City Ponders Fees For Emergency Services

It used to be that tax revenue was enough to cover the costs incurred by police and fire department when they respond to a fire or car accident.

But as counties and municipalities face shrinking revenue, more are pondering charges for emergency services.

Now Brooksville is among them.

The city council on Monday is expected to consider a proposal by the police and fire chiefs to assess fees to the insurance companies of residents and nonresidents alike.

The meeting is slated for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 201 N. Howell Ave.

It's a necessary step for the city to recover the rising expenses of providing the services, Police Chief George Turner and Fire Chief Tim Mossgrove agreed.

"Everybody wants to have the resources to deliver the high level of service that citizens want," Mossgrove said. "One way to do that is find alternative funding."

No city resident would ever have to pay out of pocket, Turner and Mossgrove stressed.

"We're not going to be hitting taxpayers for what they're already paying for," Turner said.

Instead, insurance companies would.

For example, the ordinance would allow the city to charge the insurer of a driver deemed at fault in a wreck to recoup the cost of EMS and police response even if they live in the city.

If the fire department responds to a house fire, the homeowner's insurance company would get a bill.

But one of the main goals is to recoup costs from noncity residents who require emergency services, whether it's a car accident or a medical call, the chiefs said.

"Why put the burden on the taxpayers of city for a situation they didn't create," Mossgrove said.

He pointed out there are already charges in place for ambulance rides.

"We're just expanding it to police and fire service," he said.

The ordinance contains a hardship provision. Mossgrove cited an example of an uninsured city resident whose house burns to the ground.

If a city resident's insurance company denies a claim, the resident is exempt from the charges, but a non-city resident will be held liable for the fees.

It will be up to the city to decide how hard it wants to fight for them, Turner and Mossgrove said.

The fees have not been determined but would be in line with national standards already set and in use by many cities and counties including several in Florida. Escambia County and the city of Ocala are among them.

If the council approves the plan, the city would contract with a company that specializes in recouping fees. Cost Recovery Corporation of Dayton, Ohio, is one of them, and company President Regina Moore will make a presentation before the council Monday.

Moore couldn't be reached Monday, but the company's Web site claims that 56 percent of insurance companies "recognize the value of this program and voluntarily pay these claims."

"Keeping policyholders safe helps limit potential liability costs for insurance companies, and as a result, protects their profit margins," according to the site.

That doesn't mean that such policies won't result in higher premiums, said Scott Johnson, executive vice president for the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.

The association has yet to analyze the issue or take an official stance, but it's only common sense to assume that more claims mean higher premiums, Johnson said.

"To argue otherwise is ludicrous," Johnson said. "What that is saying is an insurance company takes that expense out of its profits, and I can guarantee you that's not happening."

Beefed up code would allow city to grab junk from private property

Also up for debate Monday is an amendment to the city code to allow the city to go onto private property to remove junk and abandoned items.

The code already allows officials to remove items from the public right of way but not from private property. A resident would get a written notice and have five days to remove the property or file an appeal.

After five days, the city can remove and dispose of the material and charge the property owner for the cost of removal and assess a fine of up to $200.