(a) 
Required.
No person shall furnish, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise or otherwise be engaged in the operation of medical transfer services upon or over any public street within the city limits without having first obtained a medical transfer service permit.
(b) 
Exception.
A medical transfer service permit shall not be required for:
(1) 
Emergency medical service vehicles or ambulances owned or operated by the city fire/EMS department; or
(2) 
Emergency medical service vehicles or ambulances operating solely at the request of the city or the designated emergency medical service provider for the city or in cases of a mutual aid, disaster, or system overload; or
(3) 
Emergency medical service vehicles or ambulances operating from a location outside the city limits and who are transporting patients from a location outside the limits of the city to a location within the city or through the city to some other location.
(4) 
Air ambulance services are exempt from this article.
(c) 
Application.
An application for license to operate an ambulance on the public streets of the city for the purpose of providing medical ambulance transfer service within the city or county shall be made by the owner thereof for each ambulance used or to be used, or an agent authorized in writing by such owner to make such application, on forms obtained from the city manager, which shall contain at minimum the following:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the owner;
(2) 
Any trade or other name used or to be used by the owner when providing ambulance service;
(3) 
The make, model, year of manufacture, motor and chassis number, and current state license number of each ambulance;
(4) 
The length of time each ambulance has been in service;
(5) 
The color scheme, insignia, name, monogram or other distinguishing characteristics used or to be used by the owner to designate the ambulance together with an accurate photograph of each ambulance to be permitted;
(6) 
A list of all current operators, drivers, EMTs, and EMS operators of the ambulance service including name and date of birth for each employee; and drug screen results; and
(7) 
Each application for a permit required by the city shall be accompanied by an non-refundable permit fee, payable to the city, and a current copy of the state ambulance inspection documents.
(d) 
Fees.
The annual permit fee associated with the permitting of medical transfer services shall be determined by city council and reflected in the annual fee schedule. The annual permit fee shall be paid to the city secretary and is due December 31. The annual inspection fee shall be determined by city council and reflected in the annual fee schedule. The inspection fee is due at the time of the inspection and shall be paid to the city secretary.
(1) 
One permit fee shall be waived each year for the Heart of Texas Healthcare System.
(2) 
The inspection and fee shall be waived for the Heart of Texas Healthcare System.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1451; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
Any application for a permit under section 6.02.061 shall, before the permit can be issued, procure and maintain proof of financial responsibility as required by law and as prescribed in this section. The applicant shall keep in full force and effect during the entire term of this permit, the required insurance coverage for commercial general liability, automobile liability and professional liability in the minimum limits listed:
(1) 
Automobile liability insurance in the amount of not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for each person and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for each accident for personal injuries, and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for property damage. This automobile liability insurance shall not contain passenger liability exclusion. A written statement from an authorized agent of the ambulance operator’s insurance carrier shall provide for a thirty-day cancellation notice to the city;
(2) 
Commercial general liability insurance with a minimum aggregate of three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) and a minimum per occurrence of one million dollars ($1,000,000.00);
(3) 
Professional liability insurance in an amount of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00);
(4) 
Workers’ Compensation Insurance;
(5) 
Applicant must agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the city, its officers, employees and agents, and department, for any and all claims arising from applicant’s acts or omissions. Additionally, the city shall be added as an additional insured on the policies, and the coverage shall contain no special limitation on the scope of protection afforded to the city.
(b) 
The insurance company shall be of sufficient assets, with an agent in the state upon whom service of the process may be made, and shall be approved by the city attorney. Every insurance policy and certificate of insurance must contain a provision or an endorsement requiring that the policy will not be cancelled, suspended, voided, or reduced until at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice has been given to the city via certified mail, return receipt requested. If the policy does not provide coverage for “any auto” then a schedule of the covered vehicle(s) is required to be submitted and filed with the city manager. Only those covered vehicles will be permitted to operate within the city.
(c) 
If the city attorney determines that the insurance coverage required in subsection (a) of this section becomes so impaired as to require new and additional insurance, the city attorney shall require additional insurance in a company as may be deemed necessary to ensure faithful performance by the operator of ambulances, its agents, servants, and employees.
(d) 
If the insurance policy is cancelled and no insurance policy is filed by the owner or ambulance operators before the cancellation, the permit to operate ambulances granted to such person shall be immediately and automatically revoked.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1452; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
The city manager, or designee, or the city fire/EMS department, shall inspect all ambulances permitted or to be permitted under section 6.02.061 to determine if such vehicles meet the following minimum standards:
(1) 
Each vehicle shall be equipped according to the state DSHS equipment standards, and as determined by the ambulance service medical director, and as identified by the city as required equipment;
(2) 
Each vehicle shall be free from dirt or rubbish and shall be otherwise clean and sanitary;
(3) 
Each vehicle shall meet the general standards and requirements of this article;
(4) 
Each vehicle shall have the company name displayed on each side of the vehicle and on the rear;
(5) 
Each vehicle shall be inspected each year by a person authorized to conduct vehicle safety inspections by the state; and
(6) 
No vehicle shall display the identification “emergency ambulance,” “emergency,” “911,” or similar marking.
(7) 
Random drug testing shall be required of all ambulance service employees.
(b) 
At no time shall any ambulance that is found to be unsafe by the city manager, or designee, or the city fire/EMS department be operated on the streets of the city. Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent the city manager, or designee from inspecting any ambulance at any time. If the inspector finds that any ambulance is out of compliance, the city manager or designee, shall order the use of the ambulance discontinued until the ambulance is reinspected and approved.
(c) 
At no time shall a person operating a permitted transfer ambulance in the city, respond to or from a direct call for emergency medical service, nor operate such ambulance as an emergency ambulance under emergency conditions.
(d) 
At no time shall a person operating a permitted transfer ambulance in the city respond to or from a direct call for a medical transfer service unit until notifying 9-1-1 telecommunication officer.
(e) 
Inspection shall not exceed state requirements and will follow the TXDSHS checklist.
(f) 
Exception.
An annual inspection is not required for any Heart of Texas Healthcare System vehicle permitted under section 6.02.061. The Heart of Texas Healthcare System shall provide the city fire chief with a copy of the state inspection report within 30 days of receiving the inspection report from the state. In addition, all Heart of Texas Healthcare System vehicles permitted under this article shall comply with the minimum standards listed above.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1453; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
It shall be the duty of every medical transfer services provider to pay all ad valorem taxes assessed by the city against such vehicle and all other personal and real property used by the medical transfer services provider and to provide to the city a certificate demonstrating that ad valorem taxes have been paid. The failure to pay such ad valorem taxes before they become ninety (90) days delinquent shall result in revocation of the permit issued in accordance with section 6.02.061.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1454; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
Staffing.
No transfer ambulance vehicle shall ever be operated upon the streets, highways or other public places of the city unless such vehicle is operated by at least two validly permitted ambulance attendants, including the driver, each of whom must possess a current emergency medical technician basic certificate.
(b) 
Posting of fee schedule.
All transfer ambulance vehicles shall have a current fee schedule conspicuously posted in the patient’s compartment. A transfer services permittee shall have a current fee schedule on file with the city.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1455; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
The city secretary, or designee, shall issue to each applicant a permit for each vehicle upon the applicant’s filing of written proof of insurance as required in section 6.02.062, upon ensuring that all city taxes on each vehicle and all other personal and real property used in the business have been paid and upon determination that all requirements of this article and all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations have been satisfied.
(b) 
Permits shall be issued for a twelve-month period. Such period shall run from January 1 to December 31 of each year. Any new permit issued during the year shall begin on the date of issuance and shall end on December 31 of that year. The permit shall state the period for which the permit is issued, the name of the owner, the year, make of the vehicle(s), the vehicle identification number, and the current license number(s).
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1456; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
An application for renewal of an existing permit shall be filed on or before November 15 for the renewal period covering the following calendar year. The application process shall be the same as specified in section 6.02.061 for initial permits.
(b) 
The city secretary shall issue a medical transfer service permit for each ambulance for which it has received a renewal application upon the applicant’s filing of written proof of insurance as required in section 6.02.062, upon ensuring that all city taxes on each vehicle and on all other personal and real property used in the business have been paid, upon each vehicle passing the inspection required by section 6.02.063, and upon determination that all requirements of this article and all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations have been satisfied.
(c) 
If a permit has been suspended during the permit year, re-issuance of the permit will be reviewed by the city manager, or designees, during December of the same year. The re-issuance of any permit shall be denied if the city manager, or designee, determines that the provisions of this article have not been met.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1457; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
A permit issued under section 6.02.061 shall be specific to both the permittee as well as the permitted vehicle and shall not be transferable.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1458; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
The city council expressly reserves the right to modify, amend, change, or eliminate any of the provisions of any permit issued under section 6.02.061, during the life of the permit, to:
(1) 
Eliminate or delete any conditions that might prove obsolete or impractical; or
(2) 
Impose any additional conditions upon any owner as may be just and reasonable, and which are deemed necessary for the purpose of promoting adequate, efficient, and safe ambulance to the public.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1459; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
If the business location of the ambulance service, firm or organization is located within the city limits, the building must be in compliance with all city ordinances, state and federal laws. Pursuant to this section, no ambulance service firm or organization can operate in, as its main place of business, a storage supply facility or a private residence. The city manager, or designee, or the city fire/EMS department, has the right to inspect locations as often as deemed necessary to ensure compliance with all provisions of this article. The refusal of any ambulance operator, with a business office located within the city limits, to allow the city manager, or designee, or city fire/EMS department, to inspect its premises shall be considered a violation of this section and may be subject to forfeiture of the medical transfer service permit.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1460; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)
(a) 
In addition to the penalties as provided in the code for violations of this article, a medical transfer service provider, or any of its officers, agents and/or employees who violate any section of this article, including allowing drivers to operate or drive any vehicle while not properly licensed or while intoxicated/incapacitated, is subject to immediate suspension of its medical transfer service permit to operate within the city limits by the city manager, or designee. However, not less than ten (10) days before any revocation or suspension for other than operating a vehicle while not properly licensed or while intoxicated/incapacitated, the owner shall be given written notice, by either personal delivery or certified mail to the permittee’s address as shown on the permit application, an opportunity to be heard before the city manager, or designee, as to why the permit should not be revoked or suspended. No such notice or hearing shall be deemed necessary prior to the revocation of a permit for failure to maintain proper insurance as required. Additionally, the permittee shall notify the city of any state or federal investigation, or conviction of violation of any state or federal law within ten (10) days of such investigation or conviction.
(b) 
If the city manager or designee’s decision is not acceptable to the applicant or permittee, the applicant or permittee may, within ten (10) days of that decision, file an appeal in writing with the city council. During the pendency of the appeal, the permit shall be suspended. Such a written appeal shall set forth the specific grounds therefor. The city manager shall notify the appellant within ten (10) days after the receipt of appeal as to the time and place of the hearing, which shall be within thirty (30) days of receipt of such appeal. The determination of the city council on any appeal pursuant to this section shall be final.
(c) 
Upon suspension or revocation of a medical transfer service permit, the medical transfer service provider shall cease operations in the city and no person shall permit the medical transfer service provider to continue such operations.
(Ordinance 1155 adopted 8/5/14; 2004 Code, sec. 4.1461; Ordinance 1231 adopted 8/1/17)