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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1054ORDINANCE NO. 1054 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH AMENDING SECTION 2053 OF THE UKIAH CITY CODE PERTAINING TO THE RECOVERY OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE COSTS FROM INTOXICATED DRIVERS The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby ordains as follows: SECTION ONE Section 2053 in Chapter 13 of Division 1 of the Ukiah City Code is amended to read as follows: 2053: RECOVERY OF RESPONSE COSTS FROM INTOXICATED DRIVERS: Any person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, and as a result operates a motor vehicle negligently or in a willfully wrongful manner, shall be liable for the expense of an emergency response by the City to an incident caused by that person's operation of the vehicle. A. "An emergency response", as used herein and in article 8, chapter 1, part 1, division 2 of the Government Code (commencing with section 53150), means any response by the City's Fire or Police Departments to an incident caused by a driver operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, including a response by an emergency vehicle, such as, but not limited to, a police car, fire truck or ambulance. B. "Incident" means an accident or other emergency, involving one or more vehicles and actual or imminent property damage or personal injury, including death. C. "Expense of an emergency response", as used herein, means reasonable costs incurred by City departments in making an emergency response, including the salaries and associated overhead of providing police, firefighting, rescue and/or emergency medical services during the response, a reasonable charge for the cost of emergency vehicles used during the response, and the cost of any consumable supplies used during the response. D. For purposes of this Section, a person is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, when as a result of drinking an alcoholic beverage or using a drug, or both, his or her physical or mental abilities are impaired to a degree that he or she no longer has the ability to operate a motor vehicle with the caution characteristic of a sober person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances. For purposes of this Section, the presumptions described in sections 23152 and 23155 of the Vehicle Code shall apply. E. In no event shall one person's liability for an emergency response exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00). However, if two (2) or more persons have liability under this Section for the expense of a single emergency response, their combined liability may exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00). Ordinance No. 1054 Page 1 of 1 F. The expense of an emergency response shall be a charge against the person liable for expenses under this Section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and is collectible by the City in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract. 1. The Police Department shall have the authority to collect the debts created by this Section and may commence law suits, assign the debts to a debt collection agency, and utilize the services of the Finance Department and the City Attorney in seeking to collect such debts. 2. Before using any of the means set forth in subsection E1 to collect the debt, the Police Department shall make written demand on the debtor for the expense of the emergency response. The written demand shall provide the debtor with the name, address and phone number of a City official who he or she can contact to protest his or her liability for the expense, the amount claimed or to arrange a payment schedule. The debtor shall have ten (10) days from the date of the demand to contact the designated official. 3. Once the time has passed to contact the official designated under subsection 2 the City may set off the amount owed under this Section against any amounts the City owes the debtor. 4. The remedies provided herein shall not prevent the City from collecting interest on amounts assessed under this Section, if otherwise allowed by this Code, or other provisions of State law or pursuing any other remedies at law or in equity to recover the amount claimed under this Section and to collect that amount from the debtor. SECTION TWO This Ordinance shall be published as required by law in a newspaper of general circulation published in the City of Ukiah. SECTION THREE This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after adoption. Introduced by title only on May 5, 2004, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Rodin, Andersen, Smith, Baldwin, and Mayor Larson NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Adopted on May 19, 2004 by the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN' Councilmembers Rodin, Smith, and Vice Mayor Baldwin None Councilmember Andersen and Mayor Larson/--,~ None ~"~ ~ ,~~ Eric Larson, Mayor (~rdon Elton, City Cl~rk Ordinance No. 1054 Page 2 of 2