House Bill 5718 Summary

• Amends the Police and Fire Protection Act to allow township boards to purchase police and fire equipment, vehicles, and housing using general or contingent funds, with appropriations capped at 10 mills of assessed/taxable value before and after January 1, 1999.

• Permits township boards to create special assessment districts to fund police and fire protection costs, with property tax-exempt lands excluded from assessments beginning in 2002.

• Establishes procedures for special assessment districts including public hearings, notice requirements through newspapers or posted notices, and resolution by township boards to determine district boundaries and assessment amounts.

• Allows special assessments to be calculated either on a specific per-parcel basis or on an ad valorem basis using taxable value of property, with the option to levy up to 2 mills through July property tax levies.

• Authorizes issuance of bonds in anticipation of special assessment collection and permits township boards to temporarily transfer funds from general funds to cover insufficient collections, with repayment from future special assessment revenues.