HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 69891 13 West Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(47e) 575-8323
Ordinance: 6989
File Number: 2026-1016
AN ORDTNANCE TO AMEND $ 39.t0 (C) AND $ 39.r r (C) TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF AN
EXPERIENCED INSURANCE ADJUSTER TO ALLOW RARE, EXCEPTIONAL, AND SUBSTANTIALLY
PROVEN CLAIMS ABOVE $IOO,OOO.OO TO BE PAID IF APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF THE
CITY COUNCIL AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, very few damage claims for water, wastewater or other uninsured city vehicles or infrastructure problems
would ever exceed $100,000.00; and
WHEREAS, if the City's experienced professional insurance adjuster would determine that allowable recoverable
expenses pursuant tothe Fayetteville Code would exceed $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous consent should
be able to authorize payment up to the insurance adjuster's reasonable compensation amount even if it exceeds
$ 100,000.00.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE,
ARKANSAS:
Section I : That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends $ 39. l0 Water and Wastewater
Damage Claim by renumbering (CX6) to (CX7) and enacting a new (C)(6) as follows:
*(CX6) If our experienced insurance adjuster's professional analysis determines that the reasonable compensation for
the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous consent may authorize payment of
the claim over the normal cap of $ 100,000.00 and up to the amount of reasonable compensation as determined by the
City's professional i nsurance adj uster's analysis."
Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayeffeville, Arkansas hereby amends $ 39. I I Damage Claims Other
than Water and Wastewater Damage Claims by renumbering subsection (C)(a) to (CX5), renumbering current
subsection (CX5) to (CX7), and enacting a new subsection (CX4) as follows:
"(CX4) The Administration is empowered and authorized to hire an experienced adjuster and rely upon the adjuster's
professional analysis to establish reasonable compensation for any valid claim."
Section 3: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends $ 39. I I (C) by enacting a new
subsection (CX6) as follows:
'(CX6) If our experienced insurance adjuster's professional analysis determines that the reasonable compensation for
the valid and allowable claim exceeds S100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous consent may authorize payment of
the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount of reasonable compensation as determined by the
Page 1
AY
Ordinance: 6989
File Number: 2026-1016
City's professional insurance adj uster's analysis."
Section 4: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends $ 39.10 (CX2) by repealing the
last seven words: "dislocation expenses not to exceed three (3) days," and enacting the following: "dislocation
expenses as determined by the adjuster not to exceed the current per diem rates published by the U.S. General Services
Administration."
Section 5: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby determines that these Code amendments
shall apply and relate back to any claim for a damaging event that occurred on or after December I , 2025.
Section 6: Emergency clause. The City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby determines that this
ordinance should become effective without delay because some valid allowable damage claims might exceed the
current $100,000.00 compensation cap pursuant to the professional analysis ofour experienced insurance adjuster, but
without these amendments, the City Council would not be able to legally pay that reasonable compensatory amount
established by our insurance adjuster's professional analysis pursuant to the existing requirements of the Fayettevtlle
Code. Therefore, to preserve our citizens' peace, health, and safety, the City Council hereby declares an emergency
exists such that this amending ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval.
PASSED and APPROVED on April 2l ,2026
Approved:Attest:
Kara aMolly Rawn.
This publication was paid for by the City Clerk-Treasurer of the City of Fayetteville,
Arkansas. Amount Paid: $ 296.40
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39.10 Water And Wastewater Damage Claims
(A) Establishment of Property Damage Claim Compensation Policy.
(C)
(1 6"
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Without waiving its statutory sovereign immunity, the city establishes the following voluntary policy
governing the permissible payment of reasonable compensation for property damage claims
proximately caused by a failure of the municipally owned water or wastewater infrastructure system
that results in a trespass into and damage to private property.
Requirements for Property Damage Claims To Be Eligible for Compensation.
(1) The cause of the damage must be directly attributed to a failure of municipal infrastructure owned and
operated by the Fayetteville Water and Wastewater utility, and cannot be associated with or caused by
a private sewer or water connection or service line.
(2) The failure must not be caused by factors beyond the city's control such as loss of electrical service;
flooding of its infrastructure; acts of third parties; failure of claimants to properly maintain protective
devices (back flow valves, check valves, clean out caps, etc.); acts of God; and other circumstances
beyond the city's control.
(3) A claim form must be completed in writing and submitted to the Mayor's Office within thirty (30) days
of property damage occurrence. Claim forms may be supplemented later with additional information,
bills, etc. as allowed by the Utilities Director of the City of Fayetteville. Failure to submit the initial claim
form within thirty (30) days of the incident terminates the claimant's opportunity to request
compensation.
(4) When a possible water leak claim has been promptly called to the attention of water and sewer staff
who initially could not detect or determine the cause of such leak which then caused the property
owner to invest in sump pumps and/or other reasonable measures to protect its property,
compensation for such property damage prevention efforts may be paid pursuant to this article if a
compensable water leak is later discovered or confirmed by city staff.
(5) A property owner requesting compensation due to a sewer overflow shall install at the property
owner's expense an approved sewer backflow prevention device prior to receiving city compensation
for such sewer overflow.
(6) City staff is authorized to promptly hire a rem ediation/mitigation service for a likely compensable
water or sewer claim. The city shall pay for this cost as part of the entire cost of the compensable
claim. A property owner's refusal or hinderance of this remediation/mitigation service shall reduce or
even eliminate the property owner's damage claim.
Limitation of Any Compensation That Might Be Paid.
(1) Because the City of Fayetteville is protected by sovereign immunity, the city shall pay no compensation
for any alleged damage associated with or related to any alleged personal injury (except a medical
insurance deductible or co -payment) or any other damage except for property damage.
(2) Compensation which may be paid for damage to property shall be limited to the cost of cleaning or
repair of the damage or, in the event that the cost of cleaning or repair exceeds the fair market value
of the subject property, less salvage value, compensation shall be limited to the fair market value of
the damaged property less any salvage value. No compensation shall be paid for inconvenience, loss of
use, loss of profits or rents, consequential damages, or anything other than cleaning, repair or
replacement of property, and, in extreme cases, dislocation expenses not to exceed three (3) days.
(3) No payment by the city may accrue to the benefit, directly or indirectly, of an insurance carrier, nor for
any damage if such is covered by any insurance policy. If the insurance company waives any
subrogation right, the city may pay an amount equal to the deductible already paid, by the claimant for
(Supp. No. 39)
Page 1 of 2
a property damage claim. Claimants shall be required to provide documents satisfactory to the city
establishing their insurance coverage or lack thereof for any claim.
(4) The Utilities Department Director may not authorize any payment greater than $35,000.00 for any
claim pursuant to this section. The Mayor may request the City Council to authorize an amount greater
than $35,000.00 by resolution, but in no case shall the city pay more than $50,000.00 pursuant to this
claims procedure for a damage claim related to a water or wastewater utility infrastructure occurrence
unless in an extraordinary case the Mayor recommends and the City Council by two-thirds (z/) majority
approves an exemption from the $50,000.00 damage cap and approves a payment up to $100,000.00.
(5) The Water and Sewer Utility Department is empowered and authorized to hire and rely upon an
experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis to establish reasonable compensation for any
claim.
(6) If our experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis determines that the reasonable
compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous
consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount
of reasonable compensation as determined by the City's professional insurance adjustor's analysis.
(7) This subsection does not pertain to nor affect in any manner the motor vehicle liability insurance
requirements of A.C.A. §21-9-303 nor the claims procedure and limitations to comply with that state
law.
(D) Discretion of the City.
The city acting through its Utilities Department Director has complete and sole discretion whether or
not to pay any compensation pursuant to this section if the claimant has properly and timely submitted
the claim form and all necessary documentation. This section provides no right to compensation for
any claimant, nor any right to appeal to the Mayor or City Council.
(E) Release Required if Compensation Paid.
If the city offers to pay any compensation pursuant to this section, the claimant must sign a full release
to receive the compensation offered by the city.
(Supp. No. 39)
Page 2 of 2
39.11 Damage Claims Other Than Water And Wastewater Damage Claims
(A) Establishment of Property Damage Claim Compensation Policy.
Without waiving its statutory sovereign immunity, the city establishes the following voluntary policy
governing the permissible payment of reasonable compensation for property damage claims (other
than water and wastewater) proximately caused by uninsured city vehicles, equipment, infrastructure,
or personnel activities. Claims relating to city vehicles which are insured shall be handled by the city's
insurance adjustor (currently the Municipal League) except that very small property damage claims
may be voluntarily paid by the city if a full release is obtained.
(B) Requirements for Property Damage Claims to Be Eligible for Compensation.
(1) The cause of the damage must be directly attributed to a malfunction of such uninsured vehicle or
equipment, neglect or misuse of such equipment by city personnel, dangerous disrepair of city
infrastructure, or other similar situation.
(2) Any problem with the city's infrastructure that causes damage must not have been caused by factors
beyond the city's control such as floods, tornados, ice storms or other acts of God, nor by acts of third
parties, nor by the failure of a claimant to act in a reasonably prudent manner.
(3) A claim form must be completed in writing and submitted to the Mayor's Office within thirty (30) days
of damage occurrence. Claim forms may be supplemented later with additional information, bills, etc.
as allowed by the Chief of Staff of the City of Fayetteville. Failure to submit the initial claim form within
thirty (30) days of the incident terminates the claimant's opportunity to request compensation.
(C) Limitation of Any Compensation That Might Be Paid.
(1) Because the City of Fayetteville is protected by sovereign immunity, the city shall pay no compensation
for any alleged damage associated with or related to any alleged personal injury (except a medical
insurance deductible or co -payment) or any other damage except for property damage.
(2) Compensation which may be paid for damage to property shall be limited to the cost of repair of the
damage or, in the event that the cost of repair exceeds the fair market value of the subject property,
less salvage value, compensation shall be limited to the fair market value of the damaged property less
any salvage value. No compensation shall be paid for inconvenience, loss of use, loss of profits or rents,
consequential damages, or anything other than repair or replacement of property.
(3) No payment by the city may accrue to the benefit, directly or indirectly, of an insurance carrier, nor for
any damage if such is covered by any insurance policy. If the insurance company waives any
subrogation right, the city may pay an amount equal to the deductible already paid by the claimant for
a property damage claim. Claimants shall be required to provide documents satisfactory to the city
establishing their insurance coverage or lack thereof for any claim.
(4) The Administration is empowered and authorized to hire an experienced adjustor and rely upon the
adjustor's professional analysis to establish reasonable compensation for any valid claim.
(5) The Chief of Staff may not authorize any payment greater than $35,000.00 for any claim pursuant to
this section. The Mayor may request the City Council to authorize an amount greater than $35,000.00
by resolution, but in no case shall the city pay more than $50,000.00 pursuant to this claims procedure
for a damage claim unless in an extraordinary case the Mayor recommends and the City Council by
two-thirds (%) majority approves an exemption from this $50,000.00 damage cap and approves a
payment up to $100,000.00.
(Supp. No. 39)
Page 1 of 2
(6) If our experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis determines that the reasonable
compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous
consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount
of reasonable compensation as determined by the City's professional insurance adjustor's analysis.
(7) This subsection does not pertain to nor affect in any manner the motor vehicle liability insurance
requirements of A.C.A. §21-9-303, nor the claims procedure and limitations to comply with that state
law.
(D) Discretion of the City.
(1) The city acting through its Chief of Staff has complete and sole discretion whether or not to pay any
compensation pursuant to this section if the claimant has properly and timely submitted the claim
form and all necessary documentation. This section provides no right to compensation for any
claimant, nor any right to appeal to the Mayor or City Council.
(2) The city does not waive its sovereign immunity by considering whether or not to voluntarily pay any
portion of a damage claim submitted for review under this section. The decision of the city is final and
unappealable to any court.
(E) Release Required if Compensation Paid.
If the city offers to pay any compensation pursuant to this section, the claimant must sign a full release
to receive the compensation offered by the city.
(Supp. No. 39)
Page 2 of 2
Page 1
City of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Legislation Text
113 West Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-8323
File #: 2026-1016
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND § 39.10 (C) AND § 39.11 (C) TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF AN
EXPERIENCED INSURANCE ADJUSTER TO ALLOW RARE, EXCEPTIONAL, AND
SUBSTANTIALLY PROVEN CLAIMS ABOVE $100,000.00 TO BE PAID IF APPROVED BY
UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, very few damage claims for water, wastewater or other uninsured city vehicles or
infrastructure problems would ever exceed $100,000.00; and
WHEREAS, if the City’s experienced professional insurance adjuster would determine that allowable
recoverable expenses pursuant to the Fayetteville Code would exceed $100,000.00, the City Council by
unanimous consent should be able to authorize payment up to the insurance adjuster’s reasonable
compensation amount even if it exceeds $100,000.00.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS:
Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.10 Water
and Wastewater Damage Claim by renumbering (C)(6) to (C)(7) and enacting a new (C)(6) as
follows:
“(C)(6) If our experienced insurance adjuster's professional analysis determines that the reasonable
compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous
consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount
of reasonable compensation as determined by the City’s professional insurance adjuster's analysis.”
Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.11 Damage
Claims Other than Water and Wastewater Damage Claims by renumbering subsection (C)(4) to
(C)(5), renumbering current subsection (C)(5) to (C)(7), and enacting a new subsection (C)(4) as
follows:
“(C)(4) The Administration is empowered and authorized to hire an experienced adjuster and rely upon
the adjuster's professional analysis to establish reasonable compensation for any valid claim.”
Section 3: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.11 (C) by
enacting a new subsection (C)(6) as follows:
“(C)(6) If our experienced insurance adjuster's professional analysis determines that the reasonable
Ordinance: 6989
File Number: 2026-1016
Page 2
compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous
consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount
of reasonable compensation as determined by the City’s professional insurance adjuster's analysis.”
Section 4: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.10 (C)(2) by
repealing the last seven words: “dislocation expenses not to exceed three (3) days,” and enacting the
following: “dislocation expenses as determined by the adjuster not to exceed the current per diem rates
published by the U.S. General Services Administration.”
Section 5: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby determines that these Code
amendments shall apply and relate back to any claim for a damaging event that occurred on or after
December 1, 2025.
Section 6: Emergency clause. The City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby determines
that this ordinance should become effective without delay because some valid allowable damage claims
might exceed the current $100,000.00 compensation cap pursuant to the professional analysis of our
experienced insurance adjuster, but without these amendments, the City Council would not be able to
legally pay that reasonable compensatory amount established by our insurance adjuster's professional
analysis pursuant to the existing requirements of the Fayetteville Code. Therefore, to preserve our
citizens’ peace, health, and safety, the City Council hereby declares an emergency exists such that this
amending ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval.
Mailing address:
113 W. Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.fayetteville-ar.gov
CITY COUNCIL MEMO
2026-1016
MEETING OF APRIL 21, 2026
TO: Mayor Rawn and City Council
THROUGH: Kit Williams, City Attorney
FROM: Scott Berna, City Council Member - Ward 3 Position 1
SUBJECT: An Ordinance to amend § 39.10 (C) AND § 39.11 (C) of the Fayetteville Code
RECOMMENDATION:
To amend § 39.10 (C) AND § 39.11 (C) of the Fayetteville Code.
BACKGROUND:
Very few damage claims for water, wastewater or other uninsured city vehicles or infrastructure problems
would ever exceed $100,000.00.
DISCUSSION:
If the City’s experienced professional insurance adjustor would determine that allowable recoverable expenses
pursuant to the Fayetteville Code would exceed $100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous consent should
be able to authorize payment up to the insurance adjustor’s reasonable compensation amount even if it
exceeds $100,000.00.
BUDGET/STAFF IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENTS: 3. Approval Request Form, 4. Memo from Kit
CivicClerk No.: 2026-1016
AGENDA REQUEST FORM
FOR: Council Meeting of April 7, 2026
FROM: Scott Berna
ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION TITLE AND SUBJECT:
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND § 39.10 (C) AND § 39.11 (C) TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF
AN EXPERIENCED INSURANCE ADJUSTOR TO ALLOW RARE, EXCEPTIONAL, AND
SUBSTANTIALLY PROVEN CLAIMS ABOVE $100,000.00 TO BE PAID IF APPROVED BY
UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
APPROVED FOR AGENDA:
Council Member Scott Berna
Chair of Ordinance Review Committee
Kit Williams
Approved as to form
Mayor Molly Dawn
Acknowledgement
Date
Date
3-f6-1-a�
Date
Outlook
RE: Agenda Request form
From Berna, Scott <scott.berna@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Date Thu 3/19/2026 12:22 PM
To Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Cc Pennington, Blake <bpennington@fayetteville-ar.gov>
approved
From: Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2026 11:44 AM
To: Berna, Scott <scott.berna@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Cc: Pennington, Blake <bpennington@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Subject: Agenda Request form
Scott,
Please find attached the agenda request form and the ordinance as recommended for
approval by the Ordinance Review Committee. Please advise if this meets your approval.
If so, I will forward it to the Mayor for her information. I will then send it out with
my memo which includes the explanation provided in my earlier memo to the Committee
as well as an explanation for the retroactive effect back to December 1, 2025, and the
emergency clause as recommended by the Ordinance Review Committee.
Kit Williams
City Attorney
City of Fayetteville AR
479-575-8313
From: City Hall 3rd Floor BW Copier Shared <3rdfloorbw@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2026 11:41 AM
To: Williams, Kit <kwilliarnsCc fayetteville-ar.gov>
Subject: Attached Image
Outlook
RE: Attached Image
From Rawn, Molly <molly.rawn@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Date Thu 3/19/2026 4:00 PM
To Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Dotson, Steven <sdotson@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Great! Thank you and sorry for the delay
Mayor Molly Rawn
City of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Mayar@a fayetteville-ar.gov
(479) 575-8330
n�FYIETTEVIL11111111111190, LE
ARKANSAS
From: Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2026 1:41 PM
To: Rawn, Molly <molly.rawn@fayetteville-ar.gov>; Dotson, Steven <sdotson@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Subject: Fw: Attached Image
Mayor,
Attached is the agenda request form approved by Scott Berna as Chair of the
Ordinance Review Committee. Also attached is the proposed ordinance. Please
acknowledge this agenda request form either by email, or I can bring the original request
form down for your signature. Chief Finance Officer Steven Dotson attended the
Ordinance Review Committee meeting yesterday afternoon if you have any questions or
you can ask me about anything concerning the proposed ordinance..
Kit Williams
City Attorney
City of Fayetteville AR
479-575-8313
From: City Hall 3rd Floor BW Copier Shared <3rdfloorbw@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2026 1:42 PM
To: Williams, Kit <kwilliams@fayetteville-ar.gov>
Subject: Attached Image
DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE
OFFICE OF THE
CITY ATTORNEY
Kit Williams
City Attorney
Blake Pennington
TO: Mayor Senior Assistant City Attorney
City Council Hannah Hungate
Kara Paxton, City Cleric/ Treasurer Assistant City Attorney
Stacy Barnes
CC: Keith Macedo, Chief of Staff Paralegal
Tim Nyander, Utilities Director
FROM: Kit Williams, City Attorney`
DATE: March 19, 2026
RE: Report and Recommendation from the Ordinance Review Committee
Concerning Possible Amendment of Claims Code to Allow Payment of Claims
in Excess of $100,000.00
The Ordinance Review Committee met on Wednesday to consider possible
ways to allow the City Council to pay for a clearly proven and documented claim
which our expert insurance adjustor's analysis had determined exceeded
$100,000.00 in Code allowed and valid damages. Only those clearly identified
damages authorized by the Code could be considered, and all parts of the Damage
Claims Code must be complied with by the claimant. The Ordinance Review
Committee recommends the following new subsection to be added both to § 39.10
Water and Wastewater Damage Claims and § 39.11 Damage Claims Other Than
Water and Wastewater Damage Claims.
"If our experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis determines
that the reasonable compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds
$100,000.00, the City Council by unanimous consent may authorize payment of
the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00 and up to the amount of reasonable
compensation as determined by the City's professional insurance adjustor's
analysis."
If the City Council desires to make this new authorization applicable to the
Skrocki wastewater claim, this ordinance would need to be made retroactive to
December 1, 2025 which is also recommended unanimously by the Ordinance
Review Committee (See Section 4).
The existing resolution which requests the correct maximum $100,000.00
payment would need to be amended to reflect our insurance adjustor's
compensatory analysis which exceeds $100,000.00 once the new amending
ordinance is effective.
The Ordinance Review Committee also recommended an Emergency
Clause for this ordinance so it can become effective immediately. This is Section 5
of the ordinance. If the City Council would pass this ordinance amending the
damage claim provisions of the Fayetteville Code on April 7, 2026, the resolution
authorizing potentially more than $100,000.00 and up to the insurance adjustor's
valuation of damages could safely be passed at the April 21, 2026 City Council
meeting. I do not recommend that the City Council attempt to pass both the
Ordinance amending the Code and the resolution granting compensation at the
same meeting because of proof problems about effective dates of these two
provisions. Waiting until the second meeting in April assures that the large
compensatory damage resolution would be valid.
Attached are the proposed and recommended ordinance as well as how the
§ 39.10 and § 39.11 would read if the recommended ordinance is passed.
2
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND § 3 9. 10 (C) AND § 39.11 (C) TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF
AN EXPERIENCED INSURANCE ADJUSTOR TO ALLOW RARE, EXCEPTIONAL, AND
SUBSTANTIALLY PROVEN CLAIMS ABOVE $100,000.00 TO BE PAID IF APPROVED BY
UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, very few damage claims for water, wastewater or other uninsured city vehicles or
infrastructure problems would ever exceed $100,000.00; and
WHEREAS, if the City's experienced professional insurance adjustor would determine that
allowable recoverable expenses pursuant to the Fayetteville Code would exceed $100,000.00, the
City Council by unanimous consent should be able to authorize payment up to the insurance
adjustor's reasonable compensation amount even if it exceeds $100,000.00.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS:
Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.10
Water and Wastewater Damage Claim by renumbering (C)(6) to (C)(7) and enacting a new
(C)(6) as follows:
"(C)(6) If our experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis determines that the
reasonable compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council
by unanimous consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00
and up to the amount of reasonable compensation as determined by the City's professional
insurance adjustor's analysis."
Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.11
Damage Claims Other than Water and Wastewater Damage Claims by renumbering
subsection (C)(4) to (C)(5), renumbering current subsection (C)(5) to (C)(7), and enacting a new
subsection (C)(4) as follows:
"(C)(4) The Administration is empowered and authorized to hire an experienced adjustor
and rely upon the adjustor's professional analysis to establish reasonable compensation for any
valid claim."
Section 3: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 39.11 (C)
by enacting a new subsection (C)(6) as follows:
"(C)(6) If our experienced insurance adjustor's professional analysis determines that the
reasonable compensation for the valid and allowable claim exceeds $100,000.00, the City Council
by unanimous consent may authorize payment of the claim over the normal cap of $100,000.00
and up to the amount of reasonable compensation as determined by the City's professional
insurance adjustor's analysis."
Section 4: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby determines that these
Code amendments shall apply and relate back to any claim for a damaging event that occurred on
or after December 1, 2025.
Section 5: Emergency clause. The City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby
determines that this ordinance should become effective without delay because some valid
allowable damage claims might exceed the current $100,000.00 compensation cap pursuant to the
professional analysis of our experienced insurance adjuster, but without these amendments, the
City Council would not be able to legally pay that reasonable compensatory amount established
by our insurance adjuster's professional analysis pursuant to the existing requirements of the
Fayetteville Code. Therefore, to preserve our citizens' peace, health, and safety, the City Council
hereby declares an emergency exists such that this amending ordinance shall become effective
immediately upon its passage and approval.