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Chickasha council approves ordinance allowing fire/EMS billing of at‑fault insured parties
Summary
Council approved Ordinance 26‑06 establishing incident response cost‑recovery for fire department responses and a companion resolution to add rates to the master fee schedule; debate focused on fee levels, administrative burden, whether to bill government vehicles and the projected modest revenue stream (~$8,000/year at a 10% collection rate).
The Chickasha City Council voted to approve Ordinance 26‑06, creating Chapter 18, Article 4, "incident response cost recovery," authorizing the city to seek reimbursement from at‑fault parties (typically their insurance carriers) for fire department and EMS response costs.
The ordinance and fee schedule: During debate Chief Tony explained the ordinance will use a fee schedule that tiers responses from basic (level 1) to extrication using heavy rescue tools (level 4). He cited example fees discussed during the meeting: a basic response could be billed at $710 and an extrication at $1,865. "It'll be based on what we do — if we actually use the extrication tools... at that point, we would charge the $1,865," Chief Tony said. The resolution the council passed concurrently amends the master fee schedule to establish those rates.
Who will be billed: Chief Tony and other speakers stated the city will bill insurance carriers for insured, at‑fault parties and will not bill uninsured individuals directly. Chief Tony said billing will be handled in‑house rather than by a third‑party administrator; the department estimates 8–10 potentially billable responses per month but expects a low collection rate similar to Lawton's (~10 percent), and therefore an estimated net of about $8,000 per year.
Council debate and concerns: Council members questioned administrative burden on the fire department, whether the city should exclude government vehicles from billing, and the potential for increased insurance premiums for residents. One council member asked, "Are we gonna charge our own city?" Chief Tony said the ordinance could be amended to exclude government vehicles but the motion as presented left that question to council discretion. Another councilmember raised concerns about the added responsibilities being placed on the fire chief and staff.
Vote and outcome: After discussion the ordinance passed on roll call with a majority in favor (six 'Yes' votes, three 'No' votes recorded): Alexander, Southern, Hatchett, Irving, Heblethwaite and Grayson voted yes; Burrows, Ginn and Smith voted no. The companion resolution to add the rates to the master fee schedule passed by the same split.
What happens next: The ordinance implements an administrative process to bill at‑fault insured parties; council members asked staff to revisit the program after one year to evaluate revenue, costs and administrative burden.
