[Adopted 4-20-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-03]
Purposes. From time to time the Fire Department is called out to respond to automotive incidents within the municipal boundaries of Allamuchy Township, including, but not limited to, responding to emergencies along and upon Interstate Route 80. Such response requires the providing of fire and rescue services by members of the Fire Department, including providing supplies, material and other types of response expenses that are not otherwise recoverable by Allamuchy Township and therefore become a burden upon the taxpayers of Allamuchy Township. If Allamuchy Township did not provide such fire services, persons who are affected by incidents and accidents occurring within Allamuchy Township would have to engage private companies to provide these services at the cost and expense of the owner of such vehicles involved in such incidents and accidents. Accordingly, the Mayor and Township Council of Allamuchy Township have determined to impose a reasonable cost upon the owners of vehicles involved in automobile incidents and accidents in and along and upon the roadways within the municipal boundaries of the Township of Allamuchy in order to enable the Township to continue to provide such vital and necessary services to the public. The owner of any vehicle involved in an incident or accident within the Township of Allamuchy requiring and/or necessitating a response by the Fire Department shall be required to pay a fee for such response services pursuant to a schedule of fees promulgated by a duly adopted resolution of the Mayor and Township Council from time to time, which schedule of fees shall be published on the website maintained by the Township of Allamuchy and posted on the bulletin board in the Municipal Building. In addition to the fees to be charged, there shall also be charged the actual cost of supplies, equipment, treatments used in response to emergencies such as treatments for fuel spills and the like. In the event that in the course of providing fire services any of the equipment utilized by the Fire Department or First Aid Squad is damaged, the cost of the repair and/or replacement of such equipment shall also be the obligation of the owner of the vehicle involved in the incident responded to by the Fire Department and/or First Aid Squad.
A. 
The Fire Department shall submit to the Township Clerk a certification of the rendering of emergency services to the owner of a vehicle involved in an automotive incident and accident. The certification shall include:
(1) 
The date, time and place that a response by the Fire Department was made;
(2) 
A list of the expendable equipment, supplies, treatments, etc., used by the Fire Department in responding to such automotive incident and accident together with the reasonable cost to replace such equipment, supplies, treatments, etc.; and
(3) 
The cost of repair and/or replacement of equipment that was damaged or destroyed in responding to such automotive incident and accident.
B. 
The Municipal Clerk, upon receipt of such certification, shall forthwith send such certification to the owner of the vehicle involved in the incident or accident and shall copy the insurance company insuring such vehicle, if known by the Municipal Clerk.
The owner of such automotive vehicle shall have 30 days from the time that the owner receives the certification and notice of the assessment of the fee pursuant to the resolution provided above to pay in full the amount requested or, in lieu of the payment thereof, to file an appeal of said assessment. Any person desiring to appeal such assessment shall file such appeal in a form prescribed by the Mayor and Township Council from time to time, which notice of appeal shall state the reason or reasons that the vehicle owner disputes the imposition of such assessment. The notice of appeal shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk by certified mail, return receipt requested. The Mayor and Township Council shall hear such appeal at the next regularly scheduled meeting following the receipt of the notice of appeal and shall render a decision upon such appeal not later than 45 days following the close of the hearing of such appeal. The decision of the Mayor and Township Council may affirm the assessment, adjust the assessment based upon information presented during the hearing of such appeal, or may cancel and discharge the assessment in full or in part. The decision of the Mayor and Township Council shall be final and binding upon the owner of such vehicle.
Should the owner of such vehicle fail to pay the amount certified to be due by the Municipal Clerk within the time specified in the assessment notice, or fail to file within the same time period set for payment an appeal of the assessment, the Municipal Clerk shall issue a certification to the Municipal Court of Allamuchy Township, in lieu of a summons, that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay the assessment or file a timely appeal of the same. The failure set forth in the certification of the Township Clerk shall be deemed a violation of this article, which may be enforced in the Municipal Court of Allamuchy Township in the same manner as any other violation under the Code of Allamuchy Township and shall be subject to, in addition to the amount of the assessment, a fine not to exceed $100, together with costs. Any judgment of the Municipal Court may subsequently be enforced by a proceeding to collect such amounts in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Warren County.
The Township of Allamuchy is hereby authorized to seek reimbursement for the cost of emergency response services as provided in the resolution of the Mayor and Township Council duly adopted and published on the Township website and posted on the bulletin board in the Allamuchy Township Municipal Building, and to recover the cost of such services. For purposes of this article, "emergency response services" shall include providing, sending and/or utilizing of firefighting, emergency and/or rescue services by the Township, or by a private individual or corporation operating at the request or direction of the Township.