[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Barton 3-12-1996 by Ord. No.
96-02. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Open burning — See Ch. 198.
Property owners or other responsible parties may be charged
a fee for the cost of fire-protection services provided to their property
according to a written schedule established by the Town Board. The
amount of the fee shall be established by the Town Board and subject
to change on an annual basis.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current fee schedule is on file at the
office of the Town Clerk.
Upon notice that fire-protection services were provided to a
particular property or other responsible party, the Town Clerk shall
issue a bill to the property owner or other responsible party for
the fee established in the written schedule for the fire-protection
services. The bill shall state that the property owner or other responsible
party has 30 days in which to pay the charge, and if the owner fails
to pay the charge, it shall become a lien upon said property, to be
assessed on the tax roll if appropriate.
A property owner or other person who causes or makes a false
alarm, which results in fire-protection service being dispatched to
a property owner's premises, shall be responsible for paying the fee
established in the written schedule for false alarms. For purposes
of this chapter, a false alarm is any event where fire-protection
service is provided to a property owner or individual when no fire
exists. The activation of any smoke alarms or other type of fire alarm
system due to a power failure, smoking materials, power surges or
other situations not enumerated herein is still considered a false
alarm.
A.
If the
Town incurs costs for a fire call by responding to a vehicle fire
on a county trunk highway, the county maintaining that portion of
the highway where the vehicle was located at the time of the fire
shall reimburse the Town up to $200 for the costs if the Town submits
written proof that the Town has made a reasonable effort to collect
the cost from the insurer of the person to whom the fire call was
provided or from the person to whom the fire call was provided, except
that the Town may attempt to collect the cost from the person only
if the Town is unsuccessful in its efforts to collect from the person's
insurer or if the person has no insurer. If the Town collects the
cost from an insurer or such person after the county reimburses the
Town, the Town shall return the amount collected to the county.
B.
If the
Town incurs costs for a fire call on a state trunk highway or any
highway that is a part of the national system of interstate highways
and maintained by the Department of Transportation, the Department
of Transportation shall reimburse the Town up to $500 for the costs,
even if the fire equipment is not actually used, if the Town submits
written proof that the Town has made a reasonable effort to collect
the cost from the insurer of the person to whom the fire call was
provided or from the person to whom the fire call was provided, except
that the Town may attempt to collect the cost from the person only
if the Town is unsuccessful in its efforts to collect from the person's
insurer or if the person has no insurer. If the Town collects the
cost from an insurer or such person after the Department reimburses
the Town, the Town shall return the amount collected to the Department.
The Town Board specifically adopts any and all provisions contained
within § 60.55, Wis. Stats., authorizing the Town Board
to establish funding to pay for Town fire protection.
