Chapter 9.42
RECOVERY OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE COST
Sections:
9.42.030 Administration – Collection.
9.42.010 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(a) “Emergency” means an incident that requires a normal police, coroner, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, or utility response as a result of a violation of one of the statutes enumerated in FMC 9.42.020.
(b) “Emergency response” means a public agency’s use of emergency services during an emergency or disaster as defined in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) “Expense of an emergency response” means reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in reasonably making an appropriate emergency response to the incident, but shall only include those costs directly arising from the response to the particular incident. Reasonable costs shall include the costs of providing police, coroner, firefighting, rescue, emergency medical services, or utility response at the scene of the incident, as well as the salaries of the personnel responding to the incident.
(d) “Public agency” means the state, and a city, county, municipal corporation, district, town, or public authority located, in whole or in part, within this state which provides or may provide firefighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services. (Ord. 1274 § 2, 2001).
9.42.020 Emergency response caused by person’s intoxication – Recovery of costs from convicted person.
(a) A person whose intoxication causes an incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, and who, in connection with the incident, has been found guilty of or has had their prosecution deferred for (1) driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, RCW 46.61.502; (2) operating an aircraft under the influence of intoxicants or drugs, RCW 47.68.220; (3) use of a vessel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, RCW 88.12.100; (4) vehicular homicide while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, RCW 46.61.520(1)(a); or (5) vehicular assault while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, RCW 46.61.522(1)(b), is liable for the expense of an emergency response by a public agency to the incident.
(b) The expense of an emergency response is a charge against the person liable for expenses under this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and is collectible by tile public agency incurring those costs in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract, expressed or implied.
(c) In no event shall a person’s liability under this section for the expense of an emergency response exceed $1,000 for a particular incident. If more than one public agency makes a claim for payment from an individual for an emergency response to a single incident under the provisions of this section, and the sum of the claims exceeds the amounts recovered, the division of the amount recovered shall be determined by an interlocal agreement consistent with the requirements of Chapter 39.34 RCW. (Ord. 1274 § 3, 2001).
9.42.030 Administration – Collection.
As set forth in FMC 9.42.020, any order entered with the court on a conviction or a deferred prosecution shall set forth the amount of costs to be recovered. The order shall set forth the name of the responsible person, the date of the conviction or deferred prosecution, the amount owed to the city, and directing where payment shall be made. Any costs charged to a responsible person that are not paid within 30 days of entry of the order with the court, shall be referred to a collection agency, unless other financial arrangements have been made by the responsible person with the court or city. The cost of collection shall be added to the bill. (Ord. 1274 § 4, 2001).