(a) All Moral Claims shall be submitted on the prescribed Moral Claim Form that will be notarized. All moral claims must be presented to the Director of Finance within two years after accrual and determination of the alleged claim, whichever is later. The City shall not consider any claim arising out of the same facts and circumstances as a claim previously rejected by the City.
(b) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee, is authorized to evaluate and make recommendations on all properly submitted moral claims, and thereupon submit the same to the City Council Finance Committee for consideration.
(c) The claimant shall be notified at least five (5) days in advance of the Finance Committee meeting at which the claim will be considered. All information and supporting documents along with the recommendation of the Director of Finance, or his/her designee, shall be considered when evaluating the moral claim. All information and supporting documents submitted by the claimant will have confidential, personal and medical information redacted prior to presentation of the Finance Committee.
(d) The claimant will be afforded the opportunity to present his or her claim, explain the incident/claim and provide any additional information. Failure by the claimant to appear to the meeting without reasonable cause, communicated prior to the meeting, may be considered by the Finance Committee as cause for denial of the claim.
(e) Upon making its decision, the Finance Committee shall submit its findings and recommendations to the City Council as a whole and notify the claimant of its decision in writing. The City Council shall then make a final decision on whether to approve or deny the claim in accordance with its normal procedures.
(f) A claimant must submit their claim to their insurance carrier, if applicable, to cover any damages prior to submission of the claim to the City of Seven Hills. The City may reimburse the claimant’s insurance deductible, but is not required to pay any amount that could be paid by an insurance carrier.
(g) Before any payment is made, the claimant shall execute and deliver a Settlement Agreement and Release to the City in a form approved by the Director of Law. Said Settlement Agreement and Release shall state that the payment to the claimant shall be a full and final settlement and release of the City for all current and future claims, known or unknown, arising from the claim.
(h) All claims settled pursuant to this section are so paid as a matter of grace and not of right.
(i) Recovery of a moral claim is limited to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per claim. The City shall create a budget line item specifically designated for moral claims in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) annually. If the maximum amount has been reached and a claimant submits a moral claim, it shall be in the sole discretion of City Council whether to amend the annual appropriations.
(Ord. 2-2018. Passed 2-12-18.)