[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Greenville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 30.
[Adopted 6-9-1993 by Ord. No. 1276; amended in its entirety 8-8-2006 by Ord. No.
1455 (Ch. 1, Part 11, of the 2006 Code of Ordinances)]
A.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter "insurer")
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 insurer is furnished
by the Borough Treasurer with a certificate pursuant to Section 508(b)
of the Insurance Company Law of 1921,[1] as amended by Act 98 of 1992 and Act 93 of 1994 (collectively,
the "Act") and unless there is compliance with the procedures set
forth in Section 508(c) and (d) of the Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638.
B.
Delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or other charges.
(1)
Where there are delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user
charges against the property ("municipal claims"), or there are expenses
which the Borough has incurred as a cost for the removal, repair or
securing of a building or other structure on the property (collectively
"municipal expenses"), the Borough Manager, or such official's
designee of the Borough, shall immediately render a bill for such
work, if he has not already done so. Upon written request of the named
insured specifying the tax description of the property, the name and
address of the insurer and the date of receipt by the insurer of a
loss report of the claim, the Treasurer shall furnish a certificate
within 14 working days after the request, to the insurer, a certificate
(or, at his discretion, an oral notice confirmed in writing) either:
(2)
Taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges shall be deemed delinquent for this purpose if a lien could have been filed for such claims under applicable law. Upon receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to Subsection B(1) of this section, the insurer shall transfer to the Treasurer an amount from the insurance proceeds sufficient to pay such sums prior to making payment to the named insured, subject to the provisions of Subsection C hereof.
C.
When all municipal claims and municipal expenses have been paid pursuant to Subsection B of this section, or where the Treasurer has issued a certificate described in Subsection B(1) indicating that there are no municipal claims or municipal expenses against the property, the insurer shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided, however, that if the loss agreed upon by the named insured and the insurer equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or structure, the following procedures must be followed:
(1)
The insurer shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the Treasurer,
in the aggregate, $2,000 for each $15,000 of such claim or fraction
thereof.
(2)
If at the time a loss report is submitted by the insured, such insured
has submitted to the insurer, with a copy to the Borough, a contractor's
signed estimate of the cost of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure in an amount less than the amount calculated
under the foregoing transfer formula, the insurer shall transfer to
the Treasurer from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in
the estimate. If there is more than one insurer, the transfer of proceeds
shall be on a pro rata basis by all insurers insuring the building
or other structure.
(3)
Upon receipt of the above described portion of the insurance proceeds,
the Treasurer shall do the following:
(a)
Place the proceeds in a separate fund to be used solely as security
against the total municipal expenses anticipated by the Borough to
be required in removing, repairing or securing the building or structure
as required by this article. Such costs shall include, without limitation,
any engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the Borough
in connection with such removal, repair or securing or any proceedings
related thereto; and,
(b)
Mail to the named insured, at the address received from the
insurer, a notice the proceeds have been received by the Borough and
that the procedures under this subsection shall be followed.
(c)
After the transfer, the named insured may submit to the Borough
a contractor's signed estimate of the cost of removing, repairing
or securing the building or other structure, in which event the Treasurer
shall, if such estimate is deemed by the Treasurer to be reasonable,
return to the insured the amount of the funds transferred to the Borough
in excess of that required to pay the municipal expenses; provided,
the Borough has not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building
or other structure, in which case the Borough will complete the work.
(d)
Pay to the Borough Manager, or such official's designee,
for reimbursement to the Borough general fund, the amount of the municipal
expenses paid by the Borough.
(e)
Pay the remaining balance in the fund (without interest) to
the named insured upon receipt of a certificate issued by the Borough
Manager, or such official's designee, that the repair, removal
or securing of the building or other structure has been completed
in accordance with all applicable codes and regulations of the Borough.
(f)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability
of the Borough to recover any deficiency in the amount of municipal
claims or municipal expenses recovered pursuant to this article, or
to insurance proceeds, by an action at law or in equity to enforce
the codes of the Borough or to enter into an agreement with the named
insured with regard to such other disposition of the proceeds as the
Borough may deem responsible.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to make an insurance
company, association or exchange liable for any amount in excess of
proceeds payable under its insurance policy or for any other act performed
pursuant to this article or to make this Borough, any Borough official,
a municipality or public official an insured under a policy of insurance
or to create an obligation to pay delinquent property taxes or unpaid
removal liens or expenses other than as provided in this article.
An insurance company, association or exchange making payment
of policy proceeds under this article for delinquent taxes or structure
removal liens or removal expenses incurred by the Borough shall have
a full benefit of such payment including all rights of subrogation
and of assignment.
This article shall be liberally construed to accomplish its
purpose to deter the commission of arson and related crimes, to discourage
the abandonment of property and to prevent urban blight and deterioration.
The Secretary of the Borough shall transmit a certified copy
of this article promptly to the Pennsylvania Department of Community
and Economic Development.
Any owner of property, any named insured or insurer who violates
the provisions of this article or who shall fail to comply with any
of the requirements hereof shall be sentenced, upon conviction thereof,
to a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment
of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30
days. Each day on which an offense shall continue shall be deemed
a separate offense.
The provisions of this article, so far as they are the same
as those of ordinances enforced immediately prior to the enactment
of this article, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances
and not as new enactments. The provisions of this article shall not
affect any act done or liability incurred, nor shall it affect any
suit or prosecution pending or to be instituted to enforce any right
or penalty or to punish any offense under the authority of any ordinance
repealed by this article.
