Municipal Fee Facts News

NCOIL Won't Implement Ban On Billing

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:48:35 GMT

NCOIL Won’t Pass Ban On Emergency Service Fees

BY ARTHUR D. POSTAL
NU Online News Service, March 3, 2:37 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON—The National Conference of Insurance Legislators has rejected an effort to get states to adopt laws prohibiting municipalities from charging fees when police or fire departments respond to an accident or prepare a report on one.

They acted based on testimony from Regina Moore, president of Cost Recovery Corp., a Dayton, Ohio, company which has developed a fee-based system to provide such information, and from law enforcement officials from communities in Ocala, Fla. and Longwood, Ohio.

All three argued that such fees are necessary because cash-strapped communities would otherwise have to curtail necessary police and fire services if they could not charge those fees, especially to those involved in accidents that live outside the community.

The model law was proposed by North Dakota State Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck. In presenting the proposal, he said that following testimony on the issue, he would recommend the model be permanently deferred because a model could not be crafted that would mesh with existing state laws.

Based on the suggestion from Rep. Keiser and the testimony of the witnesses, the NCOIL panel voted unanimously to drop the idea entirely, or as it phrased it, "permanently defer consideration" of the proposed model.

NCOIL acted despite the pleas of the insurance industry that charging such fees constitutes double taxation.

Joseph Thesing, director of state affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, told the panel that the industry recognizes that municipalities are struggling to balance budgets in order to continue providing vital services and that accident response fees can appear an attractive alternative to raising taxes.

But, Mr. Thesing told the panel, municipalities imposing these fees are supported by tax dollars intended to provide the very services for which the municipalities are charging fees.

"These services are not typically covered by insurance, but if more municipalities undertake these billing practices, more insurers will be paying more claims and, ultimately, those claims will result in higher rates," Mr. Thesing warned.

"Vendors are convincing municipalities that the insurance industry is sitting on a piggy bank—this committee well knows that insurance companies responsibly manage reserves in order to pay covered claims, which is why insurance exists," Mr. Thesing said.

He also noted that 24 municipalities have recently chosen to either vote down or rescind such ordinances.

3 Detroit Fires Kill 6 in 24 Hours

Wed, 23 May 2007 14:05:29 GMT

3 Detroit Fires Kill 6 in 24 Hours
(Amber Hunt and Bill McGraw)

DETROIT - David Soto staggered from his burning house, his body in flames. He screamed - but not from the pain. "Saquen mis hijos y mi esposa!" he yelled as he tumbled down the steps of his front porch, made his way across the street and fell to the sidewalk. But it was too late. Soto's three children and pregnant wife - hijos and esposa in Spanish - were trapped on the second floor of the home and couldn't be saved. Firefighters would find their charred bodies some 30 minutes later. There were no smoke detectors in the house.

It was the deadliest of three Detroit fires within 24 hours in which six people died, prompting complaints from neighbors that the fire department was slow to respond. James Canning, a spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, called the response times "very strong," and released information on the response times.

Soto's neighbors on Lane Street, in southwest Detroit, choked back tears as they described the fast-moving blaze - apparently sparked by a barbecue grill on the back porch - and the image of bodies being pulled from the home. Onlookers estimate it took more than 10 minutes for firefighters to begin dousing the blaze after the 911 calls. Two blazes that broke out about 4 a.m. Sunday claimed one life each. On Meldrum Street, a man in his 50s was killed and his mother, in her 80s, was badly burned when flames swept their three-story house. Their names were not available late Monday. On Dayton Street, 14-year-old Anglique Renfore died in an upstairs bedroom as four other children, ages 3 to 17, escaped.

Neighbors at each blaze said firefighters were slow to arrive. The city supplied the Detroit Free Press figures that showed that response times - from when dispatch alerted the rigs to the time the first firefighters arrived at the scene - ranged from nine minutes at the Lane Street blaze to 11 minutes at the Dayton Street fire.The National Fire Protection Association, which sets fire standards nationwide, says response times should be five minutes or less.

In September 2005, when the city announced cutbacks to the department, Fire Commissioner Tyrone Scott insisted response time would remain five minutes. The department recently has struggled with broken-down and malfunctioning rigs on top of the several rigs that are shut down every day for budget and staffing reasons.Fire union officials have charged the cutbacks and breakdowns affect response times and the safety of residents and firefighters.

Before firefighters arrived at the Lane Street fire, witnesses said, one neighbor kicked down the door and grabbed David Soto, who staggered across the street, fell and then tried to turn back to save his family. But he was too weak to lift himself. Others smashed downstairs windows to try to reach his wife, Maria, pregnant with her fourth child, and children Istel, Isis and Johan - ages 8, 6 and 2, respectively. But the smoke was too thick. Onlookers said they felt helpless. "I got my hose out," said neighbor B.P. Logan, 66. "Some were trying to squirt out the blaze, but it was just terrible." Garden hoses still lay snaked across the lawn Monday afternoon. The fire charred the sides of neighboring homes, but no one else was injured. "They were just babies," said neighbor Nicole Milete, 38. She watched Soto stumble outside. She ran down the street with wet towels to wrap around his burning body. "He just screamed for his wife and children," Milete said, her eyes welling. "His skin was just peeling off, but it was like he didn't feel anything."

Before the fire, it was a family day for the Sotos. They spent Sunday together as David Soto hung new windows in the downstairs of the remodeled two-story home. Johan rode his tricycle outside, said neighbor Julie Cline, whose brother helped her board up windows burned by the fire. Officials said the blaze likely was sparked by a barbecue grill left smoldering. Soto's family was told he suffered burns on 80 percent of his body. He was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital in critical condition. His family waited by his bedside Monday afternoon. They didn't know if he'd survive, said brother-in-law Gerardo Becerra, 30.

INSURE THIS! -- Debunking fee theory

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 23:36:20 GMT

Most of the grumbling about Wyoming's plan to charge fees in traffic crashes has been that it would raise insurance rates. But that theory is debunked by the last person many might expect -- Gary Mitchell, spokesman for the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents, who represents 10,000 agents. "A cost recovery fee for the city of Wyoming is not the kind of thing that is going to raise rates," said Mitchell, whose clients will be the ones charged a fee of between $150 and $500 if the driver is deemed at-fault. Mitchell said cities are entitled to the fee for the services they provide to insurers. Skeptics, such as Wyoming Council member Spencer Bertram, are unconvinced.

-- Grand Rapids Press

US highway deaths increase in 2005

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 21:24:37 GMT

Traffic fatalities at their highest levels since 1990
The Associated Press

Updated: 8:06 p.m. ET Aug 22, 2006
WASHINGTON - Traffic deaths last year reached the highest level since 1990, propelled by an increase in motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities. And the overall fatality rate was up for the first time in 20 years.

As the police and fire departments struggle to maintain their staffing from reduced budgets and funding, some insurance companies aggressively oppose the very cost recovery program that can reduce the death rate. How many more deaths will it take before those insurance companies step to the plate.

CRC

USFA releases annual report on U.S. firefighter fatalities

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 09:47:54 GMT

EMMITSBURG, MD -- The United States Fire Administration jhas announced that 115 line-of-duty firefighter fatalities occurred in the United States in 2005, plus four additional fatalities resulting from injuries sustained in the line-of-duty from previous years.

"One of the most difficult elements in this job is to hear that annual number of line-of-duty firefighter deaths," Acting United States Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson said.

"Across the country, over one hundred more families are struggling with the terrible losses of loved ones, from an 18-year old firefighter in training to the 55 firefighters who suffered fatal heart attacks."

In 2005, there were four multiple, firefighter-fatality incidents -- two in New York, three in Texas, two in Wyoming, and three in California. Tennessee lost two firefighters and New York lost one, all in separate incidents. Six firefighters died of Cerebral Vascular Accidents (CVAs). Vehicle crashes took 25 lives. Heart attack was the cause of 55 deaths, which is lower than the 61 from 2004.

The average age of firefighters who died in 2005 was 47 years -- the youngest was 18 and the oldest was 76. "Positive strides are being made through the growth of new and active firefighter health and safety programs, national safety stand downs, and the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation's "Everyone Goes Home" efforts," Dickinson emphasized.

"USFA is committed to doing everything we can to reduce these losses and hopefully all fire departments will share and join our commitment to protect all firefighters serving their communities."

Understaffed Madison Fire Stations Risking Lives?

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 09:15:08 GMT

Firefighters may ask voters for additional funds By Jim Konkoly News Journal

MADISON TOWNSHIP -- "Instead of talking to you today, I could be at the funeral of my mother and my teenage brother," Tina Auflick told a reporter Friday. "We were lucky." Her mother, Kathy Auflick, and 18-year-old brother, Kyle, were in a 1997 Chevy Cavalier that caught fire at 2 p.m. July 25 on Lennox Avenue.

When the Auflicks called 9-1-1 to report the fire, they thought help was around the corner, since Fire Station No. 2 was just two blocks away. But the station was closed that day, which is not unusual. So a fire truck had to come from four miles away, running lights-and-sirens across town from Fire Station No. 1 on Expressview Drive near U.S. 30 and 42. Firefighters arrived to find the car completely engulfed in flames, a complete loss.

That's one reason Acting Fire Chief Tony Castelvetere has asked township trustees to put a fire levy on the November ballot. "We're going to have to go for a levy so we can hire and have more people on duty," he said. Trustee James Boyd agreed, and said the only question is how much property tax trustees will request.

"It (fire levy request) is going to happen," Boyd said. "We haven't completely decided everything about it yet, but we know we need it for the staffing." Kathy Auflick, her right forearm wrapped in an elastic bandage from an injury suffered getting herself and her son out of the burning car, said she doesn't care about losing the car, which was covered by insurance.

She is worried about the fire department's ability to protect her 83-year-old mother and other people in Roseland. "What if it was a house (fire) instead of a car?" Kathy Auflick asked.

"My mom lives about 500 feet away from where the car burned," she said. "If they have to close that station and come all the way across town for a car fire, what if my mother's home was on fire? By the time they get there, she could be dead of smoke inhalation. "And there's a lot of elderly people living in Roseland. They ought to have enough firefighters to keep that (Belmont Avenue) station open."

Fire Lt. Chris Niswander said the big problem is not occasionally having to close Station No. 2, but the overall shortage of firefighters affecting response in all areas of the township. "On our best day, we're guaranteed only three firefighters on duty, two at Station 1 and one at Station 2," he said. "That's three (firefighters) for 15,000 people, and covering 15 square miles.

"We're at 12.5 percent of the national standard for staffing of a fire department." If a house is on fire, and the three firefighters from the two stations get there quickly, they still can't rescue people inside until a fourth firefighter arrives. "That's in the Ohio Revised Code, and it was adopted as the township policy," Niswander said. "Before we can go into a structure to rescue or for an interior attack, we have to have four firefighters on scene."

While exact numbers haven't been worked out, Niswander said, the department plans to ask for a levy large enough to guarantee six full-time firefighters on duty every day. The current roster of 21 firefighters includes 7 full-time, 11 part-time and three volunteers. Even at six full-time firefighters daily, the department would be well below national standards. "But that would be a vast improvement," Niswander said.

The day Auflick's car caught fire, only two full-time firefighters were available, so Station 2 had to be closed, Niswander said. With volunteer firefighters way down, the only solution is enough full-time firefighters. "Back in 1971, we had about 40 volunteers," Niswander said. "Now we have three, and it's hard to find anybody who can do it."

"We have to get the staffing up," Trustee Boyd said. "We have to make sure our firefighters aren't slowed up in doing what they do best and what we need them to do." Aug. 24 is the deadline to get an issue on the fall ballot. Although the official log shows a truck responded to the Auflicks' July 25 car fire eight minutes after the 9-1-1 call was made, to Tina Auflick it seemed like 20 minutes or more -- long enough for the family to make three more 9-1-1 calls for help.

"If it does nothing else, we need to know if they (fire department) have enough people to run the system," she said. "People should think, 'It could be me, and I could die in a fire if they can't get there in time.'"