[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Upper Allen 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The Code Enforcement Officer is hereby appointed
as the designated officer who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities
and duties stated herein.
[Amended 10-21-1999 by Ord. No. 531]
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 Upper Allen (hereinafter
the "Township") where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to
the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the named
insured or insuring agent is furnished by the Township Treasurer with
a municipal certificate pursuant to Section 508(b) of Act 98 of 1992,[1] as amended by Section 1 of Act 93 of 1994 [40 P.S. § 638(b)],
and unless there is compliance with Section 508(c) and (d) of Act
98 of 1992,[2] as amended by Section 1 of Act 93 of 1994 [40 P.S. § 638(b)]
and the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 10-21-1999 by Ord. No. 531]
A.
Where, pursuant to Section 508(b)(1)(i) of Act 98
of 1992,[1] as amended by Section 1 of Act 93 of 1994 [40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i)],
the Township 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, as 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:
(1)
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance
proceeds to the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township the aggregate
of $2,000 for each $15,000 of a claim and for each fraction of that
amount of a claim, this subsection to be applied such that, if the
claim is $15,000 or less, the amount transferred to the Township shall
be $2,000; or
(2)
If, at the time of a proof of loss 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, the insuring agent shall
transfer to the Township from the insurance proceeds the amount specified
in the estimate.
(3)
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the building
or other structure.
(4)
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 Code Enforcement
Officer shall return the amount of the funds transferred to the Township
in excess of the estimate to the named insured, if the Township has
not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
(5)
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the Township
shall do the following:
(a)
The Code Enforcement 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 Township. Such costs shall include,
without limitation, any engineering, legal or administrative costs
incurred by the Township in connection with such removal, repair or
securing of the building or any proceedings related thereto.
(b)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent,
when transferring the proceeds, to provide the Township 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 Code Enforcement
Officer shall contact the named insured, certify that the proceeds
have been received by the Township and notify the named insured that
the procedures under this subsection shall be followed.
(c)
When repairs, removal or securing of the building
or other structure has been completed in accordance with all applicable
regulations and orders of the Township and the required proof of such
completion has been received by the Code Enforcement Officer, and
if the Township has not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or
securing, the fund shall be returned to the named insured. If the
Township has incurred costs of repairs, removal or securing of the
building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund,
and if excess funds remain, the Township shall transfer the remaining
funds to the named insured.
(d)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds
held by the Township pursuant to this section and not returned to
the named insured, such interest shall belong to the Township. 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i).
B.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit
the ability of the Township to recover any deficiency. Furthermore,
nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Township
and the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits
the transfer of funds to the named insured if some other reasonable
disposition of the damaged property has been negotiated.
[Amended 10-21-1999 by Ord. No. 531]
The Board of Commissioners may, by resolution,
adopt procedures and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992[1] as amended by Section 1 of Act 93 of 1994, (40 P.S. §
638), and this chapter may, by resolution, fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant
to Act 98 of 1992, as amended by Section 1 of Act 93 of 1994 (40 P.S.
§ 638), and this chapter, including but not limited to
issuance of certificates and bills, performance of inspections and
opening separate fund accounts.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. §§ 636.1
and 638.
Any owner of property, any named insured or
any insuring agent who violates this chapter shall, upon conviction,
be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation and costs of
prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, shall
be subject to imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
