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Wrecks Are Big Expense To City

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2008

PORT RICHEY - Almost every day, the sounds of screeching tires and crunching metal can be heard near the traffic-choked crossroads of U.S. 19 and Ridge Road.

That intersection, labeled one of the Tampa Bay area's most dangerous, is the scene of hundreds of accidents every year, many of them caused by drivers from somewhere else.
City officials say the cost of providing police and fire rescue coverage, estimated in the thousands of dollars annually, are being passed along to the city's 3,200 taxpayers.

To ease that burden, the city council is considering a proposed ordinance to subsidize those expenses by charging insurance companies and most nonresidents who caused the accidents for the emergency services. A vote on the proposal is scheduled for tonight.

"Why should our residents, who pay taxes for our services, bear the burden for servicing people who don't live in our city?" said Public Safety Director Matt Brewi, who oversees the police and fire departments. "It's only fair that they nonresidents should be paying their share."

For Florida's municipalities, many of which are struggling amid state-mandated property tax changes, cost-recovery programs have become an attractive revenue source.

The fees, collected by a firm that specializes in cost recovery, are based on the time and materials devoted to the accident and assessed on statewide and national averages.

If the insurance company refuses to pay, the cost-recovery firm will be authorized by the city government to go after the nonresident who caused the wreck. If a city resident is at fault, the fee is forgiven.

The measure, if approved, would make Port Richey one of a growing number of cash-strapped communities across the country that are billing at-fault, out-of-town drivers and their insurers to recoup some costs of responding to and clearing traffic accidents.

In the past several years, municipalities in at least 15 states, including Florida, Michigan, Kentucky and Wisconsin, have passed such ordinances. The most recent was Ocala, which expects to get $350,000 a year in reimbursements.

Port Richey isn't the first city in Pasco County to consider such a program. Last year, Zephyrhills weighed a similar initiative to generate revenue for its fire rescue squad, but abandoned the proposal amid a lack of support from the city council.

Critics worry such fees will drive up insurance rates and hurt local businesses that rely on out-of-towners. The practice has caused a backlash from drivers and insurers, and a few communities already have moved to rescind their ordinances.

Some have referred to the program as another layer of taxation - known as the "crash tax."

Samuel Miller, executive vice president of the Florida Insurance Council, said insurers ultimately will pass the cost of recovery programs on to the consumer.

"We recognize that local governments are looking for other revenue sources," he said. "But nothing is free. Someone has to pay. And it won't be the insurance companies."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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