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Billing for runs
Was wondering how many departments on here bill for runs with your engine not rescues beause we do not have one wether it is for vehicle accidents or fires?
How does it affect you tax exempt status?
How much do you bill and is the price the same wether you just direct traffic or have to fight fire?
The reason I am asking is with the local economy the way it is fund raising is starting to take a hit and it was suggested that maybe billing was the way to go and I thought I would ask for info on this site to see how to go about it.
How does it affect you tax exempt status?
How much do you bill and is the price the same wether you just direct traffic or have to fight fire?
The reason I am asking is with the local economy the way it is fund raising is starting to take a hit and it was suggested that maybe billing was the way to go and I thought I would ask for info on this site to see how to go about it.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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We don't bill people ourselves, as we're part of a State-wide fire service. But, and it's a big but, there is provision for charging people for service in the Govt. Act under which we operate.
Structure fires. No charge if the preise is insured (the insurance industry collects a fire levy which is our main source of funding. Uninsured premises, a charge can be laid, except if there were civilian injuries or fatalities.
Anything to do with vehicles while on a road, no charging.
False alarms for premises with monitored alarm systems, a bill is normally sent for those premises that have frequent false alarms. This can be expensive as we treat all alarm calls as a structure fire, and respond multiple Stations automatically. Occasional calls we can reccomend no charging.
False alarm calls to private dwellings are not charged. (We always tell people "When in doubt, call us out" as we'd prefer a false alarm to a house fire!)
The amount charged? Depends on the type of Brigade, but is something like $150 to $250 per vehicle, per 15 minutes out of Station.
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Permalink Reply by turk182 on
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We basically raise all the money to keep us open the township gives us a 2,000.00 a year donation and the rest we raise threw various fund raisers.
With the economy the way it is it was mentioned to us about billing and was told it could help supplement the income so I figured I would ask on her to see who bills per call, type of call, and about how much basically just to see how the whole thing works.
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Permalink Reply by Trainer on
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I can only speak for us and Illinois law. We can bill for anything except people or structures that pay property taxes from our district. We can’t bill for fires in our district, we can bill in a MA call, we don’t. We bill for MVA’s as long as it’s not a taxpayer, get the idea about taxes, with that said, we have a judgment call on billing, we may or may not charge for traffic, depends on the circumstances, and may only bill a minimum. State law allows us to charge, and I believe its going up, $125 per hr per rig and $35 per hr for manpower plus consumables, not counting fuel. We can also collect an additional $1000 if it’s a DUI. As far as affecting your tax exempt status, as long as you don’t carry money over, and there’s an amount, from year to year, can’t tell you how much but sticks in my head it’s a lot, it doesn’t matter.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Yes, we CAN bill homeowners for fires, but we DON'T. It would be bad PR. People confuse what their taxes pay for and what they get for insurance premium, but I won't go into that now. But, your taxes pay for fire protection and to equip and maintain a fire department. Insurance premium covers the losses by fire and associated costs. So, yes; they are different.
The hourly rate is to go up to $175 per hour per apparatus and $50 per hour per man. Be prepared to provide proof on need for number of apparatus and manpower.
A DUI will now cost two grand. That is done through the states' attorney.
This doesn't affect your tax status because you spend your budget down to zero every year, right?
It is a great source of additional income. Just be careful that you don't bill a taxpayer and be very cautious about billing someone in a mutual aid district. People are funny sometimes.
If it's HazMat? NEVER hesitate to bill...for everything.
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by Fire Capt. 1304 on
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We bill for any fire call from automatic alarms and fluid spills to structure fires, pretty much anything a truck is on scene for except EMS calls because those are billed differently than fire calls. I dont have the numbers here in front of me so I cant tell you prices but we charge per hour for every apparatus, firefighter, and every piece of equipment used. We also bill for mutual aid calls, mileage and fuel. We also charge for any damaged equipment. We dont bill the person themselves we bill the insurance company. This has not affected our tax status, we are still exempt.
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Permalink Reply by David Light on
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Turk182
Billing will not effect your 501 C(3) status.
The fees are set by your state and county government in most areas.
Look at www.newriverclaims.com for more info on billing.
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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We don't billpeople. People give us donations sometimes for our services.
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Permalink Reply by FF Nick on
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I know that in MS, If your FD doesn't have a "class" or a "rating" (recognized as a "10C" down here, idk about other places) you can send the insurance company a form and get a reimbursement up to $100 dollars. I think this can only be done on working structure fires. Not much, but 100 clams will get you a tanks worth of diesel down here.
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