The purpose of this chapter is to allow for the establishment, imposition, charging, and collection of fees to recover the City's cost of providing emergency medical first responder services. The purpose of the Emergency Medical Service First Responder Fee is to cover the costs of the first responder services that the City provides through the Fire Department to all recipients of the services, including City residents and nonresidents.
(O2021-007, 11/2/21)
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
"Fire Chief"
means the Fire Chief of the City or a designee of the Fire Chief or the City Manager.
"First responder fee"
means the Emergency Medical Services First Responder Fee (which may also be referred to in this chapter as the "fee") established pursuant to this chapter and charged to each person to whom the City provides the services. Revenue from the fee covers or offsets the City's costs of providing the services.
"Insurer"
means the recipient's medical insurance provider.
"Recipient"
means the person to whom the City provides the services.
"Services"
means emergency medical first responder services provided by the City.
(O2021-007, 11/2/21)
A. 
Fee Amount Established. The City Council shall, by resolution, establish and amend from time to time a First Responder Fee to recover the actual and reasonable costs incurred by the City to provide the services. The City's costs shall specifically include the costs for employees (wages and benefits), medical supplies, contracts for specialized work, and processing the First Responder Fee, including administrative and enforcement costs. For the purpose of calculating the First Responder Fee, the City shall exclude any City costs that are paid using revenue from the Paramedic tax, as defined by City Charter Section 95.1.
B. 
Fee Applies to All. The First Responder Fee shall be charged to each recipient who receives services during a single incident.
(O2021-007, 11/2/21)
A. 
Administrative Regulations for Charging and Collecting Fees.
1. 
The Fire Chief will develop administrative regulations, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney and approval by the City Manager, to document the City's procedures for charging, invoicing, billing, and receiving payments for each fee charged under this chapter. The administrative regulations may include procedures by which the City contracts with any third party service providers. The administrative regulations will include a procedure to implement the compassionate billing policy, described below.
2. 
As a part of the administrative regulations, the Fire Chief shall establish a compassionate billing policy by which: (a) for recipients with insurance to cover the cost of the fee, the City will collect the fee from the insurer; and (b) for recipients without insurance to cover the cost of the fee, the City will subsidize the City's costs of providing the services.
3. 
The City shall accept payment of the First Responder Fee from the insurer as the full payment for the recipient's First Responder Fee obligation.
B. 
Invoicing. When the City provides services to a recipient, the City shall bill the recipient and the insurer, if any, for payment of the First Responder Fee. In the case of a minor, the City shall bill the parent or guardian of the recipient who received the services and the insurer, if the minor, or his or her representative, has identified to the Fire Department the minor's insurer.
(O2021-007, 11/2/21)
A. 
Any person wishing to contest an invoice regarding the First Responder fee imposed under this chapter must submit a written request for reconsideration to the Fire Chief explaining the reasons for requesting reconsideration within 30 days of the date of receiving the invoice for the First Responder Fee. The Fire Chief will make a final decision on the request for reconsideration and notify the party in writing of the Fire Chief's decision within 30 days of receiving the request to reconsider.
B. 
If the party contesting the invoice is dissatisfied with the Fire Chief's final decision, that party may appeal in accordance with Chapter 1.26. Accordingly, any appeal of the Fire Chief's final decision must be submitted in writing to the City Clerk within 10 calendar days of issuance of the decision.
(O2021-007, 11/2/21)