[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Uwchlan as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-14-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-09]
The Board of Supervisors of Uwchlan Township
finds that the continuing use of the personnel and equipment of the
Uwchlan Ambulance Corps and other ambulance services for nonemergency
purposes consumes excessive levels of ambulance service which deprives
others requiring emergency services from receiving prompt responses
from said services, thereby potentially endangering the life and safety
of individuals served by emergency ambulance services in the Township.
Every location that consumes emergency ambulance service in nonemergency
situations places an unfairly disproportionate burden for the funding
of the ambulance services on taxpayers of Uwchlan Township and other
funding sources of the ambulance services. The following provisions
and the fee imposed hereby are authorized in order to provide revenue
to help defray the costs of ambulance services covered by the fees.
The fee imposed hereby is not a penalty or fine.
There is hereby imposed a response fee upon
every unit of real property within the service territory of the Uwchlan
Ambulance Corps for the consumption of ambulances and ambulance services
in nonemergency circumstances.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
Each time one or more ambulance personnel, vehicles and equipment
commences and completes a response to an identifiable unit of real
property as recorded by the Chester County Department of Emergency
Services dispatch system and which sets forth the time the personnel
were present upon the property.
An incident of service not involving a life-threatening medical
condition or serious bodily injury. Examples of nonemergencies include
cause to transport individuals to hospitals for treatment and sicknesses
and illnesses which are non-life-threatening.
The geographic area served by the Uwchlan Ambulance Corps
as designated from time to time by the Chester County Department of
Emergency Services.
A single residential dwelling, business offices, retail establishments,
group homes, nursing homes, convalescence homes, assisted-living facilities,
continuing-care facilities and all other residential, commercial and
industrial properties located within the service territory.
The response fee imposed herein shall be as
set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors
for each nonemergency incident of service. The amount of the response
fee represents a portion of the cost of equipment, personnel and overhead
for one incident of service.
The Uwchlan Ambulance Corps shall identify each
nonemergency incident of service and report the identity of the unit
of real property and the time of the response to the Chief of the
Corps. The president or his designee shall mail an invoice to the
owner of the unit of real property as appears in the most recent tax
assessment records. Each invoice shall be paid in full within 30 days
of its date.
A.
If such invoice is not paid in full within 30 days,
the Uwchlan Ambulance Corps may commence appropriate legal action
to collect amounts owed.
B.
All amounts collected for violation of this article
shall be paid to the Uwchlan Ambulance Corps to help defray the costs
of providing ambulance services.
