YOUNGSTOWN — Fire Chief Barry Finley said his department will start charging fees for various services in January, but only non-city residents will have to pay them.

City council approved legislation Oct. 2 by a 4-3 vote to allow the department to charge the fees. Those rejecting the request were concerned it allows the city to bill nonresidents when their insurance doesn’t cover the costs. They also were concerned that the ordinance includes items, such as responding to fires, that Finley said he won’t implement.

While Finley isn’t under any obligation to restrict what services his department will charge for, he said at a Thursday council finance committee meeting he is restricting it. He said last month that he wouldn’t implement the program until he first spoke with council members, which he has done.

Only two members of council — Basia Adamczak, D-7th, who voted against the ordinance, and Anita Davis, D-6th, who supported it — attended the Thursday meeting. Afterward, Adamczak said she was more comfortable with the program.

“We need to find ways to generate revenue and this is common in bigger cities,” she said. “This provides more clarification.”

Finley said 32 other cities in Ohio charge for fire services. If the state auditor gives the go-ahead, the money generated from the fees would go toward a fund to create a citywide emergency management services program and for fees associated with operating the department’s inspection program, he said.

The ordinance allows the city’s board of control to enter into a contract with Fire Recovery USA LLC of Roseville, Calif., to bill and seek collection from those who use fire department services. The city gets 80 percent of the money collected, with Fire Recovery keeping the rest. The board of control still needs to approve the contract.

The fees include $677 for a car fire, $1,461 to take someone out of a vehicle with the use of equipment after an accident, $554 to clean up hazardous fluids spilled in an accident, at least $448 for the first-response vehicle plus $56 per rescue person for a special rescue in swift water — though Finley said there isn’t any in the city — as well as in confined spaces.

There’s also a $448-per-hour-per-engine and $560-per-hour-per-fire truck fee and “miscellaneous equipment” fee of $336 for vehicle accidents.

While it’s in the Fire Recovery USA contract, Finley said the department wouldn’t charge for creating a landing zone at a cost of $448, water rescue incidents for as much as $2,240 plus $56 per hour per rescue crew member, or for responding to fires. The fire fee is $308 per hour for a fire investigation team, going to $448 per hour per fire engine and $560 per hour per fire vehicle in the contract.

“For the record, no citizen (of the city) will get a bill, ever,” Finley said.

If city residents don’t have insurance, they won’t be charged, he said.

But it’s different for non-city residents, Finley said.

Their insurance will be billed for the fees, he said. If the insurance doesn’t cover it or they don’t have insurance, Fire Recovery USA would collect the money from non-city residents, Finley said.

dskolnick@tribtoay.com