Woodruff could soon impose fees on some drivers involved in crashes

July 30--Out-of-town drivers who crash vehicles in or near Woodruff might now see an extra bill.

At its regular meeting Tuesday evening, Woodruff City Council adopted an ordinance that allows the fire department to charge established fees for motor vehicle wrecks and some commercial fires.

Woodruff Fire Chief Wade Godfrey said the fees would only be charged to individuals living outside the city of Woodruff or the area of unincorporated Spartanburg County that is included in the Woodruff Fire Service Area. Godfrey said the fees are paid by insurance and should not result in an out-of-pocket expense.

"Woodruff Fire Department faces increased operating costs, and ever-shrinking budget... and County Council is slow to raise taxes to keep up," said Cameron Fant, city finance director. "We can do something quickly to make our fire department run more efficiently."

Fant said he and Godfrey consulted with leaders of the Cherokee Springs Fire Service Area, where a similar policy is in use and brings in about $20,000 annually.

"If it brings in $20,000, that's $20,000 we didn't have before," Fant said.

The fees will be based on an hourly rate per responding vehicle -- $305 per hour for engines and other heavy equipment, $225 per hour for brush trucks and support vehicles, $195 per hour for battalion vehicles. Additional fees up to $2,335 could be charged for extrication. The minimum fee is $535.

Godfrey said many of the department's calls are for motor vehicle wrecks, and the majority of those are for people who do not live in the area and do not contribute to the department through taxes.

"We don't ask questions before we respond," Godfrey said.

For example, on Tuesday afternoon, he said a team responded to an overturned tanker truck, and the call was likely to require more than eight hours on scene. This resolution would allow the department to recover some of the resources it devotes to such incidents, he said.

The resolution allows for other fees to replace equipment damaged during an emergency response. For example, Godfrey said, a few years ago several sets of turn-out gear were destroyed when Woodruff firefighters performed an extrication on a truck that was leaking hydraulic fluid. The new policy would allow the department to bill the insurance company to replace that gear, he said.

Other emergency response entities bill to recover substantial costs. For example, Spartanburg County EMS charges for each transport, City of Spartanburg Fire Department charges for false alarm response and, in very rare cases, for large scale responses that drain resources.

The town will contract with a company called Innovapad to handle the billing. In exchange for its services, Innovapad will keep just less than 25 percent of what it collects for the city.

"I think this is a great way to recoup some revenue, especially in light of the way our budget is," Mayor Kenneth Gist said.

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