[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Charleroi as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 36.
[Adopted 6-10-1999 by Ord. No. 926]
The Borough Secretary, Code Enforcement Officer, or such official's
designee is hereby appointed as the designated officer who is authorized
to carry out all responsibilities and duties stated herein.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter 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 of Charleroi (hereinafter the "municipality")
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 Municipal Treasurer, Borough Secretary or Code Enforcement
Officer with a municipal certificate pursuant to Section 508(b) of
the Act,[2] and unless there is compliance with Section 508(c) and
(d) of the Act[3] and the provisions of this article. Where, pursuant to
Section 508(b)(1)(i) of the Act,[4] the Municipal Treasurer, Borough Secretary or Code Enforcement
Officer issues a certificate indicating that there are no delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against real property,
the insuring agent shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided,
however, that if the loss agreed upon by the named insured and the
insuring agent equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability
on all fire policies covering the building restructure, the following
procedures must be followed:
A.
Amount of transfer.
(1)
The
insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the designated
officer of the municipality in the aggregate of $2,000 for each $15,000
of a claim and for each fraction of that amount of a claim, this section
to be applied such that if the claim is $15,000 or less, the amount
transferred to the municipality shall be $2,000; or
(2)
If
at the time of a proof of loss agreed to between the named insured
and the insuring agent, the named insured has submitted a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, the insuring agent shall transfer to
the municipality from the insurance proceeds the amount specified
in the estimate.
B.
The transfer of proceeds shall be on pro rata basis by all companies,
associations or exchanges insuring the building or other structure.
C.
After the transfer, the named insured may submit a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, and the designated officer shall return
the amount of the funds transferred to the municipality in excess
of the estimate to the named insured, if the municipality has not
commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
D.
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the municipality shall
do the following:
(1)
The designated officer shall place the proceeds in a separate fund
to be used solely as security against the total costs or removing,
repairing, or securing the building or structure which are incurred
by the municipality. Such costs shall include, without limitation,
any engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the municipality
in connection with such removal, repair or securing of the building
or any proceedings related thereto; and
(2)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring the
proceeds to provide the municipality 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 designated officer shall contact
the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received by
the municipality and notify the named insured that the procedures
under this subsection shall be followed; and
(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 municipality and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and if the municipality has not
incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the fund shall
be returned to the named insured. If the municipality has incurred
costs for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure,
the costs shall be paid from the fund and if excess funds remain,
the municipality shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured;
and
(4)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held by the municipality
pursuant to this section, and not returned to the named insured, such
interest shall belong to the municipality. 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 municipality to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this section shall be construed to prohibit the municipality 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.
The Council for the Borough of Charleroi may by resolution adopt
procedures and regulations to implement the Act and this article and
may by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal
activities or services provided pursuant to the Act and this article,
including but not limited to issuance of certificates and bills.
