(a) The City of Willougby Hills shall initiate a user fee for the delivery of Fire Department services, personnel, supplies and equipment to the scene of emergencies. The rate of the user fee shall be an estimate of the cost incurred, which includes any services, personnel, supplies and equipment and may fluctuate based on needs of each call for emergency services; their insurers shall be billed for the services provided but only to the extent of their insurance coverage, i.e. there will be no out of pocket costs to the user. The City shall treat the revenues received from Waite Hill contract payments and Willoughby Hills’ local taxes as payment of any otherwise applicable co-payments and deductibles that would otherwise be due from the residents of the City of Willoughby Hills and the Village of Waite Hill.
(b) The City of Willoughby Hills will provide ambulance and emergency rescue squad services in exchange for the assignment of insurance company proceeds available to the non- resident user and the City will accept as full payment from the non-resident the usual and customary rates as allowed by the particular insurance companies for the services provided. The City will not charge or collect any amount of money in excess of the usual, customary and reasonable (UCR) payments, including any amounts received from Medicare and/or any Medicare Supplemental Insurance carriers and/or Medicaid.
(c) Public Safety Services may include but shall not be limited to, medical care to individuals, extinguishments of fires, cleaning up spills and debris, extrication of entrapped individuals and other safety or hazardous situations which may occur at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, structure fires and other emergency scenes.
(d) Whenever the City of Willoughby Hills Fire Department responds to a motor vehicle fire, motor vehicle accident, or other emergency service, either inside or outside the fire district response area, the following fee structure shall apply and be billed to:
(1) The public safety user fee shall be billed to the insurance carrier or to the responsible party or parties. This is an add-on cost of the claim for damages of the vehicles, property and/or injuries.
(2) The owner of the motor vehicle for which spills or debris around the vehicle is cleaned up, fires are extinguished, or the site of the accident around the vehicle is secured.
(3) The owner of the property requiring the control or extinguishments of fires and other emergency services as provided by the fire district personnel.
(4) The person being treated, attended to, or rescued by the fire district personnel, or the person who may be responsible for such person treated or rescued. (Ord. 2004-58. Passed 11-22-04.)
(e) Mitigation Rates.
BASED ON PER HOUR
The mitigation rates below are average “billing levels”, and are typical for the incident responses listed, however, when a claim is submitted, it may be itemized and based on the actual services provided.
These rates are based on actual costs using amortized schedules for apparatus (including useful life, equipment, repairs, and maintenance). Labor rates include an average department’s actual burdened labor costs and not just a firefighter's wage. These include wages, retirement, benefits, workers comp, etc.
(1) MOTOR VEHICLE INCIDENTS.
Level 1 - $546.00
Provide hazardous materials assessment and scene stabilization. This will be the most common “billing level”. This occurs almost every time the fire department responds to an accident/incident.
Level 2 - $623.00
Includes Level 1 services as well as clean up and material used (sorbents) for hazardous fluid clean up and disposal. We will bill at this level if the fire department has to clean up any gasoline or other automotive fluids that are spilled as a result of the accident/incident.
Level 3 – CAR FIRE - $760.00
Provide scene safety, fire suppression, breathing air, rescue tools, hand tools, hose, tip use, foam, structure protection, and clean up gasoline or other automotive fluids that are spilled as a result of the accident/incident.
ADD-ON SERVICES:
Extrication - $1,641.00
Includes heavy rescue tools, ropes, airbags, cribbing etc. This charge will be added if the fire department has to free/remove anyone from the vehicle(s) using any equipment. We will not bill at this level if the patient is simply unconscious and fire department is able to open the door to access the patient. This level is to be billed only if equipment is deployed.
Creating a Landing Zone - $502.00
Includes Air Care (multi-engine company response, mutual aid, helicopter). We will bill at this level any time a helicopter landing zone is created and/or is utilized to transport the patient(s).
Itemized Response: You have the option to bill each incident as an independent event with custom mitigation rates, for each incident using, itemized rates deemed usual, customary and reasonable (UCR). These incidents will be billed, itemized per apparatus, per personnel, plus
products and equipment used.
(2) HAZMAT
Level 1 - $881.00
Basic Response: Claim will include engine response, first responder assignment, perimeter establishment, evacuations, set-up and command.
Level 2 - $3,146.00
Intermediate Response: Claim will include engine response, first responder assignment, hazmat certified team and appropriate equipment, perimeter establishment, evacuations, set-up and command, Level A or B suit donning, breathing air and detection equipment. Set-up and removal of decon center.
Level 3 – $7,426.00
Advanced Response: Claim will include engine response, first responder assignment, hazmat certified team and appropriate equipment, perimeter establishment, evacuations, first responder set-up and command, Level A or B suit donning, breathing air and detection equipment and robot deployment. Set-up and removal of decon center, detection equipment, recovery and identification of material. Disposal and environment clean up. Includes above in addition to any disposal rates of material and contaminated equipment and material used at scene. Includes 3 hours of on scene time - each additional hour @ $356.00 per HAZMAT team.
(3) FIRE INVESTIGATION.
Fire Investigation Team - $346.00 per hour.
Includes:
• Scene Safety
• Investigation
• Source Identification
• K-9/Arson Dog Unit
• Identification Equipment
• Mobile Detection Unit
• Fire Report
The claim begins when the Fire Investigator responds to the incident and is billed for logged time only.
(4) FIRES.
Assignment - $503.00 per hour, per engine / $629.00 per hour, per truck Includes:
• Scene Safety
• Investigation
• Fire / Hazard Control
This will be the most common “billing level”. This occurs almost every time the fire department responds to an incident.
OPTIONAL: A Fire Department has the option to bill each fire as an independent event with custom mitigation rates.
Itemized, per person, at various pay levels and for itemized products use.
(5) ILLEGAL FIRES.
Assignment - $503.00 per hour, per engine / $629.00 per hour, per truck When a fire is started by any person or persons that requires a fire department response during a time or season when fires are regulated or controlled by local or state rules, provisions or ordinances because of pollution or fire danger concerns, such person or persons will be liable for the fire department response at a cost not to exceed the actual expenses incurred by the fire department to respond and contain the fire. Similarly, if a fire is started where permits are required for such a fire and the permit was not obtained and the fire department is required to respond to contain the fire the responsible party will be liable for the response at a cost not to exceed the actual expenses incurred by the fire department. The actual expenses will include direct labor, equipment costs and any other costs that can be reasonably allocated to the cost of the response.
(6) WATER INCIDENTS.
Level 1
Basic Response: Claim will include engine response, first responder assignment, perimeter establishment, evacuations, first responder set-up and command, scene safety and investigation (including possible patient contact, hazard control). This will be the most common “billing level”. This occurs almost every time the fire department responds to a water incident.
Billed at $503 plus $62 per hour, per rescue person.
Level 2
Intermediate Response: Includes Level 1 services as well as clean up and material used (sorbents), minor hazardous clean up and disposal. We will bill at this level if the fire department has to clean up small amounts of gasoline or other fluids that are spilled as a result of the incident.
Billed at $1,006 plus $62 per hour, per rescue person.
Level 3
Advanced Response: Includes Level 1 and Level 2 services as well as D.A.R.T. activation, donning breathing apparatus and detection equipment. Set up and removal of decon center, detection equipment, recovery and identification of material. Disposal and environment clean up. Includes above in addition to any disposal rates of material and contaminated equipment and material used at scene.
Billed at $2,489 plus $62 per hour per rescue person, plus $126 per hour per HAZMAT team member.
Level 4
Itemized Response: You have the option to bill each incident as an independent event with custom mitigation rates for each incident using itemized rates deemed usual, customary and reasonable (UCR). These incidents will be billed, itemized, per trained rescue person, plus rescue products used.
(7) BACK COUNTRY OR SPECIAL RESCUE.
Itemized Response: Each incident will be billed with custom mitigation rates deemed usual, customary and reasonable (UCR). These incidents will be billed, itemized per apparatus per hour, per trained rescue person per hour, plus rescue products used.
Minimum billed $503 for the first response vehicle plus $62 per rescue person. Additional rates of $503 per hour per response vehicle and $62 per hour per rescue person.
(8) CHIEF RESPONSE.
This includes the set-up of Command, and providing direction of the incident. This could include operations, safety, and administration of the incident.
Billed at $315 per hour.
(9) MISCELLANEOUS / ADDITIONAL TIME ON-SCENE.
ADDITIONAL TIME ON-SCENE (for all levels of service)
Engine billed at $503 per hour.
Truck billed at $629 per hour.
Miscellaneous equipment billed at $378.
(10) MITIGATION RATE NOTES.
The mitigation rates above are average “billing levels” for one hour of service, and are typical for the incident responses listed, however, when a claim is submitted, it may be itemized and based on the actual services provided.
These average mitigation rates were determined by itemizing costs for a typical run (from the time a fire apparatus leaves the station until it returns to the station) and are based on the actual costs, using amortized schedules for apparatus (including useful life, equipment, repairs, and maintenance) and labor rates (an average department’s “actual personnel expense” and not just a firefighter's basic wage). The actual personnel expense includes costs such as wages,
retirement, benefits, workers comp, insurance, etc. (Ord. 2023-005. Passed 3-23-23.)
(f) That all funds collected pursuant to this Section shall be disbursed as follows:
(1) Such part thereof as is necessary to defray all expenses of collection shall be paid.
(2) The balance remaining after such payments shall be deposited in the Fire Department Capital Improvement Fund.
(Ord. 2004-58. Passed 11-22-04.)