[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Prospect Parkas indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-13-1995 as Ord. No. 1166, approved 6-13-1995]
The Borough of Prospect Park Secretary is hereby designated to perform all duties assigned by Section 508 of the Insurance Company Law of 1921, 40 P.S. § 638, in connection with the issuance of fire loss certifications and collection of funds paid by insurers in settlement of outstanding municipal taxes and claims against fire damaged buildings or structures located within Prospect Park Borough, for the collection of funds paid by insurers as security against the total cost incurred by the Borough for the removing, repairing or securing of fire damaged buildings and structures located within the Borough of Prospect Park; for the establishment and administration of a separate account for deposit of such security funds; and for the distribution of such security funds.
The Prospect Park Borough Secretary is hereby authorized to certify the amount of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges that are outstanding against a building or other structure located in Prospect Park Borough where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under all insurance policies exceed $7,500 and to receive such funds from insurers in payment for such delinquent taxes and municipal claims in accordance with the procedure established by Subsection A.
A. 
The Borough Secretary shall, upon the written request of the named insured specifying the folio number for the property, the name and address of the insurance company, association or exchange and the date agreed upon by the insurance company, association or exchange and the named insured as the date of the receipt of a report of the claim, furnish the insurance company, association or exchange either of the following within 14 working days of the request:
(1) 
A certificate or, at the discretion of the Borough Secretary, a verbal notification, which shall be confirmed in writing by the insurer, to the effect that as of the date specified in the request there are no delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property and that as of the date of the Borough Secretary's certificate or verbal notification no Borough department has certified any amount as total costs incurred by Prospect Park Borough for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property; or
(2) 
A certificate and bill showing the amount of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges against the property as of the date specified in the request that have not been paid as of the date of the certificate and also showing, as of the date of the Borough Secretary's certificate, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified by any Borough department to the Borough Secretary for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property.
B. 
Upon receipt of a certificate pursuant to Subsection A(1), the insurance company, association or exchange shall have no further obligation to the Borough unless the loss agreed to between the named insured and the company, association or exchange equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or other structure. In the case of such a loss, the insurance company, association or exchange and the insured property owner shall comply with the requirements of §§ 97-3 and 97-4 of this article.
C. 
Upon the receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to Subsection A(2), the insurance company, association or exchange shall return the bill to the Borough Secretary together with an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs as shown on the bill. The Borough Secretary shall credit payment of the items shown in the bill and send a receipt to the insurance company, association or exchange and the insured property owner.
When the loss agreed to by the named insured and the company, association or exchange that has insured a building or other structure located in Prospect Park Borough against fire damage equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or other structure, the insurance company, association or exchange shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the Borough Secretary in the aggregate $2,000 for each $15,000 and each fraction of that amount of a claim, or, if at the time of a loss report the named insured has submitted a contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the building or other structure, in an amount less than the amount calculated under the foregoing transfer formula, the insurance company, association, or exchange shall transfer from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the estimate. The named insured may submit a contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the building or other structure after the transfer, and the Borough Secretary shall return the amount of the fund in excess of the estimate to the name insured if the Borough has not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
A. 
Upon receipt of proceeds of the Borough as authorized by § 97-3 of this chapter, the Prospect Park Borough Secretary shall place the proceeds in a separate fund to be used solely as security against the total cost of removing, repairing or securing incurred by the Borough. When transferring the funds as required in § 97-3 of this chapter, an insurance company, association or exchange shall provide the Borough with the name and address of the named insured, whereupon the Borough shall contact the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received by the Borough and notify the named insured that the procedures under this section shall be followed. The fund shall be returned to the named insured when repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure have been completed and the required proof received by Prospect Park's Borough Secretary if the Borough has not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing. If the Borough has incurred costs for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund, and, if excess funds remain, the Borough shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured. Nothing in this section shall be constructed to limit the ability of the Borough to recover any deficiency. Further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Borough and the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the transfer of funds to the named insured if some other reasonable disposition of the damaged property has been negotiated; however, such an agreement may not be entered into unless it is first reviewed by the Borough Solicitor and approved by a resolution adopted by the Borough Council.
B. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to make an insurance company, association or exchange liable for any amount in excess of proceeds payable under its insurance policy or for any other act performed pursuant to this section or to make a municipality or public official an insured under a policy of insurance or to create an obligation to pay delinquent property taxes or unpaid removal liens or expenses other than as provided in this section.
C. 
An insurance company, association or exchange making payments of policy proceeds under this section for delinquent taxes or structure removal liens or removal expenses incurred by a municipality shall have a full benefit of such payment, including all rights of subrogation and assignment.
D. 
An exact copy of this ordinance shall be filed with the Department of Community Affairs, together with the name, position and phone number of the municipal official responsible for compliance with this section.
E. 
This section shall be liberally construed to accomplish its purpose to deter the commission of arson and related crimes, to discourage the abandonment of property and to prevent urban blight and deterioration.