[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Lewisburg 4-16-1996
by Ord. No. 903. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 32.
The Borough Manager, or such authorized designee as approved by Borough
Council, is hereby appointed as the designated officer who is authorized to
carry out all responsibilities stated in this chapter.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter referred
to as the "insuring agent") doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
shall pay a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a structure located
within the Borough where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure
under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the insuring agent is furnished
by the Borough's Tax Collector with a municipal certificate pursuant to § 508(b)
of Act 98 of 1992, as amended, and unless there is compliance with §§ 508(c)
and 508(d) of Act 98 of 1992, as amended, and the provisions of this chapter.
The Borough's Tax Collector shall, upon the written request of the named
insured specifying the tax description of the property, the name and address
of the insuring agent and the date agreed upon by the insuring agent and the
named insured as the date of the receipt of a loss report of the claim, furnish
the insuring agent either of the following within 14 working days of the said
request:
A.
A certificate or, at the discretion of the Borough, a
verbal notification which shall be confirmed in writing by the insuring agent
to the effect that, as of the date specified in the said request, there are
no delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property
and that, as of the date of the certificate or verbal notification, the Borough
has not certified any amount as total costs incurred by the Borough for the
removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property;
or,
B.
A certificate and bill showing the amount of delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges against the property as of
the date specified in the said request that have not been paid as of the date
of the certificate and also showing, as of the date of the certificate, the
amount of the total costs, if any, certified to the Borough's Tax Collector
that have been incurred by the Borough for removal, repair or securing of
a building or other structure on the property. For the purposes of this subsection,
the Borough shall certify to the Borough's Tax Collector the total amount,
if any, of such costs. A tax, assessment, penalty or user charge becomes delinquent
at the time and on the date a lien could otherwise have been filed against
the property by the Borough under applicable law.
Upon the receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to § 174-3B of this chapter, the insuring agent shall return the bill to the Borough's Tax Collector and transfer to the Borough's Tax Collector an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs as shown on the bill. The Borough shall receive the amount and apply or credit it to payment of the items shown in the bill.
Upon the receipt of a certificate pursuant to § 174-3A of this chapter, the insuring agent shall pay the claim of the named insured in accordance with the policy terms; provided, however, that if the loss agreed to between the named insured and the insuring agent equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or other structure, the following procedures shall be followed:
A.
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance
proceeds to the Borough Manager in the aggregate $2,000 for each $15,000 and
for each fraction of that amount of a claim (this subsection to be applied
such that if the claim is $15,000 or less, the amount transferred to the Borough
shall be $2,000, or, if at the time of a loss report the named insured has
submitted a contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing
or securing the building or other structure in an amount less than the amount
calculated under the foregoing transfer formula, the insuring agent shall
transfer from the insurance proceeds to the Borough Manager the amount specified
in the estimate.
B.
The transfer of the proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the building or other
structure.
C.
After the aforesaid transfer, the named insured may submit
a contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing
the building or other structure, in which event the Borough Manager shall
return the amount of the funds transferred to the Borough in excess of the
estimate to the named insured if the Borough has not commenced to remove,
repair or secure the building or other structure.
D.
Upon receipt of the proceeds under this section, the
Borough shall do the following:
(1)
The Borough Manager shall place the proceeds in a separate
fund to be used solely as security against the total costs of removing, repairing
or securing the building or other structure which are incurred by the Borough.
Such costs shall include, without limitation, any engineering, legal or administrative
costs incurred by the Borough in connection with such removal, repair or securing
of the building or other structure or any proceedings related thereto;
(2)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring
the proceeds to provide the Borough with the name and address of the named
insured. Upon receipt of the transferred funds and the name and address of
the named insured, the Borough Manager shall contact the named insured, certify
that the proceeds have been received by the Borough and notify the named insured
that the procedures under this subsection shall be followed;
(3)
When repairs, removal or securing of the building or
other structure have been completed in accordance with all applicable regulations
and orders of the Borough and the required proof of such completion received
by the Borough Manager, the fund shall be returned to the name insured if
the Borough has not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing of
the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund to
the Borough and if excess funds then remain, the Borough shall transfer the
remaining funds to the named insured; and
(4)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held
by the Borough pursuant to this section and not returned to the named insured,
such interest shall belong to the Borough, but to the extent that proceeds
are returned to the named insured, interest earned on such proceeds shall
be distributed to the named insured at the time that the proceeds are returned.
E.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
ability of the Borough to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this section shall be construed to prohibit the Borough and the named insured
from entering into an agreement that permits the transfer of funds to the
named insured if some other reasonable disposition of the damaged property
has been negotiated.
Borough Council may from time to time by resolution adopt procedures
and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992, as amended, and this chapter
and may from time to time by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged
for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to Act 98 of 1992,
as amended, and this chapter, including but not limited to issuance of certificates
and bills, performance of inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
Any owner of property, named insured or insuring agent who violates
any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon
conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before a District Justice, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution, for
each violation, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, be imprisoned
for a period not to exceed 30 days.
