(a)
It shall
be unlawful for any person to furnish, operate, advertise or otherwise
engage or profess to be engaged in the operation of a non-emergency
ambulance transfer service upon the streets of Hillsboro without a
franchise as provided by Section 4.911(5) of Division 2 and this article.
Ambulance transfer services provided and operated by a medical facility
with no separate charge for such transport are not precluded by this
section.
(b)
Duplication
of emergency service is responding without the request of the City
of Hillsboro EMS dispatcher to the same call as a City of Hillsboro
EMS unit.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
Application for an ambulance transfer service franchise shall
be filed with the city secretary. An applicant shall furnish the following
proof and information, which shall be subscribed and sworn to before
a notary public:
(1)
That
the applicant has not been convicted of any felony or of a misdemeanor
involving moral turpitude within the last ten (10) years.
(2)
A statement
that the applicant has obtained or will obtain liability insurance
in accordance with the requirements provided by this article before
commencing service in the event a franchise should be granted.
(3)
The
application shall set out the number of transfer vehicle(s) which
the applicant proposes to operate and the year of manufacture, make,
model, body style and mileage of each vehicle. An inventory list of
other vehicles and equipment leased or owned by the applicant with
an explicit notation as to what will be used in the service of this
franchise with the city if such franchise is approved.
(4)
The
names of all persons having a financial interest, direct or indirect,
in such application and the ambulance service to be conducted thereunder.
(5)
The
names and summaries of other current contracts and franchises.
(6)
The
locations of offices of operations, names of all current personnel
and each employee's level of certification.
(7)
Financial
statements for the past three years and current balance sheet.
(8)
List
of all pending complaints, claims, demands and suits as well as a
list of all suits, settlements and judgments within the past three
years against the applicant or any of its employees.
(9)
The
names of ten (10) references from current and previous clients or
business contacts, including three (3) or more hospitals or government
entities.
(10)
Any
additional information which may be helpful to the city.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
Copies
of each application for an ambulance transfer service franchise shall
be forwarded to the city manager for review and recommendation to
the city council. In addition, the director of public safety shall
also review such applications and make recommendations to the city
council.
(b)
The
city council shall hold a public hearing on an application for an
ambulance transfer service franchise under this article at the time
and place specified in the notice published in a newspaper of general
circulation fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing and no such franchise
shall ever be granted until an ordinance granting the same has been
read at two (2) regular meetings of the city council.
(c)
An applicant
therefor shall not be granted an ambulance franchise unless the city
council finds and determines that the public convenience will be served
by the issuance thereof. In all hearings, the burden of proof shall
be upon the applicant to establish clear and convincing evidence that
the public convenience will be served by the granting of an ambulance
transfer service franchise.
(d)
In determining
public convenience, the city council shall consider the following:
(1)
The
distance from the permanent address at which the applicant proposes
to operate the ambulance service to hospitals and other medical facilities
providing service to the public.
(2)
Whether
the number of ambulance vehicles which will be covered violates any
provision or standard of this article, then the city council may order
the revocation of the franchise and forfeiture of the performance
bond.
(3)
In
the event the applicant has previously participated, or is currently
participating in an ambulance or transfer service, evidence as to
whether the applicant performed or is performing in a satisfactory
manner shall be presented.
(e)
Public
convenience further shall mean that the permanent address from which
the ambulance service is proposed to be operated will be within the
city limits.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
No ambulance transfer service franchise will be granted unless:
(1)
the
city council determines that the application as required by this article
is true and correct; and
(2)
the
city council determines that the proposed operation of the ambulance
service will be in compliance with all provisions of this article
and all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
The initial length of the franchise will be for five (5) years.
However, the ambulance transfer service franchise holder will be subject
to Section 4.927 below at all times as well as subject to review and
analysis by the city staff on an annual basis with results being presented
to the city manager, director of public safety and the city council.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
No ambulance vehicle shall be operated on the public streets
of the city unless the applicant provides evidence to the city manager
that he has in full force and effect a public liability insurance
policy on that ambulance vehicle, such insurance policy to be issued
by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Texas.
Such insurance policy shall:
(1)
provide
liability coverage for each vehicle of not less than two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per person, or five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000) per occurrence for personal injury or death, and
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for property damage;
(2)
name
the City of Hillsboro as an additional insured, and provide a waiver
of subrogation in favor of the city;
(3)
not
contain a passenger liability exclusion; and
(4)
provide
for at least thirty (30) days prior written notice of cancellation
to the city.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder shall establish a ten
thousand dollar ($10,000) performance bond. The purpose of this bond
is to recover costs to the City of Hillsboro for accepting and administering
applications for all ambulance service in the event the franchise
is revoked.
(b)
If the
ambulance transfer service franchise holder violates any provision
or standard of this article, the city council may order the revocation
of the franchise and forfeiture of the performance bond.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder shall, during the life
of said franchise, pay to the city, at the office of the city secretary
in lawful money of the United States, five (5) percent of its gross
receipts from the operations of ambulance service, which said remittance
shall be made quarterly on or before the fifteenth day of each calendar
quarter. The compensation provided for in this section shall be in
lieu of any other fees or charges imposed by any other ordinance now
or hereinafter in force during the life hereof, but shall not release
the grantee from the payment of ad valorem taxes levied, or to be
levied, on property it owns.
(b)
It shall
be the duty of a grantee to file with the city secretary a sworn statement
showing all receipts for the preceding quarter which statement shall
be filed within fifteen (15) days following the end of each quarter.
A grantee herein shall be required to install and adequately keep
a system of bookkeeping to be approved by the city secretary, which
books shall be subject to inspections of the governing body of the
city and such person or persons as the city may designate, or either
of them, so as to enable the City of Hillsboro to check the correctness
of the accounts kept and to compute fairly and accurately the amount
of gross receipts that may be due to the city.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
No assignment, sale or subletting of any part of this franchise
shall ever be made by the grantee herein without first receiving written
approval of the city council of the City of Hillsboro.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
The books and records of the ambulance transfer service franchise
holder shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by the
city manager or any official designated by the city manager.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
Attendant and drivers employed by the ambulance transfer service
franchise holder shall:
(1)
Be at
least eighteen (18) years of age;
(2)
Be citizens
of the United States;
(3)
Not
have been convicted of any felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude within the past ten (10) years, and not have had any license
for the operation of motor vehicles suspended or revoked within such
a period;
(4)
be the
holder of a valid Texas Drivers License, entitling driver to operate
an ambulance; and
(5)
Present
a certificate executed by a practicing physician showing that the
person is free of contagious or communicable diseases, color blindness,
or any other disability which would impair his ability to provide
emergency medical services to the public.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
Personnel.
Each vehicle shall be staffed with at least two (2) attendants.
The patient compartment of each vehicle shall be manned by an attendant
having basic emergency medical technician or higher certification
from the State of Texas. The other attendant or attendants must have
emergency care attendant or higher certification. In any event, all
vehicles shall be staffed with at least the minimum number and level
of attendants required by state law.
(b)
Vehicles.
Each vehicle must be authorized by the Texas Department of Health
as a basic life support vehicle, and may be operated as a basic life
support vehicle only when said vehicle meets all conditions required
by V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, and Chapter 773 of the Texas Health
and Safety Code.
(c)
Equipment.
A vehicle may not be operated as a basic life support vehicle
unless it is furnished with all of the equipment (and qualified personnel)
required by the Texas Department of Health for a basic life support
vehicle. A vehicle may not be operated as a advanced life support
vehicle unless it is furnished with all of the equipment (and qualified
personnel) required by the Texas Department of Health for an advanced
life support vehicle. Such equipment must be clean, in working order
and available in sufficient quantity to provide safe transport and
care of sick and injured persons.
(d)
Response
Time.
A franchise holder must maintain sufficient vehicles,
trained personnel, and equipment on hand to allow it to respond within
one hour to any request for service. If a franchise holder is unable
to maintain a one hour response for a given period of time, the franchise
holder shall notify the City of Hillsboro EMS unit that it is out
of service, and shall also notify persons requesting the services
of the franchise holder of the period for which it will be unable
to perform ambulance transfer services.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
Neither the ambulance transfer service franchise holder nor
any employee thereof shall refuse to transport a patient requesting
transfer service, except for good cause. In determining "good cause"
for purposes of this section, the ambulance transfer service franchise
holder may consider whether the patient is insane, mentally ill, drunk,
disorderly or unruly; whether the patient has previously willfully
refused to pay for services; whether the ambulance transfer service
franchise holder can safely transport the patient; or whether it is
the best available ambulance service with the capabilities to perform
such a transfer; or similar matters.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder must provide at its own
expense and man twenty-four (24) hours a day a telephone in the city
limits of Hillsboro for ambulance service requests.
(b)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder will have the privilege
of receiving calls for ambulance service from the City of Hillsboro
EMS.
(c)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder shall respond to any request
for ambulance service within one hour at any time of the day, any
day of the week.
(d)
If,
during a transfer, the patient's condition worsens or he suffers an
acute condition, attendants of the ambulance vehicle shall immediately
contact the emergency medical services dispatcher notifying him of
such and then proceed on an emergency basis to the emergency care
facility at the hospital of patient's choice or nearest appropriate
medical facility.
A patient has a worsened or acute condition includes but is
not limited to any or all of the following:
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
(a)
The
city council hereby expressly reserves the right, power and authority
to fully regulate and fix by resolution the rates and charges for
the services of the ambulance transfer service franchise holder to
its customers, fully reserving to the city council all the rights,
powers, privileges and immunities, subject to the duties, limitations
and responsibilities which the constitution, the laws of the state,
and the charter confer upon the city.
(b)
The
ambulance transfer service franchise holder may from time to time
propose changes in the general rates by filing an application with
the city secretary for consideration of the city council. Within a
reasonable time consistent with law, the city council shall afford
the ambulance transfer service franchise holder a fair hearing with
reference to the application and shall either approve or disapprove
the proposed changes or make such order as may be reasonable.
(Ordinance 93-12-21 adopted 12/21/93)
