(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 132356, 160840, and 160883, effective June 9, 1988.) The Commissioner In Charge of Portland Fire & Rescue and the City Auditor hereby are authorized to enter into contracts under the provisions of the State Rural Fire Protection District Act. Contracts authorized by this Section are subject to the following conditions:
A. The City shall provide both fire prevention and fire suppression services and will not provide fire suppression services only.
B. Payment for services by individuals and private organizations, having no tax levying authority under State law, shall be in advance, excepting those contracts in excess of $25,000, which may be paid on a quarterly basis in advance. The Auditor shall execute such contracts only upon receipt of such payment;
C. Contracts with political subdivisions of the State shall be entered into only upon certification to the Auditor by the governing body of such political subdivision that there will be assessed upon the taxpayers of such political subdivision an amount not less than:
1. The contract price.
2. Unpaid balances, if any, owing the City on previous fire prevention and suppression contracts.
3. An estimated amount sufficient to compensate for the delinquencies, based upon previous experience.
The Auditor shall execute such contracts only upon receipt of such certification, unless specially authorized by ordinance. Payment upon such contracts shall be due in equal semi‑annual installments on or before January 1 and June 1 of the year in which the contract is in effect;
D. As used in this Section:
1. “Effective year” means the fiscal year in which the contract is operative,
2. “Previous year” means the fiscal year first preceding the effective year.
3. “Property owner’s assessed value” means the assessed value in the previous year of land, improvements and personal property of the individual, organization or political subdivision contracting for City fire prevention and suppression, provided, however, that for political subdivisions, the City Auditor shall decrease such assessed value to adjust for changes in boundaries which become effective during the previous year as the result of annexations to the City. If property or a portion thereof, which is included in the determination of property owner’s assessed valuation, be outside Multnomah County, the assessed value shall be adjusted so as to bear the same ratio to true cash value as the ratio of assessed value to true cash value in Multnomah County, as determined by the State Tax Commission.
4. “Assessed value of City property” means the assessed value, in the previous year, of land, improvements and personal property in the City. The assessed value of those portions of the City lying outside Multnomah County shall be adjusted so as to bear the same ratio to true cash value as the ratio of assessed value to true cash value in Multnomah County, as determined by the State Tax Commission.
5. “Cost to City taxpayers” means the sum, to the nearest dollar, of:
a. Portland Fire & Rescue General Fund budget of the previous year,
b. A portion of the budget for Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund based upon the ratio of the number of firemen to the number of policemen employed on January 1 of the previous year, and;
c. Ten percent of the total of a. and b. to allow for payroll taxes and other expenditures outside the Portland Fire & Rescue General Fund budget;
E. The charge for City fire suppression and fire prevention services by contract authorized under this Section shall be computed by the following formula:
(Cost To City Taxpayers)
Multiplied by
(Property Owner’s Assessed Value)
Divided by
(Assessed Value of City Property)
F. Each application for a fire suppression and/or fire prevention contract under this Section, and for renewal of a previous contract under this Section, shall be forwarded to the Chief of Portland Fire & Rescue. The Chief shall attach thereto his report upon the accessibility, water supply, distance from the City fire equipment, and other conditions pertaining to the area to be protected. The Chief shall then submit the application to the Commissioner In Charge of Portland Fire & Rescue for approval or disapproval before a contract is entered into.