As used in this chapter:
(a) “Accident, including natural disaster,” means an unforeseen or unexpected happening or occurring which of itself causes great harm or damage, or which creates the potential for great harm or damage to individuals and/or property, and which requires immediate and prudent securing and monitoring by the City and/or agents of the City, to reduce the potential for such damage, but not including an extraordinary response.
(b) “Assessable costs” means those costs for services (including police, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, emergency or municipal personnel, public works, and any other health and safety services) at the scene of an extraordinary response, incurred by the City, or a private person, corporation, or other assisting governmental agency, operating at the request or direction of the City. The term “assessable costs” includes but is not limited to the costs of providing:
(1) Disposable materials and supplies acquired, consumed and expended specifically for the purpose of the extraordinary response;
(2) All salaries, wages, and compensation of responding, supervising, investigating, reporting, and testifying City personnel where such services are required by an extraordinary response, the investigation of an extraordinary response incident, or any prosecution or civil action brought in connection with such an incident. This shall include, but not be limited to the actual labor costs of the City (including without limitation: employee wages including overtime, fringe benefits, and administrative overhead, whether or not the services are provided by the City or by a third party at the request of the City, including, but not limited to any mutual aid association or party to an interlocal agreement);
(3) All salaries, wages including overtime, and compensation of responding, supervising, investigating, reporting and testifying personnel of any assisting governmental agency, including, but not limited to, any mutual aid association or party to an interlocal agreement, or consultant or contractor acting at the request or direction of the City where such services are required by an extraordinary response, the investigation of any extraordinary response situation, or any prosecution and/or civil action brought in connection with such an incident;
(4) Costs for the use of City-owned vehicles and/or equipment, but only if the use of the vehicle and/or equipment would not have been necessary but for the extraordinary response situation;
(5) Rental or leasing of equipment used specifically for the extraordinary response (such as, but not limited to: protective equipment or clothing, scientific and technical equipment);
(6) The actual replacement costs for equipment that is contaminated beyond reuse or repair during an extraordinary response;
(7) Decontamination of equipment contaminated during the extraordinary response;
(8) Special technical services specifically required for the extraordinary response (such as costs associated with the time and efforts of technical experts or specialists);
(9) Other special services specifically required for the extraordinary response;
(10) Laboratory costs of analyzing samples taken during the extraordinary response;
(11) Costs associated with the services, supplies and equipment procured for a specific evacuation;
(12) Medical expenses incurred as a result of extraordinary response activities, including ambulance conveyance to a hospital;
(13) Service charges and interests;
(14) The cost of any type of chemical testing for blood alcohol content or for the presence of controlled substances and for videotaping of the driver, if applicable;
(15) Related administrative costs, which shall be 15% of the actual cost charged by the City, accruing after the occurrence of an extraordinary response;
(16) Legal expenses that may be incurred as a result of the extraordinary response situation, including efforts to recover expenses pursuant to this chapter, attorneys fees, expert witness fees, litigation costs, court costs, charges, fines, or penalties to the City imposed by any court or other municipal, State or Federal governmental entities;
(17) Costs incurred in accounting for the extraordinary response expenditure, including billing and collection costs.
(c) “Bomb threats” means the verbal or written threat of a bomb or other explosive device, which if discharged as threatened would violate a Federal, State or local law.
(d) “Emergency assistance” means extraordinary response by emergency and/or other municipal personnel.
(e) “Emergency personnel” means police protection services, fire protection services, emergency medical services, public works services, other emergency health and safety services, and any other City personnel, consultant, or contractor provided by the City or by a private entity, corporation, expert, consultant, or other assisting governmental agency operating at the request or direction of the City or the State of Michigan at the request of the City, including but not limited to any mutual aid associations or party to an interlocal agreement.
(f) “Extraordinary response” means the providing, sending, and/or utilizing of emergency or municipal personnel to or at an incident of a serious and/or urgent threat to human life, public safety and welfare, or to real or personal property.
(g) “Extraordinary response situations” means situations requiring extraordinary response by municipal personnel, rendered in response to:
(1) Excessive and/or repeated requests for response to incidents which are determined by the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief to be non-hazardous or not dangerous to an individual or the public;
(2) An illegal fire;
(3) A bomb threat;
(4) A threat of harm to oneself or others;
(5) A structure demolition;
(6) Any building fire or other building matter that requires extraordinary response by emergency or municipal personnel;
(7) Any motor vehicle accident that requires extraordinary response by emergency or municipal personnel;
(8) Any motor vehicle fire that requires an extraordinary response by emergency municipal personnel;
(9) Any confined space, trench rescue, or similar incident requiring extraordinary response by emergency or municipal personnel;
(10) Any investigation by emergency or municipal personnel that results in the issuance of a complaint and arrest warrant for “Filing a False Police Report” or “Hindering and Obstructing a Police Officer by Providing False Identification”;
(11) Abatement of any nuisance as included in the City Code of Ordinances or abatement of any other matter required to protect and maintain the health, safety and welfare of the City’s residents;
(12) Any other extraordinary situation whereby extraordinary response was taken by the City which is above and beyond normal or routine emergency standards;
(13) Recovery of expenses for utility emergency. Any and all persons owning, maintaining or operating a public or private utility, including but not limited to, electric lines, telephone lines, cable lines and pipe lines, within the City, shall be responsible for any pay the actual cost and expense incurred by the City to respond to, assist, manage, monitor or remediate any emergency concerning or involving utility.
(h) “Extraordinary use of municipal personnel” means the use of emergency or municipal personnel at special events such as athletic events, religious-sponsored events, school functions, charitable events, or any private sector gatherings or events when the holders and/or sponsors of an event have not made pre-arrangements in writing with the City for use of emergency or municipal personnel. This term does not include those special events which are pre-arranged, and there is a separate agreement covering the costs of municipal personnel.
(i) “Illegal fire” means a fire set, or determined to have been set, in violation of any Federal, State or local law, and shall include, but not be limited to: an arson fire, a fire set in violation of a “No burning” ban or order, or a fire proximately caused by illegal fireworks. An illegal fire does not include an unintentional fire or a fire caused by an Act of God (for example, a lightning storm).
(j) “Municipal personnel” means police protection services, fire protection services, emergency medical services, public works services, other emergency health and safety services, and other City personnel, consultants, or contractors provided by the City or by a private entity, corporation, expert, consultant, or other assisting governmental agency operating at the request or direction of the City, including but not limited to a mutual aid association and any parties to an interlocal agreement.
(k) “Responsible party” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, commercial entity, consortium, joint venture, governmental entity or any other legal entity responsible for an extraordinary response situation. “Responsible party” will also include the individual or entity which requests an extraordinary use of municipal personnel.
(l) “Specialized response resources” means equipment, supplies, vehicles, and specially-trained personnel that may be utilized to provide extraordinary response services or mitigation in connection with a specialized response.
(m) “Structure demolition” means the tearing down of a structure damaged by fire, explosion, or by other means which must be properly demolished in order to protect public safety, in the opinion of the Fire Chief and/or the Director of Building and Zoning, or their designees.
(n) “Threat of harm to oneself or others” means the verbal or written threat of harm to oneself, to another or to another’s property, which, if carried out, would be in violation of any Federal, State or local law.
(o) “Utility emergency” means downed power lines, gas pipelines breaks, cable, telephone, and internet or other mishaps occurring in connection with the activities of public utilities or their suppliers which necessitate a response by the City’s police, fire and/or emergency medical rescue services or cause damage to public property.
(Res. 2012-132A. Passed 5-7-12. Eff. 5-16-12.)