Sec. 8.5. (a) Participating units may agree to establish an equipment replacement fund under this section to be used to purchase fire protection equipment, including housing, that will be used to serve the entire territory. To establish the fund, the legislative bodies of each participating unit must adopt an ordinance (in the case of a county or municipality) or a resolution (in the case of a township or fire protection district), and the following requirements must be met:

(1) The ordinance or resolution is identical to the ordinances and resolutions adopted by the other participating units under this section.

(2) Before adopting the ordinance or resolution, each participating unit must comply with the notice and hearing requirements of IC 6-1.1-41-3.

(3) The ordinance or resolution authorizes the provider unit to establish the fund.

(4) The ordinance or resolution includes at least the following:

(A) The name of each participating unit and the provider unit.

(B) An agreement to impose a uniform tax rate upon all of the taxable property within the territory for the equipment replacement fund.

(C) The contents of the agreement to establish the fund.

An ordinance or a resolution adopted under this section takes effect as provided in IC 6-1.1-41.

     (b) If a fund is established, the participating units may agree to:

(1) impose a property tax to provide for the accumulation of money in the fund to purchase fire protection equipment;

(2) incur debt to purchase fire protection equipment and impose a property tax to retire the loan; or

(3) transfer an amount from the fire protection territory fund to the fire equipment replacement fund not to exceed five percent (5%) of the levy for the fire protection territory fund for that year;

or any combination of these options.

     (c) The property tax rate for the levy imposed under this section may not exceed three and thirty-three hundredths cents ($0.0333) per one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed value. Before debt may be incurred, the fiscal body of a participating unit must adopt an ordinance (in the case of a county or municipality) or a resolution (in the case of a township or fire protection district) that specifies the amount and purpose of the debt. The ordinance or resolution must be identical to the other ordinances and resolutions adopted by the participating units. Except as provided in subsection (d), if debt is to be incurred for the purposes of a fund, the provider unit shall negotiate for and hold the debt on behalf of the territory. However, the participating units and the provider unit of the territory are jointly liable for any debt incurred by the provider unit for the purposes of the fund. The most recent adjusted value of taxable property for the entire territory must be used to determine the debt limit under IC 36-1-15-6. A provider unit shall comply with all general statutes and rules relating to the incurrence of debt under this subsection.

     (d) A participating unit of a territory may, to the extent allowed by law, incur debt in the participating unit’s own name to acquire fire protection equipment or other property that is to be owned by the participating unit. A participating unit that acquires fire protection equipment or other property under this subsection may afterward enter into an interlocal agreement under IC 36-1-7 with the provider unit to furnish the fire protection equipment or other property to the provider unit for the provider unit’s use or benefit in accomplishing the purposes of the territory. A participating unit shall comply with all general statutes and rules relating to the incurrence of debt under this subsection.

     (e) Money in the fund may be used by the provider unit only for those purposes set forth in the agreement among the participating units that permits the establishment of the fund.

     (f) The requirements and procedures specified in IC 6-1.1-41 concerning the establishment or reestablishment of a cumulative fund, the imposing of a property tax for a cumulative fund, and the increasing of a property tax rate for a cumulative fund apply to:

(1) the establishment or reestablishment of a fund under this section;

(2) the imposing of a property tax for a fund under this section; and

(3) the increasing of a property tax rate for a fund under this section.

     (g) Notwithstanding IC 6-1.1-18-12, if a fund established under this section is reestablished in the manner provided in IC 6-1.1-41, the property tax rate imposed for the fund in the first year after the fund is reestablished may not exceed three and thirty-three hundredths cents ($0.0333) per one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed value.

As added by P.L.326-1995, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.36-2000, SEC.10; P.L.90-2002, SEC.500; P.L.256-2003, SEC.39; P.L.47-2007, SEC.4; P.L.255-2013, SEC.16; P.L.203-2016, SEC.25; P.L.255-2017, SEC.47.