By Duane W. Gang
The Press Enterprise
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Riverside County supervisors this week approved fee rates that will allow the Fire Department to start recovering costs when responding to accidents.
The rates, based on the hourly costs of various fire personnel along with a 13 percent administrative charge, would apply to incidents with negligence, Fire Chief John Hawkins said Thursday.
In March, supervisors directed Hawkins to develop the fee structure as a way to offset the costs when responding to accidents and fires. The department has sought ways to overcome a budget shortfall of nearly $10 million for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Examples of negligence would include traffic accidents where a driver is charged with driving under the influence or a hazardous materials spill, Hawkins said.
He said he’ll return later this month to a specific list of the types of incidents the department will seek to recover costs.
The administrative fee would cover staff time in filing claims or taking cases to court, he said.
Currently, the department recovers about $1 million, but Hawkins said he hopes to add about $750,000 through the new rates. The department is only seeking to recover costs and not make money, he said.
But critics of the charges call the move a “crash tax” and voiced opposition this week to the supervisors’ decision.
The Association of California Insurance Companies said this week that Riverside County is now among more than 60 municipalities and fire districts statewide that charge at-fault drivers.
Armand Feliciano, the organization’s vice president, said “crash taxes” raise revenues without formally raising taxes and will only increase drivers’ premiums.
“Riverside may learn that these crash taxes do not yield the expected revenues and can be a deterrent for tourists and businesses,” Feliciano said in a statement. “Five cities have repealed their crash tax ordinances because they did not generate the projected revenue and cast a cloud over the city’s business climate.”
Hawkins disagreed. “We will not be going to crash tax. It is not a crash tax,” he said Thursday. “It would be for negligence.”
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