Rohnert Park Municipal Code Ch. 9.46 Costs of Emergency Response

For the purpose of this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section:

A. "Appeal" means an appeal to the city council. The word includes the process which commences the appeal as well as the hearing itself.

B. "Expense of an emergency response" means reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in making an appropriate emergency response to the incident, but shall only include those costs directly arising because of the response to the particular incident. Reasonable costs shall include the costs of providing police, firefighting, rescue, the emergency medical services at the scene of the incident, as well as the salaries of the personnel responding to the incident.

C. "Intentionally wrongful conduct" means conduct intended to injure another person or property.

D. "Public agency" means the state and any city, county, municipal corporation, district, 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.

E. "Under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug" means when as a result of drinking an alcoholic beverage or using a drug, or both, a person's physical or mental abilities are impaired to a degree that he or she no longer has the ability to operate a motor vehicle, boat or vessel, or aircraft with the caution characteristic of a sober person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances. For purposes of this article, the presumptions described in Sections 23152, 23155 and 23103.5 of the California Vehicle Code shall apply. A person convicted of, or pleading guilty or nolo contendere to Section 23103.5 of the California Vehicle Code will be considered to have been determined by the courts to be "under the influence" for purposes of civil cost recovery under this article.

(Ord. 582 § 1: Ord. 521, 1990)

Any person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle caused by that influence proximately causes any incident resulting in appropriate emergency response, and any person whose intentionally wrongful conduct proximately causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, upon filing of a complaint thereof, is liable for the expense of an emergency response by a public agency to the incident.

(Ord. 521, 1990)

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, whose negligent operation of a civil aircraft caused by that influence proximately causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, and person whose intentionally wrongful conduct proximately causes an incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, upon filing of a complaint thereof, is liable for the expense of an emergency response by a public agency to the incident.

(Ord. 582 § 2, 1993: Ord. 521, 1990)

The expense of an emergency response shall be a charge against the person liable for expenses under this chapter. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and is collectible by the public agency incurring those costs in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract, expressed or implied, except that liability for the expenses provided for in this chapter shall not be insurable and no insurance policy shall provide or pay for the expenses.

(Ord. 521, 1990)

The charges imposed under this chapter shall not be due and payable to the city unless and until the complaint, the petition for wardship or any other accusation or information is filed against the accused assessee by the Sonoma County District Attorney. The filing referred to herein shall apply to matters filed in juvenile court as well as complaints filed in the municipal or Superior Court. Upon such filing as referred to herein, the city will bill the assessee for costs of the emergency response. The debt is due and payable to the city in full by the assessee upon such billing.

If the accused assessee is subsequently not convicted of the offense of driving under the influence or of "wet reckless" (Section 23103.5 of the California Vehicle Code) as defined in Rohnert Park Municipal Code Section 9.46.010, or in the case of a minor, if the court does not adjudicate the matter and establish the wardship or make a finding that the minor was unlawfully driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, then any and all amounts collected by the city under this chapter shall be returned to the accused assessee upon receipt of written proof, such as a copy of the court docket, of the final disposition of charges by the court.

(Ord. 582 § 3, 1993: Ord. 530 § I, 1990: Ord. 521, 1990)

The amount of the fees imposed under this section shall be the department of public safety officer pay rate with benefits, times the number of all public safety staff hours required to handle the entire incident from time of dispatch to completion of all reports, plus thirty-three percent overhead, and any other direct city costs.

(Ord. 582 § 4, 1993: Ord. 521, 1990)

In no event shall a person's liability under this chapter for the expense of an emergency response exceed the amount provided in California Government Code Section 53155, as that section may be amended or recodified from time to time.

(Ord. 521, 1990)

(Ord. No. 891, § 1(Exh. A), 10-27-2015)

Any changes in the fees charged under Section 9.46.060 may be made by Resolution duly passed and adopted by the city council.

(Ord. 521, 1990)