[Adopted 12-10-2013 by Ord. No. 2562]
The Borough of Millvale Manager/Secretary 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 "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 Millvale (hereinafter 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
Manager/Secretary with a municipal certificate pursuant to Section
508(b) of the Insurance Company Law of 1921, as amended by Act 98 of 1992 and Act 93 of 1994 (hereinafter
the "Law"), indicating that there are no delinquent taxes or other
charges against the property, and unless there is compliance with
Section 508(c) and (d) of the Law and the provisions of this article.
Where, pursuant to Section 508(b) of the Law, the Borough Manager/Secretary
issues a certificate indicating in writing 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 or other structure, the
following procedures must be followed:
A. The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the Borough Manager/Secretary, in the aggregate, $2,000 for each $15,000
of a claim and 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.
B. 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 to the Borough from the insurance proceeds the
amount specified in the estimate.
C. The transfer of proceeds shall be on pro rata basis by all companies,
associations or exchanges insuring the building or other structure.
D. 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 Borough Manager/Secretary 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.
E. Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the Borough shall do
the following:
(1) The Borough Manager/Secretary 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 Borough Manager/Secretary shall contact
the named insured, certify that the Borough has received the proceeds
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 repair,
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.
F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of
the Borough to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in this
subsection 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.
The Borough of Millvale may, by resolution, adopt procedures
and regulations to implement Act 93 of 1994 and this section and may,
by resolution, fix reasonable fees to be charged for Borough activities
or services provided pursuant to Act 93 of 1994 and this chapter,
including but not limited to issuance of certificates and bills, performance
of inspection, and opening separate fund accounts.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial
District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of
not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment
thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation
continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate
offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense.
Following adoption of this article, an exact copy of this article,
together with the name and telephone number of the Borough Manager/Secretary,
shall be filed with the Governor's Center for Local Government
Services.