§ 38-88. Out of city fire calls.

(a)

Responding to fire calls out of the city using fire equipment granted by the county and/or the forestry service, a charge to cover the cost of operation and personnel will be levied. The following schedule of charges is established as collectible charges to be assessed against the owner of property or other responsible party for which fire services are necessary. The property owner shall remain responsible for any balance not paid by insurance, tenant, or other third-party payer:

(1)

Equipment operation and maintenance charge, per equipment hour, or as determined reasonable and necessary by the fire chief. ..... $100.00

(2)

Personnel charge, current cost per man as reflected in the annual budget including, without limitation, overtime pay and payroll taxes.

(3)

Mileage, per mile on a round-trip basis, or as determined reasonable and necessary by the fire chief ..... 8.00

(4)

The cost for equipment hour and mileage will be evaluated annually by the fire chief. Any adjustment in the costs from year to year will be subject to approval by the city administrator. Current rates shall be posted at Fire Station No. 1, and available for inspection at city hall during regular business hours.

(5)

The city administrator or his designee may, at his discretion, equitably adjust the aforementioned charges to reflect actual costs for response to a specific incident, such as when vehicles or equipment are summoned but not fully utilized at an incident scene.

(b)

No fire charges shall apply to reciprocal assistance fire runs accorded other entities within the state.

(c)

Property owners or renters outside the corporate city limits and within the Siloam Springs Fire Run District who have no other designated fire protection, may pay a voluntary annual rural fire district membership fee to the City of Siloam Springs. This annual membership fee, if fully paid and current at the time of a fire response, would relieve the member of responsibility for non-EMS incident response fees, with the exception of:

(1)

Fires where illegal products were/are being burned.

(2)

Member-initiated fires during county-ordered red flag days, or county judge-ordered burn bans.

(3)

Specialized responses including but not limited to, HazMat release, special rescue, or any response requiring procurement or use of supplies and/or equipment that are not part of typical response methods as determined by the fire chief.

(4)

Vehicle/equipment fires of members when away from paid address or parcel.

(5)

Third and subsequent responses in any 12-month period, if deemed a nuisance response by the fire chief.

(d)

Rural fire district membership rates per occupiable residential dwelling or structure, and per occupiable manufacturing or commercial structure, situated on parcels of land that are identifiable as viewable with 9-1-1 address on the Benton County GIS System at the time of payment or renewal, will be $50.00 per year per address.

(e)

Rural fire district membership rates per undeveloped parcel of land identifiable with parcel number on the Benton County GIS System at the time of payment or renewal, will be $10.00 per year per parcel. Parcels with only a barn or outbuilding without a 9-1-1 address, or with utility functions such as substations or cell towers identified with 9-1-1 address shall be considered undeveloped.

(Code 1978, § 2.36.15; Ord. No. 10-02, 4-20-2010; Ord. No. 13-20, § I, 4-2-2013)