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Proposed Moundsville Response Fee Not Supported by City Council

An ordinance to institute a fee to insurance companies covering vehicles involved in accidents within city limits died before Moundsville City Council this week when members refused to move it to second reading.

In December, city fire Chief Gary Brandon proposed the fee as a means to recover miscellaneous expenses involved in responding to such accidents. In particular, Brandon said the fee would pay for absorbent material the department uses to clean up hazardous material spills.

Brandon was out of town this week and could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Phil Remke said the measure, which was scheduled for second reading on Tuesday, did not have any support from council to bring it forward for discussion and a vote.

Remke said council members passed on the matter for more than a month as they waited for the fire department to provide further information — such as how much the fee would cost or any information from insurance companies — but those details were not provided. The city fire department was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, Remke said, as they were covering for another department.

“From what I understood, what council was looking for was more information, and they didn’t get it,” Remke said. “When I called it for a vote, no one voted, and it died on the floor. … As a matter of fact, the fire department wasn’t even there.”

Remke added that, if the fire department would return with more information, the matter could be revisited.

When Brandon brought the request to council in December, he said the department had utilized absorbent materials to clean up vehicle fluids from more than 70 vehicle accidents in 2018, with the cost of the materials coming out of his department’s budget. He said that by billing the insurance companies a response fee, it would allow the department to recover some of its expenses.

He emphasized the fee would exclusively be passed on to insurance companies, and that if an uninsured driver were involved in an accident, the expense would be eaten by the department.

“There’s going to be no bills sent out to anyone — we’ll send the bills to insurance. The citizens of Moundsville will never be billed,” he said. If someone does not have insurance, “they will not receive a bill. We’ll write it off. We’re not dealing with sending a bill to a person’s house.”

Council will next meet on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the City Building on Sixth Street.

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