5-13-3: BILLING AND COLLECTION OF MITIGATION COSTS:

   A.   Authority To Recover: The City may recover all mitigation costs in connection with a public safety or fire emergency incident from any or all responsible parties jointly or severally. The Fire Chief or Police Chief, or his or her designee, shall, consistent with a duly adopted fee schedule, as amended, determine the total mitigation costs and shall, in consultation with other City personnel involved in responding to a public safety or fire emergency incident, determine whether to assess any, all or part of such costs against any of the responsible parties.

   B.   Factors Considered: In making such determination, the following nonexclusive list of factors shall be considered, although no single factor or absence thereof will be determinative of whether mitigation costs are assessable:

      1.   The total mitigation costs;

      2.   The risk the public safety or fire emergency incident imposed on the City, its residents and their property;

      3.   Whether there was any injury or damage to person or property;

      4.   Whether the public safety or fire emergency incident required evacuation;

      5.   The extent the public safety or fire emergency incident required an unusual or extraordinary use of City personnel and equipment; and

      6.   Whether there was any damage to the environment.

   C.   Allocation: After consideration of the factors in subsection B of this section, the Fire Chief or Police Chief, or his or her designee, may allocate mitigation costs among and between any responsible parties, including allocating all or some of such costs jointly and severally against more than one responsible party, regardless of whether a responsible party has any other legal liability.

   D.   Nonassessment: If the Fire Chief or Police Chief, or his or her designee, determines not to assess all or a portion of mitigation costs against a responsible party, such determination shall not in any way limit, reduce or extinguish the liability of the responsible party to any other parties.

   E.   Invoice; Failure To Pay: After determining to assess mitigation costs against a responsible party, the Fire Chief or Police Chief, or his or her designee, shall mail an itemized invoice to the responsible party at its last known address. Such invoice shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing and, as permitted by Idaho Code section 28-22-104(1) or other applicable section, any amounts unpaid after such date shall bear a late payment fee equal to one percent (1%) per month, or fraction thereof, that the amount due and any previously imposed late payment fee remains unpaid. If a responsible party shall appeal the claim of mitigation costs by requesting a hearing, such costs, if upheld, in whole or in part, shall be due and payable thirty (30) days from the date of determination of the appeal and any late payment fees shall apply thereafter. (Ord. 9-17, 3-21-2017)