Any person convicted of a violation of this article shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor and shall be fined in accordance with section 1.01.009. Each day of violation shall constitute another violation.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
Franchise required.
It shall be unlawful for any person
to furnish, operate, advertise or otherwise engage or profess to be
engaged in the operation of an ambulance service upon the streets,
avenues, alleys, or rights-of-way of the city without a franchise
as provided by this article. Ambulance services provided and operated
by the city or its designated provider may be precluded from this
section.
(b)
Duplication of emergency service.
If a private ambulance
franchise holder receives an emergency call from any source to respond
within the city, the franchisee shall immediately notify the communications
center designated by the city to receive and dispatch emergency calls
(the “designated communications center”) and shall not
respond unless requested to do so by the communication officer from
the designated communications center. Duplication of emergency service
is responding without the request of the designated dispatcher center
to the same call.
(c)
“Ambulance service” defined.
For this article,
the term “ambulance service” shall include any ambulance,
emergency medical services, or medical standby services provided.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
Application for a private ambulance service franchise shall
be filed with the director of finance. 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 a 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 license plate of each vehicle.
(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
applicant must also submit a city conflict of interest form.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
Review of application.
Copies of each application for
a private ambulance service franchise shall be forwarded to the city
manager for review and recommendation to the city council. In addition,
the fire chief shall also review such applications and make recommendations
to the city council.
(b)
Hearing.
The city council shall hold a public hearing
on an application for a private ambulance service franchise under
this article at the time and place specified in the notice published
in a newspaper of general circulation ten (10) 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) meetings of the city council.
(c)
Determination by city council.
An applicant shall not
be granted a private ambulance franchise unless the city council finds
and determines that the public convenience will be served by the issuance
of said franchise. In all hearings, the burden of proof shall be upon
the applicant to establish clear, cogent and convincing evidence that
the public convenience will be served by the granting of a private
ambulance service franchise.
(d)
Criteria in determining public convenience.
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)
The number of ambulance vehicles which will be covered by the ambulance
franchise and the hours during the day and days during the week that
the applicant proposes to furnish such service.
(3)
In the event the applicant has previously participated or is currently
participating in an ambulance service, evidence as to whether the
applicant performed or is performing in a satisfactory manner shall
be presented.
(e)
Location of service.
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 or the city’s
extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
No ambulance service franchise will be granted unless:
(1)
The city council determines that the application as required by section 8.07.003 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,
the city charter, and all applicable state and federal statutes and
regulations.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
The length of the franchise will be for five (5) years ending
on the business day of the 5th year on the date issuance [sic]. However,
the ambulance service franchise holder will be subject to review and
analysis by the city staff on an annual basis, with results being
presented to the city manager, fire chief, chief of police and city
council.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
No ambulance vehicle shall be operated on the public streets
of the city unless the applicant provides evidence to the chief of
police that the applicant has in full force and effect a public liability
insurance policy on the ambulance vehicle, such insurance policy to
be issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the state.
Such insurance policy shall:
(1)
Provide
liability coverage for each vehicle of not less than two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00) per person, or five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000.00) per occurrence for personal injury or death,
and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) per accident for property
damage;
(2)
Name
the city 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
or change to the city.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
The
ambulance service franchise holder shall establish a ten thousand
dollar ($10,000.00) performance bond. The purpose of this bond is
to recover costs to the city for accepting and administering applications
for an ambulance service in the event the franchise is revoked.
(b)
If
the ambulance 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 O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
The
ambulance service franchise holder shall, during the life of said
franchise, pay to the city, at the office of the director of finance,
in lawful money of the United States, three and one-half percent (3.5%)
of the total amount billed for the ambulance service fees and other
income derived from the operation of the ambulance service within
the city during the three months preceding payment to the city, which
said remittance shall be made quarterly on or before the tenth day
of January, April, July and October. The compensation provided for
in this section shall be in lieu of any other fees or charges imposed
by any other ordinance now or hereafter in force during the life hereof,
but shall not release the franchisee from the payment of ad valorem
taxes levied, or to be levied, on property the franchisee owns.
(b)
It
shall be the duty of a franchisee to file with the director of finance
a sworn statement for each calendar quarter showing the total amount
billed for service within the city for the preceding three (3) months,
which statement shall be filed within ten (10) days following the
end of the third month. A franchisee herein shall be required to install
and adequately keep a system of bookkeeping to be approved by the
director of finance, which books shall be subject to inspection of
the city and such person or persons as the city may designate, or
either of them, so as to enable the city to check the correctness
of the accounts kept and to compute fairly and accurately the amounts
due to the city under this article.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
No assignment, sale or subletting of any part of this franchise
shall ever be made by the franchisee herein without first receiving
written approval of the city council.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
The books and records of the ambulance service franchise holder
shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by the director
of finance or any official designated by the city manager.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
Attendants and drivers employed by the ambulance service franchise
holder shall:
(1)
Be
at least eighteen (18) years of age;
(2)
Be
a citizen of the United States;
(3)
Not
have been convicted of a felony or any offense 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 driver’s license, entitling the
driver to operate an ambulance;
(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; and
(6)
Be
currently certified by the department of state health services as
a basic emergency medical technician or higher.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
Vehicles.
Each vehicle must be authorized by the department
of state health services, or successor agency, as a basic life support
vehicle or higher, and may be operated only when said vehicle meets
all conditions required by chapter 773 of the Texas Health and Safety
Code, as amended from time to time, and title 25 of the Texas Administrative
Code, chapter 157, as amended from time to time.
(b)
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 department of state health
services, or successor agency, for a basic life support vehicle and
is permitted as such. A vehicle may not be operated as an advanced
life support vehicle or higher unless it is furnished with all of
the equipment (and qualified personnel) required by the department
of state health services, or successor agency, for an advanced life
support vehicle and is permitted as such. Such equipment must be clean,
in working order, and available in sufficient quantity to provide
safe transport and care of sick and injured persons.
(c)
Response time.
A franchise holder must maintain sufficient
vehicles, trained personnel, and equipment on hand to allow it to
respond within thirty minutes to any request for non-emergency service.
If a franchise holder is unable to maintain a thirty-minute response
for a given period of time, the franchise holder shall notify the
city designated communications center 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
services.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
Neither the ambulance service franchise holder nor any employee
thereof shall refuse to transport a patient requesting ambulance service,
except for good cause. In determining “good cause” for
purposes of this section, the ambulance 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 service franchise holder can
safely transport the patient; whether it is the best available ambulance
service with the capabilities to perform such a transport; or similar
matters.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
The
ambulance service franchise holder must provide at its own expense
and staff twenty-four (24) hours a day a telephone for ambulance service
requests.
(b)
The
ambulance service franchise holder will have the privilege of receiving
calls for ambulance service from the city for non-emergency EMS.
(c)
The
ambulance service franchise holder shall respond to any request for
non-emergency ambulance service within one hour during hours of operation.
(d)
The
ambulance franchise service holder shall respond to requests for service
as safely as possible.
(e)
If,
during a transport, the patient’s condition worsens or the patient
suffers an acute condition, attendants of the ambulance vehicle shall
immediately contact the designated communications center and advise
the dispatcher of such and then obtain assistance from the emergency
EMS provider or if within 5 minutes proceed on an emergency basis
to the emergency care facility at the hospital of the patient’s
choice or nearest appropriate medical facility. The following conditions
include, but are not limited to, examples of a patient with a worsened
or acute condition:
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
(a)
The
city council hereby expressly reserves the right, power, and authority
to fully regulate and fix the rates and charges for the services of
the ambulance 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
state constitution, the laws of the state, and the city charter confer
upon the city.
(b)
The
rates shall be equal to or less than the current and future rates
as set forth by Williamson County for emergency medical services.
Should the county emergency medical services increase their current
rate at any time, the city rate shall be automatically amended to
reflect the new rate.
(c)
The
ambulance 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. The rate will be reviewed by
the director of finance to determine if it is fair and comparable
to other rates in the area. If determined to be fair and comparable,
the request will be submitted, within a reasonable time consistent
with law, to the city council. The city council shall afford the ambulance
service franchise holder a fair hearing with reference to the application
and shall either approve or disapprove the proposed rate changes or
make such order as may be reasonable.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
All grants of franchises as authorized in this article shall
be subject to the right of the city council to:
(1)
Determine,
fix and regulate the charges, rates or compensation to be charged
by the franchisee.
(2)
Repeal
the franchise by ordinance at any time upon the failure or refusal
of the franchisee to comply with the terms of the franchise, this
article, the city charter, or any applicable city ordinance or state
law, or any valid rule of any regulatory body. The franchise may also
be terminated if the franchisee provides false information to the
city.
(3)
Establish
standards and quality of service.
(4)
Require
such expansion, extension and improvement of facilities as are necessary
to provide adequate service to all the public and to require that
maintenance of facilities be performed at the highest reasonable standard
of efficiency.
(5)
Prescribe
the method of accounting and reporting to the city so that the franchisee
will accurately reflect the expenses, receipts, profits and property
values used in rendering its service to the public.
(6)
Examine
and audit at any time the accounts and other records of any franchisee,
and to require annual and other reports prescribed in the franchise
or this article.
(7)
Impose
such regulations and restrictions as may be deemed desirable or conducive
to the health, safety, welfare and accommodation of the public.
(8)
Require
the franchisee to restore at its expense all public or private property
to a condition equal to or better than that before being damaged or
destroyed by the franchisee.
(9)
Authorize
the county emergency medical services director and the county Emergency
Service District Number 3 fire chief or their designee to investigate
any and all violations of this article and report the findings to
the city police department for review.
(Ordinance O-11-04-21-V2 adopted 4/21/11)
