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Council introduces ordinance restoring city authority to hold fire‑loss insurance proceeds
Summary
Council introduced Ordinance 2025‑28 to reinsert a fire‑proceeds provision into the Xenia Fire Code so the city can receive insurance funds as security after qualifying fires.
XENIA, Ohio — The Xenia City Council on Oct. 23 sought the introduction of Ordinance 2025‑28 to reinstate a provision in the city code that lets the city hold insurance proceeds as security when a structure fire meets statutory thresholds.
Madam Law Director explained the change is intended to restore language inadvertently removed from the code during a prior property‑maintenance update. “Basically, what Ohio law provides is if there's a fire at a structure and the loss exceeds $5,000, and the total value of the loss is at least 60% of the insurance coverage…there's a procedure in place where the insurance company has to pay a percentage of that claim to the city,” the law director said. The transcript records the cited statutory reference in the revised ordinance text as "39 29 86." The ordinance places the language in section 16.02.13 of the Xenia Fire Code.
The law director said the city previously maintained this ordinance (passed in 1998) and that the city has an existing fund for these proceeds in chapter 251 of the city code but needs the specific enabling language restored so it can continue to accept those funds. She described the provision as security for the city if demolition or securing a damaged structure becomes necessary.
Council members asked about timeframes and disposition of the funds. Ryan Duke, the finance director, said the city typically resolves these matters within a year to 18 months; in some cases staff have used proceeds to demolish properties and later remitted any balance to the insured. Duke added he was not aware of a common practice of moving these funds to unclaimed property, saying that would normally occur only if a check were issued and not cashed.
Councilman Crawford introduced the ordinance; President Smith recorded the introduction. The ordinance was introduced for consideration and will return to council for potential future action. Staff said they would answer additional questions as requested and noted the city's existing procedure and fund structure.
