[Adopted 5-14-2018 by Ord. No. 3113]
This article shall be known as the "Emergency Response Payment
Reimbursement Ordinance."
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the following meanings:
An amount that is consistent with what a reasonable person
would pay in the same or similar circumstances for the same business
or for the same or similar item. This term shall not include any costs
for labor.
Incidents, including but not limited to motor-vehicle accidents,
home fires, flooding, and water damage, and spills of hazardous materials,
that require responsive, coordinated action to protect an individual
and/or entity, the environment, critical infrastructure or property.
The dispatch of any Whitehall Township Bureau of Fire equipment
or personnel to an emergency by the Lehigh County 911 Call Center
or a response to a special call or request from a municipal, regional,
or state police department with an emergency.
Any entity authorized and utilized by the Township of Whitehall
and the Whitehall Township Bureau of Fire for billing and collection
of actual and reasonable response costs.
The Township of Whitehall's Fire Department, including but
not limited to the volunteer fire companies within the Township of
Whitehall, their equipment, and personnel, who provide fire and rescue
services throughout the Township of Whitehall and in neighboring municipalities
upon request and/or in connection with the Township of Whitehall and
its neighboring municipalities' mutual aid agreements.
A person and/or entity involved in an emergency that necessitates
a response and/or official dispatch from the Whitehall Township Bureau
of Fire shall be liable for the actual and reasonable response costs
incurred by the Whitehall Township Bureau of Fire.
A.
Billing. The Whitehall Township Bureau of Fire shall have the right
and authority to seek reimbursement for actual and reasonable response
costs related to an emergency as provided for under this article,
which includes but is not limited to the actual or reasonable response
costs of services provided, materials used, or equipment damaged in
an emergency. The Township of Whitehall and the Whitehall Township
Bureau of Fire are hereby authorized to utilize third-party billing
services in seeking reimbursement for actual and reasonable response
costs permitted by this article. A bill for reimbursement must clearly
itemize the costs that have been incurred by the Whitehall Township
Bureau of Fire and shall be in accordance with and consistent with
the billing list attached hereto as Exhibit A,[1] which billing list may be revised from time to time by
resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Whitehall.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is on file in the Township offices.
B.
Reimbursement. If a person and/or entity receives a bill for actual
and reasonable response costs as provided for under this article,
the person and/or entity shall be responsible for payment of the bill.
A person and/or entity may elect to submit the bill to an insurance
company; however, submission of a bill to an insurance company shall
not relieve the person and/or entity from financial responsibility
for payment of the bill if an insurance company denies payment of
the bill or opts not to pay the bill in full.
C.
Failure to pay. The Whitehall Township Bureau of Fire or any third-party
billing service that submits to a person and/or entity a bill for
actual and reasonable response costs as provided for under this article
may file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover
the amount of actual and reasonable response costs if the person and/or
entity fails to pay the amount of the bill. Any action in a court
of competent jurisdiction brought by the Whitehall Township Bureau
of Fire or any third-party billing service may include reasonable
interest, reasonable administrative fees, reasonable attorney fees,
and court fees in addition to the outstanding amount of the bill for
actual and reasonable response costs.
