(A) Title. This section shall be known as the “Independence Volunteer Fire Department Emergency Service Cost Reimbursement Ordinance.”
(B) Authority, findings; and purpose.
(1) Authority. Under the Code of Virginia, as amended, and the Charter of the town, the Town Council has the authority to make rules and regulations for the government of public safety and/or fire companies located within the town.
(2) Findings. It is recognized that the duties of fire companies require specialized fire/safety/emergency/rescue/environmental/ hazardous material tools, equipment, materials, supplies and specialized training in order to provide for the safety of the public served. Such required, as well as the response to emergency situations involving, and/or caused by, non-resident individuals, places a tremendous financial burden on said fire companies. While taxes, if applicable, may provide the fire companies sufficient financial assistance to exist, in an effort to avoid ever-increasing tax burdens of the residents of the town, it is found that the alternative source of funding, emergency service cost reimbursement (i.e., response billing) should be authorized.
(3) Purpose. To grant any fire company operating in the town (hereinafter “Fire Departments”) the authority to seek reimbursement for the reasonable cost of responding to such incidents, as well as the reasonable costs to recoup such costs.
(C) Recovery of costs.
(1) Fire Departments are authorized to recover the reasonable costs of the use of emergency fire and/or rescue (including, but not limited to, vehicle accidents) personnel hours, tools, equipment, materials and vehicles; hazardous material and/or environmental response personnel hours, tools, equipment, materials and vehicles; and reasonable interest on any amount due from the date of the response forward. Additionally, Fire Departments are authorized to collect a reasonable flat-rate fee for any false alarm responses or fire drill responses for which the Fire Department did not receive at least 48 hours’ prior notice. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as limiting any amounts Fire Departments are authorized to collect tinder any applicable state statute or law.
(2) The reasonable costs authorized to be billed for under this section may be recovered directly by the Fire Department or through a third party billing service as an authorized agent for the collection of such costs.
(3) The reimbursement rates for the aforementioned costs shall be set by the billing entity.
(4) If a third party billing service is utilized, said third party billing service shall be authorized to charge a service charge in addition to the costs it is recovering for the Fire Department. Said service charge will be set by the third party billing service.
(5) All funds recovered under this section, and due to the Fire Department, shall be remitted directly to the Fire Department by either the responsible party or, if a third party billing service is utilized, by said third party billing service. All funds recovered under this section shall be exclusively used for the support of the Fire Department.
(6) (Option #1). In the event that collection costs and/or attorney’s fees are incurred by the Fire Department or third party billing service as a result of the efforts required to obtained full reimbursement for the costs billed for under this section, said collection costs and/or attorney’s fees may be recovered by the Fire Department or third party billing service from the party responsible and/or any applicable insurance company/carrier of the party responsible for the costs originally billed for under this section.
(7) (Option #2). The Fire Department or third party billing service shall only have the authority to recover the costs authorized under this section from the applicable insurance company/carrier of the party responsible for the costs authorized to be billed for under this section. In the event that collection costs and/or attorney’s fees are incurred by the Fire Department or third party billing service as a result of the efforts required to obtained full reimbursement for the costs billed for under this section, said collection costs and/or attorney’s fees may be recovered by the Fire Department or third party billing service from the applicable insurance company/carrier of the party responsible for the costs authorized to be billed for under this section.
(D) Costs; effective date. Costs authorized to be billed under this section may be billed from a retroactive date of not more than 30 days preceding the effective date of this section.
(Ord. passed 12-16-2008)