HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10129 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10129
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 10, 2018
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*a SUBJECT: POLICE DEPARTMENT WRECKER SERVICES UPDATE
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The Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) is seeking to modernize its current towing policies,
procedures, and methods from the outdated structure which has been in place for over twenty
years. To achieve this, FWPD is in the process of updating the wrecker ordinance, reviewing
wrecker contract terms/conditions, and finalizing a Request for Proposals for wrecker services,
which are in the final renewal year of the current contract.
FWPD is in the last renewal year of its wrecker contracts, which expire on September 30, 2018,
with no further options to extend and will require a Request for Proposals (RFP) for continued
Police Initiated Towing services. FWPD will partner with the Purchasing Division (Purchasing) to
provide background, scope of work, and evaluation factors to allow Purchasing to draft the RFP.
The RFP will follow a timeline that will meet the City's needs and allow for implementation of the
selected proposal(s) beginning on October 1, 2018. To meet this deadline, the City will ideally
award the contract prior to July. The scope will include the City's goals for introducing a more
efficient system utilizing modern technology to better serve citizens and increase efficiencies. In
order to achieve these goals and promote competition to ensure the lowest cost with the best
service, staff will be recommending changes to the current wrecker ordinance.
The wrecker ordinance remains largely unchanged since 1997 (M&C G-11823; Ordinance 12924),
although minor changes have been made as recently as 2005 (M&C G-14972; Ordinance 16664-
10-2005). The goal of the upcoming proposed revisions is to update City policies/procedures,
address changes to State law, and provide flexibility to account for advances and changes in the
provision of towing services. The wrecker ordinance is being reviewed with the current contracted
wrecker companies, FWPD staff, and the City Law Department. There have been several meetings
allowing stakeholders an opportunity to provide input and recommend revisions to the ordinance.
In addition, the conversations are continuing with stakeholders until the ordinance draft and review
process has been completed. Staff is targeting approval of the wrecker ordinance revisions on a
parallel track with the issuance of the RFP for Police Initiated Tow Services and prior to the award
of the new wrecker contracts.
The City's wrecker ordinance as it is currently written does not allow for flexibility to encompass the
many advances and changes in the towing industry. To allow the City to consider updated
technology and a variety of different towing proposals, the ordinance must be updated prior to the
City awarding its new contract. Once staff's recommended revisions are finalized, the ordinance
will be presented to City Council for consideration. Staff anticipates bringing the ordinance for
consideration in early May.
The City of Fort Worth has experienced extraordinary population growth over the last 10 years.
This explosive population boom is predicted to continue for the next 20-25 years. Many current
roads are inadequate to accommodate the daily volume of traffic. Each accident, broken down
vehicle, and lane closure impacts countless drivers every day. Recent technological improvements
have been developed to better streamline efficiencies, improve the experience for the customer,
and allow tremendous data to be pulled for reporting and auditing purposes. This technology can
help reduce the response time of tow trucks to traffic incidents, and allow wrecked and disabled
vehicles, citizens, and first responders to move off the freeways and streets more quickly.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10129
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 10, 2018
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Page 2 of 2
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*a SUBJECT: POLICE DEPARTMENT WRECKER SERVICES UPDATE
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Traffic congestion is consistently ranked a top concern of people living in Texas. Fort Worth is on
the list of top 20 most congested cities in the United States. In 2012, traffic congestion in the North
Central Texas Metropolitan Planning area was estimated to cost motorists $4.5 billion dollars per
year in wasted travel time (Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations). Traffic Incidents
(any unplanned events that cause a reduction of roadway capacity) on freeways and highways
create hazardous situations for motorists and first responders. Secondary accidents caused from
the initial traffic incident are estimated to be approximately 20% of all accidents reported (Federal
Highway Administration), further emphasizing the need to incorporate proper and current methods
to improve overall response.
It is expected that the RFP will be released in April.
If you need additional information, please contact Deputy Chief Ty Hadsell, at 817-392-4645.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS