(A) Municipal ambulance service.
(1) The city is hereby authorized to establish and operate a municipal ambulance service.
(2) The Council, by motion or resolution, is hereby empowered on behalf of the city to acquire, equip and operate such items of property as in its opinion are necessary for the efficient operation of such service.
(3) Rates to be charged for and regulations governing the conduct of such service shall be established and from time to time may be reviewed and altered by the Council.
(B) Uniform ambulance service billing procedures.
(1) Ambulance billing procedure.
(a) Ambulance service charges are typically billed within 30 days of service.
(b) Payment for service is due in full within 30 days from billing.
(c) Customers shall have the option to enter into a payment agreement subject to the terms set forth in division (B)(2) below.
(d) If the customer’s bill is not paid in full or made payment arrangements within 30 days of billing, the city will send a late notice as evidence of the delinquency.
(e) If the customer’s bill remains unpaid or fails to meet payment arrangements 60 days from the original billing, the city will send a second notice to the customer notifying the account may be turned over to collections if the account is not paid or met arrangements within 15 days of receipt of the notice.
(f) If a customer is unresponsive to these billing notices, they will be turned over to a third party agent with the authority to assess additional collection fees as defined in ORS Chapter 697, which are currently 40% in addition to the service fees owed.
(g) Once an account has been turned over to the collection agency, the customer shall be required to settle the debt with the collection agency.
(h) There shall be a charge as established by city resolution for checks returned for insufficient payment.
(2) Payment arrangements.
(a) Any ambulance service customer may request a conference before the City Manager, or his or her designee, to consider entering into a promissory agreement that identifies certain terms and conditions of a payment plan that would cause the ambulance service charges to become paid in full. The City Manager, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to enter into promissory agreements on a case-by-case basis for ambulance service customers.
(b) Verbal agreements will not be accepted. If a customer fails to meet the terms and/or conditions contained within the promissory agreement, the customer may be turned over to collections subject to the terms in division (B)(1) above.
(Ord. 870, passed 6-17-1969; Ord. 1261, passed 3-7-2011)