[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of the Township of
Three Oaks as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 9-11-2017 by Ord. No. 29A]
This article is adopted for the purpose of providing for the
collection of fees for services to the Township of Three Oaks (hereinafter
referred to as the "Township") in the operation of its Fire Department.
The source of fees for services will be from those receiving direct
benefits from the Townships fire protection services. It is the further
purpose of this article to assist in the funding of the Fire Department
operation which remains, in part, an at-large governmental expense
based upon the general benefits derived by all property owners within
the Township from the existence of a Township Fire Department and
its availability to extinguish fires within the Township and perform
other emergency services.
A.
The owners of any property receiving the following services rendered
or performed by the Township Fire Department:
(1)
House or structure fire.
(2)
Automobile fire.
(3)
Truck fire.
(4)
Aircraft fire.
(5)
Unauthorized grass or brush fire.
(6)
Rubbish fire.
(7)
Hazardous material cleanup services.
(8)
False alarms; no charge for first call.
(9)
Public safety, health and welfare response calls.
(10)
Emergency rescue service (resident and nonresident).
B.
Services shall be charged in accordance with a schedule of charges
established by this article and approved by the Township Board. These
charges shall be due and payable to the Township within 30 days after
the charges are billed. This schedule of charges shall be established
on the following basis:
C.
When adopted by the Township Board, the schedule of charges shall be and are hereby incorporated herein. Said schedule and the exemption from said charges as set forth in § 144-4 hereof may be changed from time to time by resolution of the Township Board, and such changes shall not require a formal amendment of this article.
All of the foregoing charges shall be due and payable to the
Township within 30 days after the date services are billed, and in
default of payment, the charges shall be collectible as provided herein.
The following properties and services shall be exempt from the
foregoing charges:
A.
Single incident (first call) false alarms.
B.
Fires caused by railroad trains, which are the specific statutory
responsibility of railroad companies.
C.
Fires involving federal, state, county, Township, village and other
governmental real estate and/or property.
D.
Fire services performed outside the jurisdiction of the Township
under mutual aid contract with an adjoining unit of government.
E.
Tax-exempt entities (churches, etc).
The Township Board hereby delegates the authority and responsibility
for billing and collecting charges to the Township Clerk's office.
The Township Clerk may, with the approval of the Township Supervisor,
file suit in any court, if necessary, to collect any monies remaining
unpaid and may pursue any and all other remedies provided by law for
the collection of said charges. The Township Board reserves the right
to waive charges in hardship cases as per federal poverty guidelines.
The foregoing charges shall not be exclusive of the charges
that may be made by the Township for the cost and expense of maintaining
a fire department, but shall only be supplemental thereto. Additionally,
charges may be collected by the Township through general taxation
by procedures provided by law or by a special assessment established
as provided by law. General fund appropriations may also be made to
cover such additional costs and expenses.
When a particular service rendered by the Township Fire Department
directly benefits more than one property, the owner of each property
benefited shall be liable for the payment of the full charge for such
services. The interpretation and application of this section is hereby
delegated to the Township Fire Chief, and his/her decision shall be
final, subject only to appeal, within the time limits provided herein
for payment, to the Township Board, and this section of the article
shall be administered so that the charges shall only be collected
from persons and property who benefit from the service.
Should any provision or part of the within article be declared
by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable,
the same shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the balance
of this article, which shall remain in full force and effect.
