[Adopted 7-8-2016 by Ord.
No. 733]
This article shall be known as the "Public Safety Emergency
Response Cost Recovery Ordinance."
In order to defray the Town of Dewey Beach's extraordinary expenses
resulting from the demonstrated need to engage additional public safety
resources in order to meet public safety risks attributable to the
conduct of one or more particular businesses, this article authorizes
the imposition of charges to recover reasonable and actual costs incurred
by the Town in responding to such risk.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms and phrases
shall be defined to mean:
The costs of public safety resources, in addition to those
ordinarily provided by the Town in its regular budget, incurred or
to be incurred by the Town in order to meet a demonstrated risk of
disorder associated with the business establishment(s) of one or more
responsible licensees. Such costs shall include the actual labor and
material costs incurred by the Town (including employee wages, fringe
benefits, administrative overhead, costs of equipment and equipment
operation; materials; transportation; material disposal), whether
or not the materials or services are provided by the Town through
its employees or by third parties with which the Town has contracted.
The fact that the Town police or other budget unit has budgeted funds
not yet spent shall not prevent extraordinary costs from being deemed
assessable under this article.
May be found to exist with respect to a business establishment
when the Chief of Police or designee, based on police reports or other
available information, determines that public safety resources, in
addition to those provided by the Town in its regular budget, have
been necessary in order to preserve the peace and prevent risk of
injury to person or property at the location of the business establishment.
The holder of a license to maintain the business establishment
at which a demonstrated risk of disorder was determined to exist.
A.
The Town may recover all assessable costs in connection with a demonstrated
risk of disorder from any or all responsible licensees.
B.
Upon receipt of a determination by the Chief of Police or designee
that there exists a demonstrated risk of disorder associated with
a licensed business establishment, an estimate of the public safety
resources which were and will be necessary to meet such risk, and
a recommendation that the assessable costs associated with such risk
be assessed upon the responsible licensee (together, a "recommendation"),
the Town Manager shall provide notice to the responsible licensee
as provided in § 177-34 below.
C.
The Chief of Police or designee may recommend the allocation of assessable
costs among and between more than one responsible licensee or business
establishment in the event that the facts supporting the determination
of a demonstrated risk of disorder support such allocation.
D.
Actions taken by the Town under this article shall not in any way
limit or extinguish the liability of the responsible licensee to other
parties.
A.
Upon receipt of a recommendation with respect to one or more business
establishments, the Town Clerk or designee shall provide written notice
of same, delivered by any verifiable means, to the responsible licensee.
B.
Within five calendar days following verified delivery of such notice,
the responsible licensee may demand a hearing before the Town Manager,
which hearing must be held prior to the issuance by the Town of any
invoice arising from a recommendation. In no event shall such hearing
be held more than 10 calendar days following the demand for a hearing
by the responsible licensee. The hearing date, time and place shall
be set by the Town Manager.
C.
If, after such a hearing, the Town Manager concurs with the recommendation,
the Town Manager shall so state in writing, together with a determination
of the anticipated duration of such risk, and shall cause such decision
to be delivered to the responsible licensee together with an invoice
for the assessable costs already incurred and to be incurred. Such
invoice may require payment within 30 days of delivery or, in the
alternative, may require periodic payments, depending on the anticipated
duration of the assessment. If no hearing is demanded by the responsible
licensee, then the Town Manager shall forthwith deliver such an invoice.
D.
Failure to pay an assessment when due shall be a basis for license
revocation. The Town Manager shall also deny a business license application
in a future year on the basis of an applicant's failure to pay an
assessment when due.
E.
In addition to any other means of obtaining payment of such an assessment,
the amount of unpaid assessment plus interest shall, if unpaid for
more than 60 days, become a lien upon any and all real estate used
by the business establishment in question, regardless of whether such
real estate is owned by the responsible licensee or any affiliate
thereof; provided, however, that no such lien shall be raised upon
the property in question until the record owner has been provided
with 30 days' written notice, sent with verifiable delivery to the
address of such owner appearing in the Town's records.
