Agenda - Council - 02/08/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The current method in our criminal justice system of recovering costs for law enforcement and prosecution through fines is insufficient to meet the costs incurred by local governments. Further, when a violator requests relief from paying the full amount of the fine and surcharge, the courts have been more inclined to waive the fine than to reduce the surcharge. When this occurs, the local units of government recover no costs even though the city has incurred expenses. Response: The Legislature should review this issue and adopt measures that provide for complete reimbursement of the costs incurred by local governments in enforcing state and local laws. Solutions that should be considered include: a) Increasing fine amounts. b) Removing or modifying county and state surcharges that conflict with cost recovery principles. c) Requiring the courts to consider ordering restitution from the defendant to reimburse the costs of enforcement and prosecution as part of any sentence. d) Requiring that if a court reduces the amount paid by a violator, any reduction should be made from the surcharge and not the fine. SD-38. Compensation and Reimbursement for Public Safety Services Issue: Municipal public safety personnel often respond to emergencies involving non- residents. For example, municipal fire, police, and/or ambulance services may be dispatched to the scene of a traffic accident on an interstate highway involving victims from other cities or states. Although cities can bill for some public safety services they 39 provide to non-residents, they have limited authority to collect on unpaid bills. Cities have also found that auto insurance policies vary when it comes to coverage for emergency responses. Insurance companies of those responsible for accidents sometimes deny payment for fire service. Additionally, municipal public safety personnel commonly respond to emergencies that require the provision of medical services. The medical services provided by the city -employed first responders are part of a continuum of health care that is covered by insurance companies when provided by paramedics and other medical care providers; however, insurance policies vary when it comes to coverage for municipally provided medical services. Insurance companies of those treated by municipal public safety personnel frequently deny payment for emergency medical services when they are billed by a municipality. Thus, when a municipal public safety agency provides first response medical assistance, they commonly do so at the expense of local property taxpayers. Response: While emergency medical responses are legitimate functions of municipal public safety departments, the costs of providing emergency medical care to individuals should be covered by insurance and not be borne exclusively by the community's taxpayers. Cities should have the authority to bill for the full cost of first responder medical services they provide and to collect on unpaid bills. Insurance companies should be required to reimburse local governments for the full cost of providing these emergency medical services. Finally, auto and homeowner's insurance policies should be