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Home My WebLink AboutSOG 106.04 REVISED 10-2012_Response Billing106.04 — Administration of Response Billing Effective: 8/5/2011 Revised: 10/5/2012 Replaces: I. Guiding Philosophy Beaumont Fire/Rescue Services responds to many types of emergencies in order to protect both people and property. Some responses require specialized training or equipment, or are the result of negligent or illegal actions. When these incidents occur, we seek to reclaim the direct costs associated with services rendered. II. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish an efficient, effective process for invoicing responsible parties for services provided by Beaumont Fire -Rescue Services in accordance with Local Government Code and City ordinances. III. Goals The goals of this policy are to: A. Define the criteria for response billing. B. Detail information collection and rate determination responsibilities. C. Communicate invoicing processing responsibilities. IV. Definitions A. Billable Response — Any response that meets the terms of Section 8.01.001 of Local Government Code, as adopted by the Code of Ordinances of the City of Beaumont, that has a duration from initial dispatch to incident termination of gr e duer ih4m, iipne !!6i This includes: 1. Response to or mitigation of a spill or release into the environment of a hazardous material as defined in Chapter 27 of the International Fire Code (includes standby of a potential release). 2. Response to and mitigation of unauthorized open burning. B. Billable Pay Grade — Grade being paid to an individual at the time of the response. 1. If an individual is working at his/her actual rank (ex. Grade 11), then the billable pay grade equals his/her actual pay grade (Grade 11). 2. If the individual is temporarily promoted to a higher rank (ex. Grade II to Grade III) then the billable pay grade equals the pay grade of the higher rank (Grade III). C. Hazardous Material — Any material with properties as defined in Chapter 27 of the International Fire Code as hazardous material. D. Response — Any situation that requires completion of a National Fire Incident Report (NFIRS). E. Unit — Apparatus, support vehicles or staff officers responding to an incident. V. Information Collection & Rate Determination Responsibilities A. Incident reporting will be completed in accordance with SOG 106.03 Incident Reporting. B. To expedite invoice processing, the Incident Commander will facilitate an email including the incident number and location to the following distribution list on all billable responses: 1. His/her chain of command, up to and including the Fire Chief. 2. Fire Administrator 3. Fire Logistics Section Chief 4. City Emergency Management Coordinator 5. Fire Administration clerical staff. C. For all billable responses, the Member MakiLig Report and/or Chief Of'icer(s) quality checking the incident report (NFIRS) will insure documentation of: 1. i i� rIji s ;_iq �",u� �l�",� U: for each responding unit. RJ (I for each staff member deployed. 3. Blu q q,gn2Rgy Gnuhfor each member deployed (NOTE: Must also check the "Use pay scale as hourly rate" box).� 4. +qqV T�-gVl�rq T tll�,tlV�.�..d �4tlV.��fl,. + 5. i.i uu� u„ cru u..� �puu, unuq� .all T� � �puul � l ugqu i � .pug uuull�;;ruuuu��lu� ... a. If multiple hazardous materials were involved, each owner or responsible party should be identified and the material(s) associated with each. b. If transportation related, include vehicle operator (driver) and transport company m/brrnaiion. c. For unauthorized open burning responses, the property owner and/or responsible party should be identified. D. Labour Rate Determination Responsibilities 1. The City Finance Department will establish hourly labour rates for each billable pay grade and will forward these rates to the Fire Administrator. Rates will be reviewed by the Finance Department annually. 2. The Fire Administrator or designee will enter the applicable hourly labor rates into the appropriate Firehouse tables for report calculations. E. Equipment Use Rate Determination Responsibilities 1. The Fire Administrator or designee will use the approved FEMA and City of Beaumont Equipment Fee Schedules (located on S: drive) to determine equipment and unit fee rates. SOG 106.04 —Administration of Response Billing Page 2 of 3 2. The Fire Administrator or designee will enter applicable equipment rates into the appropriate Firehouse tables for report calculation. F. Consumable Inventory Replacement Rate Determination Responsibilities 1. The Logistics Section Chief or designee will determine replacement costs for consumable inventory items. 2. The Logistics Section Chief or designee will enter the unit costs of all consumable items into the Firehouse Inventory Unit Cost field. VI. Invoice Processina Responsibilities A. The Fire Administrator or designee will: 1. Serve as the department's liaison with the City Emergency Management Division to facilitate the invoicing process. 2. Process invoicing reports. a. Run the " T,T:, 1�t: T ' C "Mi;'i 'Aid IJUBOi'? AND h"IT,T:ING-- .. ........ ........ C"��N JMMA "T �,, "reports in Firehouse for the incident. b. Generate both reports as *.pdf files. c. Place both reports in the appropriate folder on the shared S: drive. d. Complete the Fire e t 1hduW elm worksheet in the consolidation workbook (located on S: drive) for the incident. Prompt the Logistics Section Chief or designee to initiate ordering consumables to replenish stock. G. The City EmeWency ManyZement Division will consolidate billing information for all responding City departments. H. The City Cash Management Division will complete processing of invoices to include: 1. Mailing invoices to the responsible party. 2. Posting receipts in the appropriate journals and accounts. I. The Fire Administrator is responsible for providing a monthly status report on billable responses and collections. SOG 106.04 —Administration of Response Billing Page 3 of 3