[Ord. 739-06, 3/13/2006]
The Manager of the Borough or such official's designee
is hereby appointed as the designated officer who is authorized to
carry out all responsibilities and duties stated herein.
[Ord. 739-06, 3/13/2006]
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 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 Treasurer with a municipal
certificate pursuant to Section 508(B) of Act 98 of 1992 and unless
there is compliance with Section 508(C) and (D) of Act 98 of 1992
and the provisions of this Part.
[Ord. 739-06, 3/13/2006]
Where, pursuant to Section 508(b)(1)(i) of Act 93 of 1994, the
Borough Treasurer 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 50% of the aggregate limits
of liability on all fire policies covering the building restructure,
the following procedures must be followed:
A. Amount transferred.
(1) The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the designated officer of the Borough 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 $5,000
or less, the amount transferred to the Borough shall be $2,000; or
(2) If, at the time 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 Borough from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the
estimate.
B. The transfer of proceeds shall be on a 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 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 proceeds under this section, the Borough 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 of removing,
repairing, or securing the building or 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 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 designated officer 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 designated officer, and if the Borough has not incurred
any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the fund shall be returned
to the named insured. If the Borough 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 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. 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.
[Ord. 739-06, 3/13/2006]
The Borough Council may, by resolution, adopt procedures and
regulations to implement this Part and may, by resolution, fix reasonable
fees to be charged for Borough activities or services provided pursuant
to this Part, including but not limited to issuance of certificates
and bills.
[Ord. 739-06, 3/13/2006]
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this Part shall be subject to a criminal penalty up to
$1,000 per violation and may be subject to imprisonment to the extent
allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses. Each violation
of any provision of this Part, and each day the same is continued,
shall be deemed a separate offense. The enforcement of the violation
shall be by action brought before a District Justice in the manner
provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania
Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Borough Solicitor may assume charge
of the prosecution without the consent of the District Attorney as
required under Pa.R.C.P. No. 83C.