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5.a 2 Discussion on charging for Fire and EMS servicesCharging for calls Question: Do you bill for calls of any nature? Lake Elmo - We bill the $500.00 built into insurance policies for consumables at a structure fire. We also bill for Haz-Mat. Lower St. Croix Valley - Attached letter Hugo - No Stillwater - No. (Exception would be for a significant Haz Mat situation with a known party or a Wildland fire with a known party.) Bayport - Bayport Fire does bill for car Fires along the interstate, however we seldom get paid if the insurance company does not send a check. We will only bill for excessive calls, which I do not recall charging in the last four years. Charging for calls is a sticky subject. Cottage Grove - We bill for gas lines struck with no locate being done prior. Larger Haz-mat incidents, and certain things for accident responses i.e. extrication. Oakdale - We do not charge for calls other than Ambulance transports. Forest Lake - No, unless it is a criminal case. Mahtomedi - We just bill for ambulance calls that we transport on, no fire or rescue calls. Newport - We do not. Woodbury - False fire alarms and EMS transport False Alarm Police/Fire Residential 1-2 $.00 Residential 3-7 $75.00 Residential 8+ $100.00 Commercial 1-2 $.00 Commercial 3-7 $90.00 Commercial 8+ $150.00 Concerns - 1 . oncerns: 1. If people worry about being billed they may wait to call and create a situation that will have a worse outcome. 2. Billing can be very costly to do and administer vs the payback/ 3. If we bill for Medical calls we would want to consider that an ambulance service would also be billing the patient since we do not transport. Do not want to double bill anyone. 4. Most departments do not bill since residents are already paying for the service. Medical response Question: What medicals do you respond to? Lake Elmo - Level 1, anytime a Mutual Aid ambulance is coming in or at the request of Lakeview. Lower St. Croix Valley - All with a BLS ambulance Hugo - Any Unresponsive or Unconscious patients, any lift assists, and any Rescues Stillwater - Level I and II. We will respond to Level III upon request or if a mutual aid ambulance is responding to our area. Bayport - We response to Level 1 unless a Mutual Aid Ambulance is coming into our service area. Cottage Grove - We respond to everything as we are the ambulance service provider. Oakdale - Since we operate the Ambulance service in Oakdale we respond to ALL medicals. Forest Lake - Full arrest (automatic page) or when requested by PD or ambulance. 20%-25% of our calls. Ambulance based in Forest Lake. Mahtomedi —All Newport - We support Cottage Grove EMS on the following types of calls - All motor vehicle accidents, full arrests/unresponsive, suicide attempts, lift assists, shootings, stabbings, electrocutions and industrial accidents. Woodbury - We provide ALS and BLS response/transport to medical calls. Fire does not respond unless requested. Cnnrprnc- 1. Any change to our response would put a lot of responsibility on the county dispatch to ensure accuracy. 2. Ambulance response time will vary in our coverage area, from them arriving on scene before us to us waiting 20 minutes 3. Our community expects us to provide this service. 4. The time spent on level 2 or 3 responses is very minimal. 5. Fulltime Staff Question: Do you have any full time or part time staff (more than on-call staff)? Lake Elmo - 1 -FT Chief, 1 -PT Administrative Assistant/Firefighter (25 hrs./week), 2 - PT Firefighters in the Station Sunday — Saturday, 6am — 6 pm, capped at 24 hrs./wk. Lower St. Croix Valley - 1 Full time Hugo - No Stillwater - Currently we have 11.5 FTE's. Chief, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal, 3 Captains, 9 Firefighter/Engineers and a .5 Administrative Assistant. We are authorized for 30 paid -on-call but are currently 10 short. Bayport - We do not have any part-time or full time staff. Cottage Grove - I have 14 full-time and 50 part-time/POC staff working duty crew 24/7 Oakdale - We currently have 10 FT staff and 34 POC. We are adding two more FT in 2018 and 2 in 2019. Forest Lake - FT Chief, 2 FT Dual purpose employees. Building Dept./Fire Dept. Mahtomedi - We currently staff a FT chief and 1 fire Marshall. Newport - We are all paid -on-call. Woodbury - We do have 12 full-time staff and 66 on-call. We do allow POC staff to fill fire and EMS vacancies on the schedule. Some take regular advantage of this opportunity. Concerns: 1. Fire chief directs more staff than any other city department with the least amount of salaries. 2. Managing volunteers is a harder task since this is not their primary job and they may leave at any time. 3. The time required to complete job description duties is not feasible for someone with a fulltime job. Population 2016 Scandia 4,000 Lake Elmo 8,800 Lower St.Croix Hugo 14,000 Stillwater 19,000 Bayport 3,000 Cottage Grove 36,000 Oakdale 28,000 Forest Lake 19,000 Mahtomedi 8,000 New Port 3,000 Woodbury 68,000 Marine 600 LOWER ST. CROIX VALLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT 1560 St. Croix Trail South Mailing Address: P.Q. Box 234 - Lakeland, MN 55043 (651) 436-7033 • FAX (651) 436-1682 RESOLUTION #16-001 LOWER ST CROIX FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO BILL FOR SERVICES WHEREAS, the Lower St Croix Valley Fire Department ("Department") provides services to individuals, organizations, governmental units and other entities; WHEREAS, the DEPARTMENT has in the past and will in the future continue to invoice for such servicers; and WHEREAS, the DEPARTMENT has from time to time been asked to provide documentation of its authorization to bill for such services; BE IT RESOLVED THAT the board of the Lower St Croix Fire Protection Department hereby documents its grant of authority to the DEPARTMENTto bill for services as follows: The Lower St Croix Valley Fire Protection District hereby documents the long-standing and continuing authorization of the LSCVFD to invoice for services provided by the Fire District including, but are not limited to, the following: Auto Vehicle Accidents Hazardous Material Spills Vehicle and Boat Fires Unauthorized Burning Special Rescue Services —Fire or Medical Consumables and Equipment used at Structure Fires Other Consumables and Equipment set forth by the Washington County Fire Chiefs Association Rates for the above services have been and will continue to be set by the Department at levels similar to those billed by other Washington County Fire Departments. ADOPTED BY THE LOWER ST CROIX FIRE PROT CTION DISTRICT THIS le DAY OF JANUARY, 2015. SIG D:,' Its: Chairman ATTEST: Secreta �/ Providing Fire and Ambulance Service for the Communities of: Afton — Lakeland — Lakeland Shores — Lake St. Croix Beach — St. Mary's Point IZI=R=1%1:III dURLTM1 3 specifies the amount and manner of the charge. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 5/24/2016 Fire Department Management and Liability Issues Page 20 IV. Managing city fire department finances Since fire departments are a department of the city, all department funds are the city's responsibility. If they exist, independently managed fire department bank accounts need to be closed and the funds turned over to the city treasurer and controlled by the city council. The fire department does not have any independent authority to accept, control, or spend "department" funds or to enter into contracts. The city council must accept any donations or other contributions. "Fire Departments, Fire City fire departments have historically operated with considerable Relief Associations and Checking Accounts," Office autonomy; however, where public funds are concerned, that autonomy is of the state Auditor, limited. Minnesota's statutes are clear: city councils must control the city's Statement of Position, Aug. 2015. finances. All city funds must be received and accounted for by the city treasurer. Fire department expenditures must also be treated the same as expenditures for any other city department. The fire chief has no authority to authorize city expenditures or to sign city checks. Instead, the expenditures for the fire department, as with any other city department, must be approved by the city council in a manner that conforms to the city's established purchasing and claims procedures. See section IV -E, Unlike the city fire department, volunteer fire relief associations will have Fundraisers and donations and their own financial accounts. A volunteer fire relief association is a Sectionvll-B-2, Fundraising governmental entity separate from the city. It receives and manages public money to offer retirement benefits for those individuals who provide firefighting and emergency first response services. Minn. Stat. § 609.456. Local government officials and employees must notify the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) whenever evidence of theft, embezzlement, or the unlawful use of public funds or property is discovered. The reporting requirement also applies to officers and employees of local public pension plans, including volunteer firefighter relief associations. State Auditor Reporting A detailed description of the alleged incident(s) must be made to the OSA forms and due dates. "promptly" and in writing. The description may include information that is classified as not public data. "Prompt" reporting means that the OSA should be contacted when the evidence is first discovered. Information that could reasonably be used to determine the identity of an individual providing the required notice is classified as private. A. Charging for fire calls Cities have express authority to impose fees for emergency services, Minn. Stat. § 415.01, subd. 2. including fire protection. A city's ability to charge fire fees involves Fees for Fire services Within interplay between three statutes. The first, Minn. Stat. § 415.0 1, subd. 2, the City, LMC Model Ordinance. allows cities to charge for emergency services by passing an ordinance that specifies the amount and manner of the charge. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 5/24/2016 Fire Department Management and Liability Issues Page 20 RELEVANT LINKS: Fees for Fire services under It provides "[A] city may exercise the power under sections 366.011 and Contract, LMC Model Ordinance. Establishes fees 366.012 relating to charges for emergency services only if the city adopts an for emergency protection fire ordinance authorizing the manner and amount of charging for those services outside the city pursuant to a fire protection services." contract. Minn. Stat. § 366.011. The other two, Minn. Stat. §§ 366.011 and 366.012, apply to towns. Under Minn. Stat. § 366.012. Minn. Stat. § 366.011, a town can impose fees for fire protection services provided by or contracted for by the town. If the charge is not paid, the town can use any means available to private parties to collect it or may certify the unpaid charge with the county auditor for collection with taxes to any real property within the state. Minn. Stat. § 366.012 explains the process for certifying charges with the county auditor. By its terms, Minn. Stat. § 415.01, subd. 2, gives cities these same powers. Cities also have the authority to certify the unpaid charge to the auditor of any county in the state in which the person who received fire protection services owns real property. The county auditor is responsible for remitting to the city all charges collected on behalf of the city. Therefore, a city can certify unpaid fees regardless of where the property is located in the state. An important note to remember is that fire services generally include not only firefighting, but first responders as well. Any ordinance authorizing fire service charges should define fire services broadly enough to include both of these activities. 1. Providing service to property outside the city Many cities contract with towns or other cities to provide fire protection, requiring the city fire department to provide service outside of the city. These contracts typically authorize cities to bill the recipient of the fire protection service who lives outside the city. Cities have the authority to use any means available to private parties to collect unpaid charges, regardless Minn. Stat. § 415.01, subd. 2. of where the property is located. State law also gives cities the ability to certify for collection with taxes the unpaid fire charges on property located outside of city limits that is anywhere within the state. It provides that cities may exercise the "power under sections 366.011 and 366.012 relating to charges for emergency services." One of these powers is certifying unpaid fire charges. This power is not limited to charges to property within a city's borders. 2. Different rate structures Fire departments often respond to car fires, sometimes to nonresidents of the Mem'l Hosp. v. Maricopa County, 415 U.S. 250 (1974) city, or to another entity covered by a fire protection contract. Cities have (denying non-residents free inquired whether they can charge higher rates for these calls. Unequal fees non -emergency medical care violated the right to travel). implicate Several constitutional concerns. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 5/24/2016 Fire Department Management and Liability Issues Page 21 IZI=R=1%1►III OR1►CF" State v. Kolla, 672 N.W.2d 1 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that denial of "basic necessities of life" (Minn. Ct. app. 2003) impedes the constitutional right to travel. Fire protection might be a basic (charging higher state license necessity and unequal charges may be a form of denying this basic fee to non-residents violated commerce clause); 9 necessity. Additionally, higher taxes and more stringent licensing McQuillin, Municipal requirements imposed on nonresidents have run afoul of both the Corporations, § 26.48 (3rd ed. Revised 1995). Constitution's equal protection and commerce clauses. Because of the possible constitutional implications resulting from different rates, it is probably preferable to have a uniform policy when charging for fire calls. 3. Policy considerations Many cities have passed ordinances charging fire fees and more are considering this option. Aside from the concerns mentioned above, cities should consider whether charging fire fees is the best choice. Some citizens may argue that the mechanisms for collecting and enforcing property taxes are already in place and that paying for fire services out of general revenue may be a better option than charging for fire calls. The city should also decide whether it is prepared to collect charges when the fee is not covered by insurance. Some insurance policies will only pay if the property owner has an obligation to the city. If the city only collects fees in limited instances, the insurance company could argue that the property owner does not really have an obligation to the city. Furthermore, if the city aggressively attempts to collect fees from persons having insurance but looks the other way for persons not having insurance, the city could be committing insurance fraud. If the city decides to charge fire fees, the statutes do not limit the amount of fees a city may charge. However, as is usually true for city fees, the fee should be reasonably related to the city's cost in providing the service. Finally, keep in mind that all fire fee collections belong to the city, not the fire relief association or fire department, and should be deposited in the city's accounts. B. Contracting out city fire services Fire protection is the most commonly contracted -for service between cities and towns. These contracts will typically fall into some kind of LMC information memo, intergovernmental cooperation agreement such as contract -for fire service, a Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreements. mutual aid agreement, or an agreement for shared personnel or resources such as equipment, facilities, or specialty operations; rescue teams are a common example. Each of these contracts presents unique considerations, especially in terms of liability and risk management, which are discussed in a separate Information Memo. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 5/24/2016 Fire Department Management and Liability Issues Page 22 Fees for Fire Services within the City, LMC Model Ordinance League models are thoughtfully developed by our stafffor a city's consideration. Models should be customized as appropriate for an individual city's circumstances in consultation with the city's attorney. Helpful background information on this model may be found in Information Memo "Fire Department Management and Liability Issues. " This icon marks places where the city must customize the model. They offer additional provisions, optional language, or comments for your consideration. The icon, and language you do not wish to include, should be deleted from this model before use. Make other changes, as needed, to customize the model for your city. ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING FEES FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTION FIRE SERVICES FOR PROPERTY WITHIN THE CITY The City Council of , Minnesota ordains: SECTION ONE: PURPOSES AND INTENT This ordinance is adopted for the purpose of authorizing the City of to charge for fire service as authorized by Minn. Stat. §§ 366.011, 366.012, and 415.01. SECTION TWO: DEFINITIONS (A) "Fire service" means any deployment of firefighting personnel and/or equipment to extinguish a fire or perform any preventative measure in an effort to protect equipment, life, or property in an area threatened by fire. It also includes the deployment of firefighting personnel and/or equipment to provide fire suppression, rescue, extrication, and any other services related to fire and rescue as may occasionally occur. (B) "Fire service charge" means the charge imposed by the City for receiving fire service. (C) "Motor vehicle" means any self-propelled vehicle designed and originally manufactured to operate primarily upon public roads and highways, and not operated exclusively upon railroad tracks. It includes semi -trailers. It does not include snowmobiles, manufactured homes, all -terrain vehicles, or park trailers. (D) "Fire protection contract" means a contract between the City and a town or other city for the City to provide fire service. (E) "Mutual aid agreement" means an agreement between the City and a town or other city for the City's fire department to provide assistance to the fire department of a town or other city. SECTION THREE: PARTIES AFFECTED (A) Owners of property within the City who receive fire service. (B) Anyone who receives fire service as a result of a motor vehicle accident or fire within the City. League of Minnesota Cities Model Ordinance: 5/24/2016 Fees for Fire Services within the City Page 1 (C) Owners of property in towns or cities to which the City provides fire service pursuant to a fire protection contract. SECTION FOUR: RATES Insert your rate schedule here. SECTION FIVE: BILLING AND COLLECTION (A) Parties requesting and receiving fire services may be billed directly by the City. Additionally, if the party receiving fire services did not request services but a fire or other situation exists which, at the discretion of the fire department personnel in charge requires fire service, the party will be charged and billed. All parties will be billed whether or not the fire service is covered by insurance. Any billable amount of the fire charge not covered by a party's insurance remains a debt of the party receiving the fire service. (B) Parties billed for fire service will have days to pay. If the fire service charge is not paid by that time, it will be considered delinquent and the City will send a notice of delinquency. (C) If the fire service charge remains unpaid for 30 days after this notice of delinquency is sent, the City will use all practical and reasonable legal means to collect the fire service charge. The party receiving fire service shall be liable for all collection costs incurred by the City including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney fees and court costs. (D) If the fire service charge remains unpaid for 30 days after the notice of delinquency is sent, the City Council may also, on or before October 15 of each year, certify the unpaid fire service charge to the county auditor in which the recipient of the services owns real property for collection with property taxes. The county auditor is responsible for remitting to the city all charges collected on behalf of the city. The City must give the property owner notice of its intent to certify the unpaid fire service charge by September 15. (E) False alarms be billed as a fire call. Insert "will" or "won't" SECTION SIX: MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT When the City fire department provides fire service to another fire department pursuant to a Mutual Aid Agreement, the billing will be determined by the Mutual Aid Agreement. SECTION SEVEN: APPLICATION OF COLLECTIONS TO BUDGET All collected fire charges will be city funds and used to offset the expenses of the City fire department in providing fire services. SECTION EIGHT: EFFECTIVE DATE The ordinance shall become effective Passed by the City Council of , Minnesota this day of Month, Year. League of Minnesota Cities Model Ordinance: 5/24/2016 Fees for Fire Services within the City Page 2 Mayor Attested: City Clerk League of Minnesota Cities Model Ordinance: 5/24/2016 Fees for Fire Services within the City Page 3 Emergency Policy for Response Charges Emergency Policy for Response Charges http://www.ci.taylors-falls.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC= 19... This policy is intended to assist in the preparation, submission and billing of all paged emergency service incidents by the Taylors Falls Fire Department. Chapter 5 of the Taylors Falls Code of Ordinances state: Section 507 - Emergency Services/Fire Calls 5o7.ol Charges for Service. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §366.o11 and 415.01, the City hereby imposes a service charge for emergency services, including fire, rescue, medical and related services provided by the City of Taylors Falls Fire Department, or contracted for with the City. 5o7.o2 Collection. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §366.o11 and 415.01, the City or its contractor on behalf of the City may use any lawful means allowed to a private party for the collection of an unsecured delinquent debt if the service charge remains unpaid 3o days after a notice of delinquency is sent to the recipient of the service or the recipient's representative or estate. 5o7.o3 Fees. The fee for the said service shall be established in Section 305.05 of this Code of Ordinances. Incident Report. Following the response by the Taylors Falls Fire Department to a paged incident for emergency services, the Fire Chief or Officer in Charge shall provide a completed Incident Report (attachmentA) to the City Clerk's office at City Hall within a reasonable amount of time after said incident. The Report is to be completed with as much information as possible to assist in the determination of the appropriate fees. Once all pertinent information is received (preferably via fax), the Clerk -Treasurer, or other designated official, shall prepare an invoice and mail it to the responsible party, which shall then be due and payable within 3o days. Incomplete Incident Reports will not be charged out until sufficient information is provided. Charges for Services. Charges for Emergency Services shall be based upon the level of urgency according to the level sliding scale: Alarms, CO or Smoke Detectors - $1oo for the initial response up to one hour, $250 per hour thereafter. Rock Fall/River Rescue - $300 Accident Response, Vehicle Fire, Grass Fire - $250 per hour ($500 cap) Structure Fire - $500 Extrication - $500 for use of extrication equipment Any amendments to the Fee Schedule associated with a paged emergency service incident shall be established by the City Council at their Organizational Meeting in January of each year. Once a payment is received it shall be posted as revenue to the Special Fire Protection Fund (4o7) less a 1o% administrative fee. If the charges remain unpaid, the City shall use any means available for collection, including the assessment of the special charge to the property taxes as specified in Chapter 5 of the Taylors Falls Code of Ordinances, Section 507 - Emergency Services/Fire Calls. Special Circumstances. The expectation is that all paged emergency service incidents responded to by the Taylors Falls Fire Department shall be charged the appropriate fees. However, there may be special circumstances where these fees may not be appropriate: » Mutual Aid: NO CHARGE Cancelled in route: NO CHARGE Called in by someone other than property/vehicle owner & unfounded: NO CHARGE » Responded to call but unfounded: NO CHARGE Called in by someone other than property owner with just cause: CHARGED AS APPROPRIATE If determined by the Fire Chief or Officer in Charge from the Taylors Falls Fire Department, a Deputy from the Chisago County Sheriffs Department, or the Judicial Court System, that an Emergency Service Incident was intentionally, maliciously or carelessly set by a person(s), the entire fees associated with the said incident shall be born by that person(s). Proven hardship: NO CHARGE No Insurance or not able to pay entire fee: PAYMENT SCHEDULE WITH NO ACCRUING INTEREST » Special circumstances per Officer in Charge in making an assessment for exceptional and unusual circumstances, the officer in charge shall inform the Council of information gathered at the scene such as, serious illness or medical condition of owner or family members, or general disability or other observations of hardship that support circumstances where fees may not be appropriate. 1 of 1 9/7/2017, 12:43 PM