annexed land).
• Caddo Parish Fire Districts Two, Three, Five and Six v. A. T. "Mike" Clingan C.L.A., 649 So. 2d. 156 (La. App. 2d 1995) (statute interpretation).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0262

Original opinion text

October 20, 2006
OPINION NO. 05-0262
47- A-1 Fire Protection Districts
107- A- Special Districts
115 - Taxation-Collection & Enforcement against
Mr. Patrick J. Berrigan, Esq.
person and property
Legal Counsel
St. Tammany Fire District 12
La. R.S. 33:221
115 Northpark Boulevard
A fire district is not prohibited from collecting taxes
Covington, Louisiana 70433
levied upon land within its boundaries that have
been annexed by city if no agreement as
Dear Mr. Berrigan: contemplated in La. R.S. 33:221 has been entered
into between the city and fire district.
I am in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s opinion concerning whether the annexation of property by a municipality, in and of itself, prohibits and prevents the collection of taxes that have been levied upon those annexed lands by a fire protection district.

With respect to this request, you provide the following facts: In 1977, the St. Tammany Parish Council, the St. Tammany parish governing authority, created St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 12 (“fire district”). Initially, the boundaries of the district included the entire Third Ward which encompassed the City of Covington. However, in 1984, at the insistence of the mayor and city council of the City of Covington, the Parish Council changed the fire district’s boundaries and excluded Covington. It was at this time, 1984, that the fire district incurred a bonded indebtedness to purchase fire equipment and to make capital improvements. The bonded indebtedness becomes due on March 1, 2013.

Since that time, the City of Covington has annexed certain commercial and residential lands within the fire district’s boundaries. The City and the fire district have not agreed upon who shall have the exclusive right to provide services in the annexed area. Despite the annexation, the fire district continues to provide services in the annexed areas whenever the City of Covington’s dispatcher gives it notice of a call and to collect taxes there.

The question is, can the fire district collect taxes levied upon those lands annexed by the City of Covington?

In answer to your question, we refer you to La. R.S. 33:221, which provides, in pertinent part, the following:

§ 221. Contracts; taxes

Page 2

Mr. Patrick J. Berrigan, Esq.
Legal Counsel
St. Tammany Fire District 12
OPINION NO. 05-0262
Page 2

A. If a municipality annexes territory contained in a parochial water, sewer, or fire protection district, hereinafter collectively referred to as special service districts, the municipality and each such special service district are hereby authorized to enter into a contract granting to either the municipality or the special service district the exclusive right to provide service in the annexed area.

B. If the municipality and the special service districts provide in the contract that the municipality thereafter will have jurisdiction to service the annexed area, the special service district shall continue to levy taxes in the annexed area for the retirement of any outstanding tax-secured bonds of the district and may continue to levy such maintenance tax as theretofore has been authorized for the full period of such authorization; however, the district shall not thereafter be authorized to levy any new maintenance taxes in the annexed area, and, if the district thereafter issues any tax-secured bonds, the assessed valuation of the annexed area shall not be used in computing the capacity of the district to issue such bonds, and taxes shall not be levied in the annexed area for the retirement of new bonds of the district, notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary.

In Caddo Parish Fire Districts Two, Three, Five and Six v. A. T. "Mike" Clingan C.L.A., 649 So. 2d. 156 (La. App. 2d 1995) rehearing denied, the Second Circuit interpreted La. R.S. 33:221 stating that “[i]t is only when the municipality and special service district enter into a contract and agree that the municipality will have the exclusive jurisdiction to service the annexed area that the district must cease levying maintenance taxes.”

The court further noted in Clingan that it agreed with La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 92- 296 holding:

While not binding, we agree with an opinion of the Attorney General written on June 3, 1992, which states, in part, as follows:
By providing municipalities and service districts with a right to contract, the legislature has recognized that in absence of a

Page 3

Mr. Patrick J. Berrigan, Esq.
Legal Counsel
St. Tammany Fire District 12
OPINION NO. 05-0262
Page 3
contract granting jurisdiction to the municipality, the districts have the right to provide services (and levy taxes) in annexed areas.

                              *      *      *

[I]t is only when the municipality and the special service district enter into a contract and agree that the municipality will have exclusive jurisdiction to serve the annexed area that the district must cease levying maintenance taxes therein, and even then the district "may continue to levy such maintenance tax as theretofore has been authorized for the full period of such authorization." Clingan at 159 citing La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 92-296.

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that, in the absence of an intergovernmental agreement awarding the City exclusive jurisdiction to provide services in the annexed areas, the fire district is not prohibited from collecting taxes levied upon the land annexed by the City. Further, in the absence of a future agreement, the fire district may renew and collect taxes in the annexed areas. It should also be noted that, even if the City and the district enter into a contract granting the municipality the exclusive jurisdiction over the annexed area, the fire district would continue to levy and collect taxes in the annexed area for the retirement of any outstanding tax-secured bonds for the full period of authorization. In accord are La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 99-46, 97-121, 94-461, 93- 614, 93-564, 92- 296 and 79-280.

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: _________
Christopher D. Matchett
Assistant Attorney General

CCF,Jr.:CDM:lrs

Page 4

OPINION NO. 05-0262

47- A-1 Fire Protection Districts
107- A- Special Districts
115 - Taxation-Collection & Enforcement against person and property

La. R.S. 33:221

A fire district is not prohibited from collecting taxes levied upon land within its boundaries that have been annexed by City if no agreement as contemplated in La. R.S. 33:221 has been entered into between the City and fire district.

Mr. Patrick J. Berrigan, Esq.
Legal Counsel
St. Tammany Fire District 12
115 Northpark Boulevard
Covington, Louisiana 70433

DATE RECEIVED:
DATE RELEASED: October 20, 2006

Christopher D. Matchett
Assistant Attorney General