Police and fire protection; collection and disposal of refuse—Service charge upon certain properties exempt from taxation.
Richmond, Va., City Code § 12-102
in effectSec. 12-102. - Police and fire protection; collection and disposal of refuse—Service charge upon certain properties exempt from taxation.
(a) Service charges generally. As authorized in Code of Virginia, §§ 58.1-3400 and 58.1-3403, a fee or service charge is hereby imposed upon and shall be collected from the owners of faculty and staff housing of educational institutions and real property owned by the Commonwealth within the City. The service charge shall not be applicable to public roadways or property held for future construction of such roadways. For purposes of calculating the service charge, the cost of public school education shall be included in such amount in determining the service charge imposed on faculty and staff housing of an educational institution. The expenditures shall exclude any amount received from federal or State grants specifically designated for furnishing police and fire protection and for collection and disposal of refuse and assistance provided to localities pursuant to Code of Virginia, Title 9.1, Ch. 1, Art. 8 (Code of Virginia, § 9.1-165 et seq.). The expenditures for services not provided for certain real estate shall not be considered in the calculations of the service charge for such real estate, nor shall such expenditures be applicable when a service is currently funded by another service charge. For purposes of this section, the valuation of exempt real estate shall not take into account artistic and historical significance.
(b) Buildings with land occupied by faculty and staff housing of educational institutions. Buildings with land actually occupied by faculty and staff housing of educational institutions, together with the additional adjacent land reasonably necessary for the convenient use of any such building located within the City, shall be exempt from the service charge provided in this section if the buildings are:
(1) Lawfully owned and held by churches or religious bodies and wholly and exclusively used for religious worship or for the residence of the minister of any church or religious body or for use as a religious convent, nunnery, monastery, cloister or abbey; or
(2) Used or operated exclusively for nonprofit private educational or charitable purposes, other than faculty and staff housing of any such educational institution.
(c) Calculation of service charge for faculty and staff housing of educational institutions. In the case of faculty and staff housing, the service charge shall be based on the assessed value of the tax exempt real estate and the amount which the City shall have expended in the year preceding the year of the assessment of such charge, for the purpose of furnishing police and fire protection, and for the collection and disposal of refuse. The service charge shall not exceed 50 percent of the real estate tax rate and shall be fixed by dividing the expenditures as calculated in this subsection by the assessed fair market value of all of the real estate within the City, except real estate owned by the United States government or any of its instrumentalities, expressed in hundreds of dollars, including nontaxable property as listed in the land book of the City by the City Assessor. The resulting rate shall then be applied to the assessed value of the tax exempt property.
(d) Calculation of service charge for property owned by the Commonwealth. In the case of property owned by the Commonwealth, the service charge shall be based on the assessed value of the State-owned tax exempt real estate and the amount which the City shall have expended in the year preceding the year of the assessment of such charge, for the purpose of furnishing police and fire protection, and for the collection and disposal of refuse. The service charge rate for State-owned property shall be determined by dividing the expenditures as calculated in this subsection by the assessed fair market value of all real estate within the City, except real estate owned by the United States government or any of its instrumentalities, expressed in hundreds of dollars, including nontaxable property as listed in the land book of the City by the City Assessor. The resulting rate shall then be applied to the assessed value of the tax exempt property. For purposes of this subsection, the term "property owned by the Commonwealth" shall not include hospitals or educational institutions. As authorized by Code of Virginia, § 58.1-3403, a service charge shall be levied on faculty and staff housing of State educational institutions, regardless of the portion of State-owned property located within the City.
(Code 1993, § 11-124; Code 2004, § 42-124; Code 2015, § 12-103; Code 2020, § 12-103; Ord. No. 2009-30-54, §§ 1, 2, 4-13-2009)
Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH12FI_ARTIVFESE_S12-102POFIPRCODIREERCHUPCEPREXTAFetched: 11/8/2026