Published: 1 years 117 days ago
The City Council voted 5-4 on Tuesday night to join a growing list of cities across the state that charge out-of-towners hundreds of dollars when they're in an automobile crash that requires a Fire Department response.
Supporters of the fees say the charges represent a fair piece of the costs that cities incur responding to thousands of wrecks each year. The fees are not taxes, city officials said, because they will not provide the city with revenue beyond what is spent on the Fire Department's response.
But critics – including a state senator who has written legislation proposing to ban the fees – describe the programs as "double taxes" levied against out-of-towners whose sales tax contributions already pay for fire service.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/26/3352362/sacramento-council-approves-crash.html#ixzz1C7xpCw9b
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