Reimbursement for costs related to mitigation of hazardous materials pursuant to this chapter. The City shall recover operating costs for materials and/or expenditures for emergency services mitigation involving hazardous material emergencies affecting public safety or the environment.
A. 
Contained definitions prescribe requirements and terms of service.
EXPENDABLE EQUIPMENT
Any item used to extinguish fire or stop or contain a leak or spill involving hazardous materials, which cannot be reused or replenished without cost following mitigation of a fire, leak, or spill. Expended items include, but are not limited to, fire-fighting foam; chemical extinguishing agents absorbent materials; recovery drums; and specialized protective equipment, including but not limited to suits, gloves, goggles, and other protective clothing.
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Any material, solid, liquid, or gaseous, listed under the National Fire Protection Association Guide of Hazardous Materials; or USDOT Guidebook; or defined by NJDEP.
VEHICLES
Registered and unregistered motorized equipment, including, but not limited to, passenger cars; motorcycles; trucks; trailers; construction equipment; tank vehicles; and farm machinery.
VESSELS
Any container, drum, cylinder, or tank; or used to hold, contain, carry, or store hazardous material.
B. 
Parties held responsible for remuneration are herein declared liable to reimburse the City for material costs plus a 10% restocking charge for expended items and supplies, or other unanticipated expenditures incurred by the City in mitigation of or response to incidents involving hazardous materials, and include:
(1) 
The owner or operator of any vehicle or vessel responsible for any fire, leak, release, or spill of hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or environmental pollutant.
(2) 
The owner or person responsible for any vessel containing hazardous material involved in a fire, leak, release, or spill on public property, whether stationary or in transit, accidental, intentional, or negligent in nature.
(3) 
The owner or person responsible for any property from which a leak, spill or release of hazardous material emanates, either accidental, intentional, or negligent in nature.
(4) 
Any person responsible for a fire, leak, release, or spill of hazardous material on public or private property, accidental, intentional, or negligent in nature.
C. 
Reimbursement for services of outside vendors, including recovery companies, towing companies, other technical support vendors, etc. Any person or company responsible for a fire, leak, release, or spill of hazardous material shall provide reimbursement for the cost of services rendered by outside vendors utilized by the City for mitigation or support.
D. 
Requirement for remittance of fees. Any person, owner or company responsible for a fire, leak, spill or release of hazardous material, shall reimburse the City for the cost of mitigation, plus a 10% restocking charge for expendable items used to abate the emergency. Payment must be made within a period of 30 days from the posted billing date. Remittance is payable to the City of Camden.
E. 
Violations and penalties. Any person, owner or company responsible for a fire, leak, spill or release of hazardous material, who fails to reimburse the City within the prescribed period set forth in this section, shall be subject to a penalty of $10 per day beginning on the first day of arrearage, 31 days after the posted billing date.
Pursuant to this chapter, the City may recover service costs resulting from excessive and unnecessary response to false fire alarms, calculated on a per-incident basis according to a schedule of requirements.
A. 
Contained definitions prescribe term and requirements of system superintendence and fee assessment.
AGENT ALARM
Automated fire alarm system or device, electronic or mechanical in form, designed for fire suppression and/or monitoring and intended for summoning the response of the Fire Department.
ALARM AGENCY
Alarm company which directly or indirectly transmits notification to the Fire Department; and/or sells, leases, installs, maintains, services, repairs, modifies, or replaces automated fire alarm systems.
AUDIBLE SYSTEM
Alarm system which generates an audible signal, within or outside a building or facility, intended to alert occupants of system activation.
FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
Electronic, telephonic, and mechanical systems which monitor atmosphere or zone, of manual or automated operation, intended to summon Fire Department response. Local alarm systems not intended for Fire Department notification, including nonconnected smoke detectors and other environmental monitoring systems, shall not qualify as fire alarm systems under this chapter.
MALICIOUS FALSE ALARM
Any manner of alarm transmission, including but not limited to verbal, mechanical, electronic, or other means causing a needless response of the Fire Department with malicious intent.
NONMALICIOUS FALSE ALARM
An alarm signal or message causing needless response of the Fire Department where an emergency does not exist and resulting from negligent operation, accidental activation, or system malfunction. Unintentional false alarms resulting from accidental activation shall not incur a penalty.
UNINTENTIONAL FALSE ALARM MALFUNCTION
Insufficient maintenance resulting in recurring incidences of alarm malfunction and needless response of the Fire Department and which shall incur a penalty.
UNINTENTIONAL FALSE ALARM NEGLIGENCE
Negligent operation resulting in needless response of the Fire Department, including, deliberate activation of the system for purposes of maintenance, testing, drills, etc. without proper notification. Recurring incidences of negligent operation shall incur a penalty.
UNINTENTIONAL FALSE ALARM, ACCIDENTAL
Accidental operation resulting in needless response of the Fire Department, including system activation resulting from weather events (rain, lightning, extreme cold), electrical failure, circuit failure, component impact, etc. Recurring incidences of accidental activation shall not incur a penalty.
B. 
Fire alarm systems shall elicit assessment of penalty when there are four qualified false alarm incidences (malicious or unintentional) within a twelve-month period. The fee schedule for penalties among commercial, institutional, and residential (three or more units) uses shall be as follows:
(1) 
Four false alarms within 12 months: $250 upon the fourth event.
(2) 
Five false alarms within 12 months: $300 upon a fifth event.
(3) 
Six false alarms within 12 months: $350 upon a sixth event.
(4) 
Each subsequent false alarm exceeding six events within 12 months shall be $500 per incident.
C. 
The fee schedule for penalties among residential uses (one or two units) shall be as follows:
(1) 
Four false alarms within 12 months: $50 upon the fourth event.
(2) 
Five false alarms within 12 months: $75 upon a fifth event.
(3) 
Six false alarms within 12 months: $100 upon a sixth event.
(4) 
Each subsequent false alarm exceeding six events within 12 months shall be $200 per incident.
D. 
Requirements for remittance of penalty fees shall be as follows:
(1) 
Remittance shall be made payable to the City of Camden within 30 days of the posted billing date.
(2) 
An additional penalty for late payment shall accrue at a daily rate of $10 per day beginning on first day of arrearage, 31 days after the posted billing date.
E. 
Exemption from penalty among certain false alarms shall include the following sources:
(1) 
Nonmalicious verbal alarms transmitted by telephone resulting in mistaken reports of fire or smoke.
(2) 
Malicious and unintentional false alarms occurring at municipal, county, state, federal and Port Authority facilities.
F. 
Penalties for malicious false alarms, in addition to other assessments deemed appropriate by the Court:
Offense
Penalty
First
$500
Second
$750
Third
$1,000
Each subsequent
$1,000
Pursuant to this chapter, the City may recover costs resulting from performance of technical extrication services at motor vehicle accidents for the purpose of rescuing persons from physical entrapment, according to a schedule of requirements.
A. 
Beneficiaries of certain extrication services shall be assessed service fees for operations rendered to preserve public safety. Fees shall be levied where technical extrication is employed to evacuate persons trapped within, under, or upon motor vehicles.
B. 
The fee for extrication services shall be $500 per vehicle, per incident, involving motor vehicles among private autos, livery, vans, light trucks, heavy trucks, recreational vehicles, and small aircraft.
C. 
Fee-exempt services among certain vehicles of special design and intended use shall include the following:
(1) 
All-terrain vehicles.
(2) 
Emergency vehicles.
(3) 
Farm equipment.
(4) 
Motorcycles.
(5) 
Tow motors and forklifts.
(6) 
Transit vehicles exceeding a capacity of 16.
D. 
Remittance of service fees shall be made payable to the City of Camden within 60 days of the posted billing date.
E. 
An additional penalty for late payment shall accrue at a daily rate of $10 per day beginning on the first day of arrearage, 61 days after the posted billing date.
Pursuant to this chapter, the City may recover costs associated with providing extraordinary marine services at the scene of certain emergencies which threaten public safety or the environment, according to the following schedule of requirements:
A. 
Owners, operators, or other responsible parties shall be charged a service fee for certain emergency marine services rendered in the course of operations.
B. 
The fee for service shall be assessed when the Fire Department must deploy a fireboat to control a fire or environmental hazard on land or in water.
C. 
The fee for marine services shall comprise specified hourly rates for fire apparatus under the schedule for extraordinary fire services, general (§ 363-22), in addition to assessment of personnel costs where deemed appropriate as determined by the Chief of the Fire Department.
D. 
Remittance of service fees shall be made payable to the City of Camden within 30 days of the posted billing date.
E. 
An additional penalty for late payment shall accrue at a daily rate of $1,000 per day beginning on the first day of arrearage, 31 days after the posted billing date.
Pursuant to this chapter, the City may recover costs associated with providing extraordinary fire services for certain causes or conditions according to the following schedule of requirements:
A. 
Responsible parties shall be charged a service fee for general fire services rendered for an extraordinary cause or condition necessitating service. The deployment fee schedule shall be as follows:
Service By
Rate
Engine Company
$300 per hour
Squad Company
$300 per hour
Ladder Company
$400 per hour
Rescue Company
$500 per hour
Chief Officer
$60 per hour
Fire Marshal
$50 per hour
Special Operations Unit
$500 per hour
B. 
Remittance of service fees shall be made payable to the City of Camden within 30 days of the posted billing date, unless otherwise provided.
C. 
An additional penalty for late payment shall accrue at a daily rate of $10 per day beginning on the first day of arrearage, 31 days after the posted billing date, unless otherwise provided.
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for the City of Camden is a part-time municipal function managed by a Coordinator and representative staff, without salary, from among various municipal agencies.
A. 
OEM resources necessary for support of certain emergencies include, but are not limited to, weather events, civil disasters, WMD events, etc. Evacuation of displaced persons, maintenance and management of annex plans, local coordination of certain resources and superintendence of readiness exercises are among principal OEM functions.
B. 
OEM requires a durable funding source necessary for supporting agency functions. Cost recovery resources generated among certain municipal agencies provide a recurring and durable funding source. The City shall identify qualified sources among various cost recovery revenues which may be dedicated for OEM support.
C. 
The following revenues comprise fees, penalties, and assessments from Fire Department sources and may be dedicated in part for OEM support, in addition to certain revenue sources among other municipal agencies:
(1) 
Hazardous material services.
(2) 
False fire alarms.
(3) 
MVA extrication services.
(4) 
Marine fire services.
(5) 
Extraordinary fire services, general.
(6) 
Fire alarm system registration.
D. 
The City shall maintain, for purposes of OEM support, an account for deposit of funds derived from qualified revenue sources. Twenty percent of qualified revenue sources may be dedicated for OEM support. The balance of funds (80%) shall be appropriated to general, municipal revenue.
E. 
The OEM account shall identify amounts of derived revenue from contributing agencies. On a semi-annual basis, the Department of Municipal Finance shall issue to the Business Administrator and Emergency Management Coordinator a statement of fund balances on account. Funds shall be used for procurement of equipment and materials necessary to OEM operations and support of emergency services.
F. 
OEM equipment and materials assigned for use by other municipal agencies, including police and fire, shall be labeled "OEM PROPERTY," subject to audit and inventory by the Department of Administration.