Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3158 is enacted to read:

§3158.__Municipal fire districts

1.__Ordinance.__A municipal legislative body may enact an ordinance to create a municipal fire district within the municipality.__The municipal fire district may contain all or part of the municipality.

2.__Services charges.__A municipal fire district ordinance must establish service charges for fire protection within the municipal fire district based on an estimation of the cost of providing the services.__The service charges__must be levied against all property owners or parties in possession within the municipal fire district, including institutions and organizations otherwise exempt from tax under Title 36, section 652.__With respect to the determination of service charges, appeals must be made in accordance with an appeals process to be provided by municipal ordinance.

3.__Unpaid service charges; collection.__The collection of unpaid service charges levied pursuant to subsection 2 must be carried out in the same manner as provided in Title 38, section 1208.

4.__Revenues; use.__Municipalities shall use the revenues accrued from service charges levied pursuant to subsection 2 to fund, as much as possible, the cost of fire protection.

Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §3538, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 698, §2, is amended to read:

§3538. Warrant for taxes; service charges

1. Warrant. The directors shall issue their warrant in the same form as the warrant of the Treasurer of State for taxes, with proper changes, to the assessors of the municipalities comprising composing the district. The warrant must require the municipalities to assess the sum allocated to each municipality for payment of the costs of the district upon the taxable estates within those municipalities and to commit their assessment to the constable or collector of the municipalities. The constable or collector has all the authority and powers to collect these taxes as is vested by law to collect state, county and municipal taxes. Within 30 days after the date fixed by the municipality on which its taxes are due, the treasurer of the municipality shall pay the amount of the tax assessed under this section to the treasurer of the district.: