From the St. Paul Pioneer Press: South St. Paul and West St. Paul, Minn., are considering taking advantage of a state law that allows cities to impose a "reasonable service charge" for serious crashes, rescues and other emergencies. The cities would charge nonresidents such a fee as a way to recoup some of the on-the-scene expenses.

“Crash tax” fees usually are paid by auto-insurance carriers. Those without coverage would be billed.

South Metro would charge $577 per call. The proposal also allows the department to charge for water rescues, chemical spills and pipeline breaks; no matter where the person involved lives.

St. Paul has charged to extricate motorists from crashes since 2006. Last year, firefighters freed people from 63 cars, bringing the department nearly $33,000. Read the entire article here.