Polson man sues over fire district crash fees

POLSON — Tom Eddy decided to put his money where his mouth is — or more precisely, where his letters to the editor, extensive public commentary and Excel-crafted graphs are.

Over the last several months Eddy has emerged as the community’s most outspoken critic of the Polson Rural Fire District’s accident response fee. Although his complaints have been both numerous and forceful, they have yielded few results.

So the Polson resident decided to take action.

In District Court, Eddy filed a civil petition for declaratory judgment.

Eddy challenges the district’s authority to impose the crash fee, a measure adopted via unanimous vote by the board in late December.

The fee is imposed when the rural fire team responds to a crash and finds that it was caused by driver fault or negligence.

The fire district created a fee structure with rates ranging from $500 to $1,750; the scale starts with accidents that require the fire team to be on scene less than an hour and do not require rescue tools. Fees increase for accidents that require more of the fire district’s time and resources.

In his court petition, Eddy lists several reasons why he believes the board does not have the authority to impose the fees: one, according to Eddy, is that the crash fee violates the board’s own bylaws.

Eddy also says the crash fee is unconstitutional.

“Because Resolution 20 [the crash fee resolution] was passed by the PRFD board in derogation and disrespect of Montana statutes, it is unconstitutional,” Eddy wrote his petition.

“That this action, being against a given body and challenging that body’s governing authority on a Constitutional basis requires the Montana attorney general be notified and served a copy of this petition. Said notice shall be served.”

Despite criticism from Eddy and several other community members, the fire district board has remained committed to the crash fees.

“The majority of crash response is provided to persons who pay no taxes in this community,” the trustees wrote in a letter June 2 to the Lake County Leader.

“The board determined that it was fair and reasonable to ask those utilizing this service to contribute toward it and not place that burden on the taxpayers of this district alone.”