5458

COUNTY LOCAL LEWS

effectuated in accordance with time deadlines specified
by the county executive. Contemporaneous with the
forwarding of all budgets the fire board shall also
forward to the county executive for submission to the
council its recommendations for changes as to the fire
tax district boundaries. Recommended changes shall be
based on, but not be limited to, the following: (i)
When a fire department's recommended budget would require
a tax levy of twenty—one cents or more per one hundred
dollars of assessed valuation; (ii) when the construction
contract for a new fire station has been completed within
the immediate past calendar year; (iii) when existing
tax boundaries have been affected by changes in property
boundary lines; (iv) when new roads or bridges are
opened or existing roads or bridges are closed within the
immediate past calendar year and thereby a change in the
response distances result; and (v) when errors have been
made in drawing the fire tax district boundaries on the
map required by Section 21—13 of this Chapter.

As to the individual fire tax districts, as
described in section 21—13, the county council, in their
next annual levy, shall levy a tax on all property
assessed for county tax purposes within the respective
individual fire tax districts for those fire departments
or rescue squads requiring such tax levy at a rate on
each one hundred dollars of the assessed value of the
property to produce an amount that may appear to the
council as sufficient for the purposes of maintaining,
equipping and operating the departments or squads,
provided that the county council shall not levy such tax
at a rate which would produce less than the amount so
certified by any fire department or squad, as necessary
to maintain, equip and operate the fire department or
squad, without a previous public hearing to determine the
necessity of any proposed reduction of the amount so
certified by the fire department or squad. All budgets
shall be subject to public hearings as provided under
section 304 of the Charter of Montgomery County,
Maryland. The tax shall be levied and shall be collected
in the manner that county taxes are presently levied and
collected or may hereafter be levied and collected and
shall have the same priority rights, bear the same
interest and penalties and in every respect be treated
the same as county taxes. The taxes so levied for the
ensuing year shall be collected by the tax collecting
authorities of the county. Funds provided for by the tax
levies shall be on a total basis but reflect the
categories of salaries, operating and capital finance;
and shall be paid at least on a monthly basis by the
county director of finance to the respective treasurers
of the departments or squads within each individual fire
tax district in accordance with a projected monthly
schedule submitted by each individual department and