Apr. 21--Cash-starved fire departments are considering a new way to raise revenue: billing people who need help after car crashes and other emergencies.

Nationally, the cost-recovery proposal is getting heat from auto insurers, who say their customers shouldn't have to pay twice -- through their insurance premiums and their property taxes -- for emergency services. Five states have banned the practice for fire departments, and three -- including California -- are considering laws to limit it.

But the idea is gaining traction with agencies such as the Fresno County Fire Protection District, which has met in recent months with companies that bill insurance companies for fire department services.

At last week's district board meeting, officials from Clovis, Selma and Kingsburg also were on hand to hear a presentation by Washington-based Environmental Financial Recovery, one of about a half-dozen companies that do the work in California.

The Fresno County Fire Protection District began looking at the practice after voters last year rejected an assessment on their property taxes to pay for added staffing and fire stations to improve the district's response times to emergencies. Mike DelPuppo, the district board chairman, said the message was clear: find other sources of revenue.

The district, which covers 2,600 square miles of Fresno County and is home to 150,000 residents, has not determined what it would charge, which incidents it might bill for or how it would treat people lacking insurance.


District officials are most concerned about the cost of emergencies on Interstate 5, which is at least 20 minutes away from the district's nearest station. Those crashes are almost always caused by people passing through Fresno County, who do not pay for the service through their property taxes, DelPuppo said.

"We are trying to tighten our belts while trying to provide a better service to taxpayers in our district," he said.

Statewide, funding cuts have hampered firefighters' ability to respond to emergencies, said Kevin Nida, California State Firefighters' Association president.

The cost-recovery program allows fire departments to be compensated for service while not harming the taxpayer, Nida said.

"We are trying to find ways to make it a fee for service, so people don't have to pay more taxes," he said.

The Roseville Fire Department recently began charging nonresidents involved in automobile accidents. The city expects to raise about $100,000 from about 400 accidents a year, said Division Chief Kevin Dickson. The department's annual budget is $24 million.

"It helps us maintain the equipment we use at the scene," he said.

"We don't like doing this, but we felt it would be irresponsible not to bring it up to the City Council and let them make the choice," he said.

Dickson said Roseville will not go after uninsured motorists.

But Jim Figueira of Environmental Financial Recovery said his company can bill the uninsured on behalf of agencies it represents and develop payment plans for them.

Figueira, who made a presentation last week to Fresno County Fire Protection District board members, said most state and federal laws allow fire and police departments to charge for certain services.

He said his company's average reimbursement to local agencies is about $337 per call. Figueira said his company receives a flat $50 fee per paid claim or 14% of the claim's cost, whichever is higher.

But a bill by Assembly Member Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, would allow insurance billing only for certain incidents, including crashes caused by under-the-influence drivers or negligence.

The auto insurance industry strongly opposes such fee-collection programs.

It's not fair, said Vickie Fernandez-Williamson, a State Farm spokeswoman in Fresno, to charge motorists for emergency services when they already have paid for such services through property taxes -- whether or not they live in Fresno County. "We oppose it because we feel it's a double tax on our policyholders," Fernandez-Williamson said.

A Sacramento-based insurance lobbyist said insurance premiums likely would climb if fire agencies started charging for accident responses.

"Insurance companies project those costs out to the future, and this will raise rates," said Sam Sorich, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies.

In some cases, firefighters are only needed to clean up accident debris, and "it's really hard to see where that fits in to an auto policy," he said.


Insurers, who support Portantino's bill, don't want the bill revised to allow more types of incidents to be billable, he said.

Fresno County Fire Protection District is not the only central San Joaquin Valley fire department considering fees for emergency responses.

Clovis Fire Chief Rick Bennett said he was interested in the program because Clovis firefighters are threatened with layoffs. The city has a $5.3 million budget deficit going into the new fiscal year in July.

"It's casual research at this point, but it has to do with our very reduced budget and looking for any opportunities to not reduce services or have layoffs," he said.

Selma officials had set the idea aside in March, but it's back on their radar, said City Manager D-B Heusser. Selma's budget is about $1 million in the red going into next year.

Fresno fire Chief Randy Bruegman said he would like to see the California Attorney General's Office weigh in on the issue before he would consider it.

Struggling departments need a financial boost, Bruegman said, but they can seek other ways to become more efficient -- such as by regionalizing fire services and reducing service duplication.

"Where do we stop?" he said. "Every time we do a service call to help get someone off the floor, do we charge? You just get on a slippery slope."

The reporter can be reached at mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6166.