[Ord. 2014-11, 9/10/2014, Art. I]
This Part shall be known as the "Williams Township Emergency
Service Cost Reimbursement Ordinance."
[Ord. 2014-11, 9/10/2014, Art. II]
1.
Authority. Under § 1803(b) of the Second Class Township
Code, 53 P.S. § 66803(b), as amended, the Township has the
authority to make rules and regulation for the government of fire
companies located within the Township.
2.
Findings.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2021-1, 7/14/2021]
A.
The Township recognizes that the duties of emergency response personnel,
including fire departments, emergency medical service providers, and
Williams Township, require specialized emergency rescue tools and
equipment, emergency rescue materials, hazardous material abatement
equipment, and hazardous abatement materials during emergency responses.
The Township recognizes that such tools and equipment place a financial
burden on volunteer fire companies, emergency medical service providers,
and Williams Township and the replacement of such materials and specialized
training add to the additional financial burden.
B.
The Township further recognizes that certain emergent situations,
while not caused by the Township nor by any natural forces, require
the immediate utilization of Township resources to mitigate the threat
to the general public. The Township acknowledges that, in the interests
of expediency, it is occasionally required to act despite the possibility
that the response was necessitated due to the negligent, reckless,
or intentional acts of third parties.
3.
Purpose. To grant Williams Township, any fire company operating in
Williams Township ("Fire Departments"), and any emergency medical
ambulance service ("EMS") operating in Williams Township the authority
to seek reimbursement for the reasonable cost of responding to such
incidents, either directly or in coordination with the Office of Emergency
Management, as provided below and to authorize Williams Township to
seek reimbursement for the reasonable cost or responding to such incidents.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2021-1, 7/14/2021]
[Ord. 2014-11, 9/10/2014, Art. III]
1.
The Township authorizes the Fire Departments, EMS and the Township
to recover the reasonable cost of emergency rescue tools, equipment,
and materials; hazardous material abatement, tools, equipment, and
materials; and personnel hours involving any hazardous material, environmental,
fire, safety, and/or rescue incident or operation, including vehicular
accidents.
2.
The reasonable costs incurred by Williams Township, the Fire Departments
and EMS outlined above may be recovered directly by the Fire Departments
and EMS or through a third-party billing service as an authorized
agent for the collection of such costs. The reasonable costs incurred
by Williams Township outlined above may be recovered directly by the
Township or through a third-party billing service as an authorized
agent for the collection of such costs.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2021-1, 7/14/2021]
3.
The recovery of costs shall be made against any responsible party,
including but not limited to any of the following:
[Amended by Ord. No. 2021-1, 7/14/2021]
A.
The party whose actions were the proximate cause of the emergency
or hazardous condition which necessitated the Township, Fire Department,
or EMS response, intervention, and utilization of resources.
B.
The owner of the property upon which or from which the emergency
or hazardous condition originated.
C.
The owner of any motor vehicle, whether or not also the operator
of said vehicle, was a cause of the emergency or hazardous condition
which necessitated the Township, Fire Department, or EMS response
and utilization of resources.
4.
The reimbursement rates for the aforementioned tools, equipment,
and materials shall be set by the Fire Departments and EMS from time
to time and shall be only applied to the recovery of costs arising
out of incidents that occurred subsequent to the setting of the rates.
These rates shall be approved by the Township and be kept on file
in the Township Building. The reimbursement costs for the aforementioned
tools, equipment, and materials shall be set by the Township from
time to time by resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
5.
In addition to the aforementioned reasonable costs, the Township,
the Fire Departments, EMS or third party billing service shall be
authorized to collect reasonable interest, as well as a reasonable
administrative fee for collecting the same, and any and all additional
fees as may be authorized by the Hazardous Material and Emergency
Planning and Response Act or authorized by any other statute or law.
[Ord. 2014-11, 9/10/2014, Art. IV]
Except for recovery of costs incurred by the Township, the Township
shall not be responsible for any aspect of the recovery of costs under
this Part. The Township shall not take any steps to assist the Fire
Departments, EMS or any third-party billing service in recovery of
costs under this Part.
