Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Revenue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee directs city attorney to clarify Fire Department's proposed billing ordinance for crash responses
Summary
The committee reviewed an ordinance allowing the Fire Department to bill insurers for certain motor‑vehicle accident remediation costs, asked for explicit language limiting fees to at‑fault parties, and moved the item to the full board with that clarifying language directed to the city attorney.
Budget staff presented an ordinance authorizing the Fire Department to recover certain costs from insurers for incidents involving motor‑vehicle accidents. The department said services to be recovered could include hazardous‑materials cleanup (fuel and oil), debris removal and scene remediation beyond standard suppression.
Mark Corso reported the department responds to more than 4,000 motor‑vehicle accidents annually and projected roughly $626,000 in recoverable revenue next fiscal year. The ordinance as drafted includes a three‑tier fee schedule tied to the scope and complexity of the department's active remediation work; the department intends to bill insurers rather than individual drivers.
Supervisors asked for explicit findings language to make clear the department's intent to impose fees only on at‑fault parties (not on innocent crash victims) and requested that the city attorney add clarifying language to the ordinance findings. Deputy City Attorney Cheryl Adams said negligence requires a finding of fault and that enforcement discretion and the department's procedures would shape how the fee is applied.
Supervisor Elsberg moved to direct the city attorney to draft the clarifying findings, and the committee moved the item to the full Board with a recommendation as amended.
Public comment was opened and none was offered on the item in committee; the ordinance will return to the full board with the city attorney's clarified findings.
