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In Cocoa, write check if you cause a car wreck

BY REBECCA ADAMUS

FLORIDA TODAY

COCOA - If Cocoa rescue workers have to clean up at the scene of an

accident, it will cost $435. Using the Jaws of Life to extract a victim?

About $650.

Getting into a car accident in this city just got more expensive. Council

members unanimously passed a law Tuesday to charge drivers a motor vehicle

crash fee.

Generally, at-fault motorists will be charged from $435 to $2,100, an amount

based on the extent of work and equipment used by Cocoa Fire-Rescue workers.

Motorists' insurance carriers will get the bill.

There also will be an additional charge of $500 to any motorist who requires

an extinguisher to end a vehicle fire.

" I love it. It is a user fee. Car insurance companies will pay for it, " said

Pat McCrary, 63, a Cocoa resident and homeowner.

Roughly 300 wrecks occur each year within Cocoa city limits, and nearly 90

percent of those are caused by motorists who live outside the city, Fire

Chief Ricky Plummer said. Cocoa residents get stuck paying for fire-rescue

workers' response, he said.

" We're a pass-through community, " Plummer said, referring to thousands of

commuters who drive state roads 520 and 528, and U.S. 1 each day.

The MVA fee is one source some Florida fire departments are turning to as

their budgets grow and state revenues shrink.

There are two reasons behind the fee, Plummer said.

Primarily is an impending funding shortfall, a result of Palm Bay's triumph

in a lawsuit that ruled Brevard County's method of collecting emergency

medical services fees illegal. EMS monies that Plummer and other fire chiefs

receive com e from the county's general fund.

With Florida lawmakers debating eliminating property taxes, Plummer said

thousands in revenue could disappear from his budget.

" We depend on that money in our budget to pay for those things, " he said.

His department will get about $75,000 this year.

Secondly, the fire department budget is expected to increase as the agency

begins providing advanced paramedic services this spring.

The Cocoa fees are modeled after the cities of Winter Park and Maitland, who

instituted MVA fees during the past three years.

Other Brevard fire departments concerned about losing the first-responder

monies have not yet approached their respective councils with plans, but

some have explored the idea of MVA fees. Some are waiting to see how the

larger issue of property tax reform plays out in the Florida legislature.

" If (first responder monies) go away, we will need to find some alternative

sources of funding and the motor vehicle crash fee could certainly be one of

them, " said Titusville Fire Department spokesman Gaenicke. The agency

receives about $175,000 from the county.

Plummer, who consulted with other cities and an agency known for collecting

the fees on behalf of fire departments, said the fees are " somewhat high "

but that they are nationally accepted.

The fees will give the department $227,765 annually, but Plummer expects to

collect about $159,436 of that figure.

A State Farm Insurance Co. spokesman said car insurance rates for its 2.8

million motorists in Florida are sure to increase because costs associated

with the fee will get passed onto customers.

" As costs rise, rates rise, " spokesman Neal said. " The fire chief is

mistaken if he thinks this is free money. His constituents will pay the

difference. "

State Farm's payment of the fee could be covered under a motorist's

liability or collision, but Neal added that " all claims are evaluated

individually. "

Cocoa resident McCrary said she didn't believe the new law would increase

automotive insurance premiums.

" They're (car insurers) going to raise premiums regardless of what city of

Cocoa does, " she said. " There's a heck of a lot more things that will affect

rates than what the city does. "

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

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