Chapter 10.43

COST RECOVERY FOR FALSE EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Sections:

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority granted to charter cities in Article 11, Section 5 of the California Constitution and the general police power as has specifically been acknowledged by the state legislature to enable cost recovery for emergency response purposes in Government Code Section 53158. Persons causing such false emergencies shall be held liable for the cost of the city's emergency response to such false incidents. Cost recovery for false emergency response is necessary in order to provide restitution for expenses incurred by the city and to deter persons from causing false emergencies. (Ord. 27143.)

• A. "Emergency response" is the appropriate and reasonable emergency response by the city, including other agencies by mutual aide or agreement, to any harm to life and/or property, or attempt or threat thereof.

• B. "Expense of false emergency response" means the actual costs incurred by the city, including other agencies by mutual aide or agreement, in making an emergency response to an incident involving a false emergency as defined herein. Such expenses shall include the costs of providing police, firefighting, rescue, emergency medical services, security services and related equipment at the scene of the false emergency, as well as the salaries or contractual costs of the personnel responding to the incident.

• C. "False emergency" is any act or attempted act made by a person who knowingly or with reckless disregard for the consequences by any false representation or pretense causes an emer-

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§ 10.43.020

gency response, or who causes or procures another to cause an emergency response under false circumstances.

• D. "Person" includes individual persons, organizations and entities as set forth in Section 1.04.020 J. of this Code.

• (Ord. 27143.)

Any person causing a false emergency shall be liable for all of the expense of false emergency response. The expense of false emergency response shall be a charge against the person causing the false emergency. 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, express or implied. In the event that more than one person causes a false emergency, each person shall be jointly and severally liable to the city for such expense of false emergency response. (Ord. 27143.)

The provisions of Chapters 1.17 and 1.18 of this Code shall apply to the payment and collection of the expense of false emergency response. In the alternative, the city attorney may bring civil suit or other action to collect the expense of false emergency response. (Ord. 27143.)

This chapter provides for the recovery by the city of its expense of false emergency response, is not the exclusive remedy for recovery of such costs, and is in addition to all other legal and equitable remedies, administrative, criminal or civil, that may be pursued by the city to provide for recovery of its expense of false emergency response. (Ord. 27143.)

If any of the provisions of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances

is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. To this end the various provisions of this chapter are severable and each would have been enacted without the other. (Ord. 27143.)