[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Franklin
Township as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 12-9-1992]
The Chairperson of the Franklin Township Board of Supervisors
or such official's designee is hereby appointed as the designated
officer who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities and duties
stated herein.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter the
"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 Township of Franklin (hereinafter the "municipality")
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 98 of 1992,[1] and unless there is compliance with Section 508(C) and
(D) of Act 98 of 1992[2] and the provisions of this article.
Where, pursuant to Section 508(B)(1)(I) of Act 98 of 1992,[1] 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 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 restructure, the following procedures must be followed:
A.
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the designated officer of the municipality 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 such that if the claim is $15,000
or less, the amount transferred to the municipality shall be $2,000;
or
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
If, at the time of a loss report agreed to between the named insured
and the insuring agent, 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 municipality from the insurance proceeds the amount specified
in the estimate.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a 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 designated officer shall return the amount
of the funds transferred to the municipality in excess of the estimate
to the named insured, if the municipality has not commenced to remove,
repair or secure the building or other structure.
E.
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the municipality 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 costs of removing,
repairing, or securing the building or structure which are incurred
by the municipality. Such costs shall include, without limitation,
any engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the municipality
in connection with such removal, repair or securing of the building
or any proceedings related thereto; and
(2)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring the
proceeds to provide the municipality 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 designated officer shall contact
the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received by
the municipality and notify the named insured that the procedures
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 municipality and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and if the municipality has not
incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the fund shall
be returned to the named insured. If the municipality has incurred
costs for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure,
the costs shall be paid from the fund and if excess funds remain,
the municipality shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured;
and
(4)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held by the municipality
pursuant to this section, and not returned to the named insured, such
interest shall belong to the municipality. 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 municipality to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the municipality and
the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the
transfer of funds to the named insured of some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i).
The Township of Franklin may by resolution adopt procedures
and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992 and this article and may
by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal activities
or services provided pursuant to Act 98 of 1992 and this article,
including but not limited to issuance of certificates and bills.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this article 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 article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
The provisions of this article shall be severable and, if any
of the provisions hereof shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable,
the remaining provisions of this article shall remain in effect.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with any of
the provisions of this article are hereby repealed insofar as same
affect this article.
This article shall become effective immediately.
