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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[10b] Mutual Aid AgreementGZ7'Y 4F KT.,lUCy6PH MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM: SUBMITTED BY: Council Agenda Item I ~~ November 19, 2009 Administrator Reports -Mutual Aid Agreement Administration BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: N/A PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: The City currently has mutual aid agreements for police, fire and public works. The Councils from the area Cities have asked the City Administrators to facility joint ventures amongst the various departments and Cities. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The document enclosed in this packet is a Mutual Aid Agreement for various personnel and equipment. Currently the Cities of Waite Park and Sarte11 have executed such an agreement and have provided support at times of need. The execution of this agreement does not require the City to use another City to fill a gap, rather it provides for such for short term or special situations. A good example is during building spikes, another inspector could assist the City. Each City keeps track of the services and they are netted out at the end of the year. Bartell recently used Waite Park for some administrative services. BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: ATTACHMENTS: Mutual Aid Agreement for Various Personnel and Equipment REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Authorize execution of the Mutual Aid Agreement between the Cities of Bartell, Waite Park, Sauk Rapids and St. Joseph for the use of various personnel and equipment. MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITIES OF SARTELL, WAIE PARK, SAUK RAPIDS, AND ST. JOSEPH FOR THE USE OF VARIOUS PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT The parties to this Agreement are the City of Sartell Minnesota whose city hall is located at 125 Pine Cone Road North, Sartell, MN 56377, the City of Waite Park Minnesota whose city hall is located at 19 13th Avenue North, Waite Park, MN 56387, the City of Sauk Rapids whose city hall is located at 115 2^d Avenue North, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379, and the City of St. Joseph whose city hall is located at 25 College Avenue North, St. Joseph, MN 56379. All parties are governmental units of the State of Minnesota. This Agreement is made pursuant to Minnesota Statues § 471.59, which authorizes the joint and cooperative exercise of powers, common to contracting parties. NOW, THEREFORE, it is mutually agreed as follows: 1. Purpose. The purpose of this Agreement is to allow each city to make available to another city that is a Party to this Agreement personnel and equipment in case of Special Work Load Demands in any participating city. Such personnel and equipment may include their inspection (building, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire, housing) and/or planning, and/or election clerk related personnel and equipment, and/or public works/utilities or other general maintenance, and/or such other personnel and equipment as determined feasible by the Responding Official of the Responding City. 2. Definitions. A. "Party" means the City of Sartell the City of Waite Park, the City of Sauk Rapids, and the City of St. Joseph which are Parties to this Agreement. "Parties" is the plural of Party. B. "Requesting Official" means the person designated by a Party who is responsible for requesting assistance from other Parties. C. "Requesting Party" means a Party which requests assistance from the other Party. D. "Responsible Official" means the person designated by a Party who is responsible to determine whether and to what extent that Party should provide assistance to a Requesting Party. E. "Responding Party" means a Party, which provides assistance to a Requesting Party. F. "Special Work Load Demands" means an occasion(s) where the available staff from the Requesting Party are unable to provide sufficient level of service to the community. Examples include but are not limited to an increase in the typical number of building permit or land use/planning application for a very large or complex development, or a staff shortage due to vacation, short-term disability or leave of absence, and resignation. 3. Need for Assistance. A. Request for assistance will be made when there is a reasonable need to meet Special Work Load Demands. B. The City Administrator or his/her designee will determine and authorize a request for assistance. C. The Administrators of each city will implement a policy regarding requesting and providing assistance. The policy will set forth the circumstances under which aid may be requested and the circumstances under which aid will be provided by the responding municipality. D. Each party of the agreement must submit quarterly reports of service that occurred during each quarter to the other party(s). Such reports must be submitted by January 15th, April 15th, July 15th and October 15th for the preceding quarter's service. 4. Control Over Work. The Requesting Party will be in control and provide supervision of personnel involved in meeting the Special Work Load Demands. The personnel and equipment will be under the direction and control of the Requesting Party until the Responding Official withdraws assistance. This section does not mean that the Responding Party's personnel will be considered employees of the Requesting Party for the purposes of payroll and worker's compensation. 5. No Requirement to Respond. Both Parties understand that assistance will only be provided if such assistance does not unduly jeopardize the work load, order and public safety within the city who is requested to respond. Neither Party, nor its employees, will be liable to the other Party for failure to provide personnel or equipment in response to a call for assistance from the other party. 2 6. Withdrawal of Assistance. Whenever a Responding Party has provided assistance to a Requesting Party, the Responding Official may at any time recall such assistance or any part thereof when the Responding Official deems it necessary to provide for the best interests of the Responding Official's own community. Such action will not result in the liability to any Party. 7. Reciprocal Defense and Indemnification. A. The intent of the indemnification requirement of this section is to impose on each Requesting Party a limited duty to defend and indemnify any Responding Party for claims arising within the Requesting Party's jurisdiction subject to the limits of the liability under Minnesota Statues, Chapter 466. The purpose of creating these reciprocal duties to defend and indemnify is to simplify the defense of liability claims by eliminating conflicts among defendants, and to permit liability claims against multiple defendants from a single occurrence to be defended by a single attorney. Therefore, for the purposes of the Minnesota Municipal Tort Liability Act (Minn. Stat. 466), the employees of the Responding Party are deemed to be employees (as defined in Minn. Stat. § 466.01, subdivision 6) of the Requesting Party. B. The Requesting Party agrees to indemnify and defend against any claims brought or actions filed against the Responding Party or any officers, employees or volunteers of the Responding Party for injury or death to any third person or persons, or damage to the property of third persons, arising out of the performance and provision of assistance in responding to a request for assistance by the Requesting Party pursuant to this Agreement. C. Under no circumstances will a Party be required to pay on behalf of itself and other Parties, any amounts in excess of the limits on liability established in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 466, applicable to only one Party. The limits of liability for some or all Parties may not be added together to determine the maximum amount of liability for any Party. 8. Responsibility for Equipment. A Responding Party will be responsible for damages to or loss of its own equipment. Unused equipment provided by the Responding Party will be returned to the Responding Party by the Requesting Party when circumstances permit this to be done. Each Party waives the right to sue any other Party for any damages or loss of its equipment even if the damages or losses were caused wholly or partially by the negligence of any other Party, its officers, employees or volunteers. 3 9. Workers Compensation. Each party will be responsible for injuries or death of its own personnel. Each party will maintain workers' compensation insurance or self-insurance coverage, covering its own personnel while they are providing assistance pursuant to this Agreement. Each party waives the right to sue any other party for any workers' compensation benefits paid to its own employee or volunteer or their dependants, even if the injuries were caused wholly or partially by the negligence of any other party or its officers, employees, or volunteers. 10. Planninr~ for Potential Requests and Responses for Service Assistance. A. In an effort to assist each Party to appropriately plan for staffing and budget impacts anticipated for the following calendar year as a result of contemplated requests or responses for service, the City Administrators for each Party will meet and exchange by September 1St of each year their anticipated respective need and/or availability for certain types of service assistance and the corresponding billing rate for the following calendar year. 6. As circumstances may dictate, this plan may be modified over the course of the year as determined necessary and appropriate by the Responding Parties to the agreement. 11. Charges to the Requesting Party. A. At each calendar year end, a Responding Party to this Agreement will submit to the Requesting Party an itemized bill for the actual cost of any assistance provided including salaries, overtime, materials and supplies and other necessary expenses; and the Requesting Party will reimburse the party providing the assistance for that amount. Reimbursement will be made by February of each calendar year following the year of service provided. At that time the bills owing by each City will be compared and any difference promptly paid to the other. 6. Such charges are not contingent upon the availability of the federal or state government funds. 12. No Joint Entity or Partnership. This Agreement does not intend, nor does it create, any joint entity or partnerships between the Cities. 4 13. Duration. This Agreement will be effective on the date it is executed by the Parties and will continue indefinitely unless terminated as provided herein. The Sartell City Clerk will notify the Parties of the effective date. 14. Withdrawal. Any Party may terminate this Agreement, by resolution of its city council, provided that the Party gives a 60-day notice to the other Parties. 15. Execution. Each Party hereto has read, agreed to and executed this Agreement on the date indicated. CITY OF SARTELL, MINNESOTA By: DATE: Title: By: Title: CITY OF WRITE PARK, MINNESOTA By: DATE: Title: By: Title: CITY OF SAUK RAPIDS, MINNESOTA By: DATE: Title: By: Title: 5