321.243. Tax authorized for dispatching center and equipment and services in a certain county--requirements--funds, payment from--board of directors, members, qualifications--St. Charles County, speci
Tax authorized for dispatching center and equipment and services in acertain county--requirements--funds, payment from--board ofdirectors, members, qualifications--St. Charles County, specialboard, powers.
321.243. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to thecontrary, an additional tax of not to exceed three cents per one hundreddollars of assessed valuation may be levied and collected by any city,town, village, county, or fire protection district, or a central fire andemergency services board established in subsection 4 of this section. Allthe funds derived from such tax shall be used solely for the purpose ofestablishing and providing a joint central fire and emergency dispatchingservice, and, in any county with a charter form of government and with morethan one million inhabitants, for expenditures for equipment and services,except for salaries, wages, and benefits, by cities, towns, villages,counties, or fire protection districts which contract with such jointcentral fire and emergency dispatching service.
2. The additional tax prescribed by this section shall be levied onlywhen the governing body of the city, town, village, county, fire protectiondistrict, or central fire and emergency services board determines that acentral fire and emergency dispatching center will meet the minimumrequirements set by section 321.245, and, except where a central fire andemergency services board is established in accordance with subsection 4 ofthis section, when the governing body has entered into a contract with thecenter for fire and emergency dispatching services. The funds from the taxshall be kept separate and apart from all other funds of the city, town,village, county, fire protection district, or central fire and emergencyservices board and shall be paid out only on order of the governing body.Except as provided in subsection 4 of this section, all funds received bysuch center, and all operations of such center shall be governed andcontrolled by a board of directors consisting of one member from each suchagency using the joint central fire and emergency dispatching service.Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 of this section, in anycounty, city, town, or village, where a tax-supported fire protectiondistrict is provided emergency dispatching services by any form of jointcommunication organization or emergency dispatching center, receivingdirectly or indirectly any funds so levied and collected as provided inthis section including any funds or tariffs paid by telephone subscribersfor 911 emergency service, such joint communication organization, howeverorganized, shall be governed by a board of directors, and the board ofdirectors shall consist in part of one member appointed by each county,city, town, village or tax-supported fire protection district, so served.The members shall be an elected official of a fire protection district,ambulance district or city council appointed by each such agency to servefor a one-year term or until a successor is duly appointed.
3. In addition to the tax prescribed by subsections 1 and 2 of thissection, an additional tax of not to exceed two cents per one hundreddollars of assessed valuation which has been approved by the voters may belevied and collected by any city, town, village, county, or fire protectiondistrict, or a central fire and emergency services board established insubsection 4 of this section of a county of the first classification with acharter form of government which has a population between two hundredthousand and five hundred thousand inhabitants, but all of the fundsderived from such tax shall be used solely for the purpose of establishingand providing a joint central fire and emergency dispatching service.
4. A central fire and emergency services board shall be establishedin any county of the first classification with a charter form of governmentwhich has a population between two hundred thousand and five hundredthousand inhabitants in the manner prescribed in this subsection. Theboard shall have all powers and duties prescribed in this section andsection 321.245 to establish and provide a joint central fire and emergencydispatching service. The initial board shall be established at the April,1996, election. The election authority shall be ordered to conduct suchelection, which shall be conducted as a nonpartisan election. The boardshall consist of one member elected from each county council district. Allboard members shall serve for four-year terms, except that of the initialmembers elected, the members elected from odd-numbered county councildistricts shall serve for terms of two years and the members elected fromeven-numbered county council districts shall serve for terms of four years.Each member shall be a resident of the county council district from whichthe member is elected. No person who is a paid employee of any fireprotection district, ambulance district, joint central fire and emergencydispatch board, or a paid employee of a fire or ambulance department of amunicipality shall be elected to the joint central fire and emergencydispatch board. At such election, the election authority of the countyshall submit to the qualified voters of the county a proposal for the boardto levy and collect the taxes prescribed in this section, and such taxshall be conditioned on the replacement of the tax levied in such county bythe county under this section with the new tax levied by the board. Aportion of the funds derived from the tax levied pursuant to thissubsection shall be used to reimburse the county for the cost of theelection held in April, 1996, and any subsequent elections that arenecessary for the operation of the board and the board's duties. Inaddition, if such a tax is approved, any funds remaining in the separatefund kept by the county, as required by subsection 2 of this section, andany property and equipment purchased with moneys in such separate fund heldby the county shall be transferred to the fund maintained by the board forthe same purpose. The board shall abide by section 50.660, RSMo, in theletting of contracts. The board shall be audited by the state auditorpursuant to section 29.230, RSMo. Except as otherwise provided in thissubsection, the board shall meet as established in the bylaws. Any othermeeting may be called by four of the seven members voting in favor ofhaving an additional meeting.
(L. 1969 S.B. 382 § 1, A.L. 1977 H.B. 216, A.L. 1981 S.B. 166, A.L. 1988 S.B. 725, A.L. 1993 H.B. 550 merged with H.B. 910 merged with S.B. 346, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1668, A.L. 1995 H.B. 452, et al. and H.B. 484, et al., A.L. 2006 S.B. 893)