[Ord. 1995-4, 5/1/1995, § I; as amended by Ord.
2009-07, 7/6/2009]
The Borough Secretary or such other official designated is hereby
appointed as a designated officer who is authorized to carry out all
responsibilities and duties stated herein.
[Ord. 1995-4, 5/1/1995, § II; as amended by Ord.
2009-07, 7/6/2009]
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter the
"insuring agent") doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
shall pay a claim or a named insured for fire damage to a structure
located within the Borough of Watsontown (herein 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 Municipal Treasurer with a municipal certificate pursuant to Section
508(b) of Act 93 of 1994 and unless there is compliance with Sections 508(c) and
508(d) of the Act.
[Ord. 1995-4, 5/1/1995, § III; as amended by Ord.
2009-07, 7/6/2009]
1. Where pursuant to Section 508(b)(1) of Act 93 of 1994, the Municipal 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 a 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. 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 if the claim is $15,000 or less, the amount transferred
to the Borough shall be $2,000; or
B. If at
the time of a loss report the named insured has submitted 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 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 structures;
D. After
the transfer, the named insured may submit a contractor's signed
estimate of the cost of removing, repairing or securing the building
or other structure, and a designated officer shall return the amount
of the funds transferred to the Borough in excess of the estimate
of the named insured, if the Borough has not commenced to remove,
repair, or secure the building or secure the building or other structure;
E. 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 cost 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, thereto; and
(2)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring
the proceeds to provide the Borough with the names and addresses of
the named insured, upon receipt of the transferred funds and the name
and addresses 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 proceeds 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 Borough and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and the Borough has not incurred
any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the funds 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 cost
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 the 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.
F. Nothing
in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the Borough
to recover any deficiency, or 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. 1995-4, 5/1/1995, § IV; as amended by Ord.
2009-07, 7/6/2009]
The Borough of Watsontown may by resolution adopt procedures
and regulations to implement the Act 93 of 1994 and this Part 8 and may by resolution fix reasonable fees
to be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant
to Act 93 of 1994 in this Part 8, including but not limited to issuance
of certificates and bills, performances of inspections and opening
separate fund accounts.
[Ord. 1995-4, 5/1/1995, § V; as amended by Ord.
2009-07, 7/6/2009]
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this Part 8 shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000
per violation.