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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 6494 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 39-8 OF CHAPTER 39 OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE (1964) , AS AMENDED, BY INCREASING THE AMOUNTS OF LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIRED OF WRECKER COMPANIES; BY PROVIDING A REQUIREMENT THAT WRECKER OPERATORS SIGN A RECEIPT FOR THE MOTOR VEHICLE AND ITS CONTENTS; REQUIRING INDEMNIFICATION OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH; AND AMENDING SECTION 39-12 BY MAKING PROVISION FOR THE NUMBER OF WRECKERS IN EACH ZONE; REQUIRING AN ATTENDANT TO BE AVAIL- ABLE TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY TO RELEASE IM- POUNDED VEHICLES; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMU- LATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION HEREOF AND NAMING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That Section 39-8 of Chapter 39 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) , as amended, is hereby amended so that same shall hereafter be and read as follows: "Sec. 39-8. Same - Issuance; restrictions on issuance "The chief of police shall issue a license to engage in the wrecker business to all appli- cants complying with the provisions of this chapter and shall issue an inspection certificate for each qualified wrecker of each licensee. No license authorizing the operation of a wrecker business and no inspection certificate authoriz- ing the operation of a wrecker on the streets of the city shall be issued: (a) Unless every wrecker proposed to be used by the applicant complies with the follow- ing minimum requirements: (1) Each wrecker shall not be less than one-half ton in size; (2) Each wrecker shall be equipped with a power or hand operated winch, winch line, and boom, with a factory rated lifting capacity (or a city tested capacity) of not less than five thousand pounds, single line capacity; (3) Each wrecker shall carry as standard equipment: Tow bar, safety chains, a fire extinguisher, wrecking bar, broom, axe, shovel, flags and flares; (4) Each wrecker shall have inscribed on each side thereof in letters not less than three inches in height, the name and address of the licensee, (b) Unless the applicant shall deposit with the chief of police a certificate of an under- writer that applicant has in force a policy or policies of insurance issued by an in- surance company authorized to transact busi- ness in the state as follows: (1) A garage keeper's minimum liability policy covering fire, theft and colli- sion in amounts adequate to cover liability, as determined under accept- able standards of insurance companies authorized to do business in the State of Texas; (2) A garage liability policy covering the operation of applicant's own business equipment or vehicles for bodily in- juries in the amount of $100,000 for any one person killed or injured and $300,000 for more than one person killed or injured in any one accident; $50,000 for all damages arising, in- jury to or destruction of property. In lieu of such a garage liability policy, a policy or policies that will afford public liability insurance coverage for each of the wreckers used by the wrecker company in the minimum amounts of $100,000 for any one person killed or injured, and $300,000 for more than one person killed or injured in any one accident and $50,000 for all damages arising, injury to or destruc- tion of property, "Each policy mentioned in (1) and (2) above shall contain an endorsement providing for ten days' notice to the city in the event of any material change or cancellation of each policy, (c) If any delinquent taxes are due the city by the wrecker company, (d) If the applicant has been convicted of or is currently under indictment for a felony or other offense involving moral turpitude. - 2 - "Wrecker operators, as well as wrecker company owners shall be required to file for a permit to engage in the wrecker business, "The wrecker company, or the garage keeper, or his duly authorized agent is hereby required, when towing away a motor vehicle impounded by the Police Department of the City of Fort Worth, to sign a receipt, acknowledging his responsibility for the safe return of the motor vehicle and all contents therein, exclusive of money, checks, securities or guns, to the lawful owner, "In order to obtain a permit from the City of Fort Worth, the applicant person, firm or corporation seeking same shall be required to execute the follow- ing agreement: "The garage keeper covenants and agrees to, and by these presents does hereby fully indemnify, hold harmless and defend the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents and em- ployees from and against any and all claims, suits or causes of action of any nature what- soever, whether real or asserted brought for or on account of any injuries or damages to persons or property, including death, arising out of or incident to the operation of his (or its) wrecker service and all other of his (or its) operations arising under, or otherwise incident to, the towing or storage of motor vehicles, " SECTION 2, That Section 39-12 of Chapter 39 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) , as amended, is hereby amended, so that hereafter same shall be and read as follows: "Section 39-12 Wrecker rotation list procedure and qualifications "In order to expedite service required under this section, the Chief of Police is hereby em- powered and directed to partition the city into zones for wrecker company service under the wrecker rotation list procedure and to assign wrecker companies to each zone. Such partition and assignment shall be made in a manner fair and impartial to all licensees and in a manner calculated to best serve the public. Notice of the boundary limits and assignment of wrecker companies to each zone shall be provided each licensee on such list. There shall be a limit of six as the maximum number that may be assigned 3 - J in each zone, and the wrecker company must be located within, or immediately adjacent to the zone to which he is assigned, "When a wrecker is to be called from the wrecker rotation list this may be referred to as a rotation pull or a police pull, and in such event the investigating police officer shall communicate that fact immediately to police department headquarters. On receiving the first such communication, the police officer receiving such communication at headquarters shall call the first wrecker company assigned the zone involved to remove the vehicle to either the place designated by the owner or by the investigating police officer or to the wrecker company's own place of storage. On each such succeeding communication, the next wrecker company on the list assigned the zone involved shall be called and proper notation of each of such calls shall be made on the master rotation list. "To enforce the wrecker rotation list pro- cedure, the police department shall keep a master list by zones and in alphabetical order of all wrecker companies which: (a) Have been issued a license as provided in section 39-5; (b) Have applied to be on such wrecker rotation list; (c) Maintain twenty-four hour wrecker service; and (d) In addition to the minimum requirements for wreckers required in Section 39-8 each wrecker company shall have at least one wrecker not less than three-fourths ton in size, equipped with a power operated winch, winch line and boom-, .and (e) Have an attendant available twenty-four hours a day to release impounded vehicles from wrecker company yards upon presentation of proof of ownership and/or release by the police department, (f) Have an established uniform price for services rendered standard passenger automobiles and trucks (one ton maximum) which is not in excess of the following: - 4 - "TOWAGE "A charge up to a maximum of fifteen dollars for towing such a vehicle from one point on a street to another location within the corporate limits of the city as designated, in writing, by the owner of the vehicle or the police depart- ment at the place where the vehicle was disabled. "USE OF A DOLLY "An additional charge of twelve dollars and fifty cents when the use of a dolly is necessary for towing any such vehicle, "EXTRA WORK "An additional charge of twelve dollars and fifty cents an hour for removing vehicles which are off the street right-of-way, such charge to be made from the time the operator begins to remove the vehicle until it is on the traveled portion of the street. Even though the vehicle is within the street right-of-way an additional charge may be made in the event the car is located in some unusual condition within the right-of-way, such as, but not limited to, a river or creek bed or a ditch of great- er depth than an ordinary bar ditch. Fractions of an hour may not be considered a full hour, but one- quarter of any hour shall be permitted as the small- est fraction, "STORAGE "One dollar per day with each day figured on a basis of twenty-four hours, commencing with the time the vehicle is placed in storage, "Each company on the rotation wrecker list shall have at least two wreckers in operating con- dition at all times in order to take care of its own customers, as well as police department busi- ness. SECTION 3, That this ordinance shall repeal every prior ordinance and provision of the Fort Worth City Code in conflict here- with but only insofar as the portion of such prior ordinance or provision shall be in conflict, and as to all other 5 - ordinances and provisions of the Fort Worth City Code not in direct conflict herewith, this ordinance shall be and is hereby made cumulative. SECTION 4. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Code are severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Code shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such un- constitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this Code of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 5. That the violation of any provision of this ordinance or of the Fort Worth City Code regarding the operation of a wrecker business shall be deemed an offense and punishable by a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) , and each violation thereof, and each day on which there is a failure to comply with the terms of this ordinance shall be and is hereby deemed to be a distinct and separate offense and punishable as such. 6 - SECTION 6. That this ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after the date of its passage and publication as required by law. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: /r City Attorney - 7 - J SECTION 6, That this ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after the date of its passage and publication as required by law, APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: rH+��Iv • 1 City Attorney - 7 - City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication Qfy" DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Chapter 39 PAGE NUMBER of the Fort Worth City Code - 3/24/71 G-1756 Wrecker Service l or _3 *41*10 —`Existing Cade Provisions Chapter 39 of the City Code of Fort Worth provides for regulation and licens- ing of wrecker companies. Under existing provisions of Chapter 39 , the Chief of Police is authorized to issue a license to engage in a wrecker business to all applicants complying with the City Code. The license thus issued is not transferable and must be renewed each calendar year. The Chief of Police is also authorized to revoke the license of a wrecker business if violations of the Code occur. The Police Department, as provided in Section 39-12 of the City Code, has par- titioned the City into zones for wrecker service under the wrecker rotation list procedure and has assigned licensed wrecker companies to each zone. When the owner of a vehicle does not have a preference in terms of wrecker service and requests the investigating police officer to call a wrecker, police head- quarters calls the first wrecker company assigned the zone involved to remove the vehicle to either the place designated by the owner or by the investigat- ing police officer or to the wrecker company's own place of storage. On each such succeeding communication, the next wrecker company on the list assigned the zone involved is called and proper notation of each of such calls is made on the master rotation list. Regulatory Deficiencies During recent months, in administering provisions regulating wrecker service, the Police Department has encountered some difficulties which may be sum- marized as follows: 1) Since wrecker companies are not required at the present time to have a representative on their premises at all times to release automobiles to owners, a hardship is created on the vehicle owners as well as the Police Department in attempting to locate someone to effect the release when the owner wishes to reclaim his vehicle. 2) Present provisions do not provide for the issuance of permits to wrecker drivers, only to the owners or operators of the wrecker com- pany; consequently, the Police Department has no control over who actually operates the wreckers. There have been some recorded in- stances of persons with criminal records operating wreckers. 3) Existing Code provisions do not place responsibility upon the wrecker company for any property or possessions located inside the vehicle being moved. As a result, it is necessary for the investi- gating police officer to remove all property from the vehicles, even such items as spare tires, automobile jacks and tool boxes and to store such items at the City Hall for safekeeping. DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Chapter 3'9 PAGE NUMBEG-1756 of the Fort Worth City Code - 2 & 3 5/24/71 Wrecker Service 4) There currently is no limit to the number of wreckers that can be assigned to each zone and a wrecker company may select the zone to which he wishes to be assigned. This results in some zones of the City having more than an adequate number of wreckers assigned while in other zones there may be only one or two wreckers available, resulting in considerable delays to persons requesting wrecker service. In addition, some wrecker companies, because of equipment breakdown or insufficient operating capital, only maintain one wrecker in operating condition; consequently, if such a wrecker com- pany is called and the one wrecker is being used elsewhere, a delay results. Proposed Amendments to the Code To reduce the problems being encountered by the Police Department and to maintain more effective control of licensed wrecker companies on the rotation list, the City Attorney has prepared an ordinance amending Section 39-8 and 39-12 of Chapter 39 of the Fort Worth City Code. The following amendments are being proposed by this ordinance. 1) Wrecker companies will be required to have an attendant on the premises 24-hours a day to release impounded vehicles from wrecker company yards upon presentation of proof of ownership and/or release by the Police Department. 2) Wrecker operators, as well as wrecker company owners, shall be re- quired to file for a permit to engage in wrecker business. Provision is also made that no license authorizing the operation of a wrecker business will be issued if the applicant has a criminal record or has been convicted of immoral conduct. 3) The wrecker company, or the garage keeper or his duly authorized agent, will be required when towing away motor vehicles impounded by the Police Department to sign a receipt, acknowledging responsi- bility for the safe return of the motor vehicle and all contents i therein, exclusive of money, checks, securities, or .guns, to the lawful owner. In addition, wrecker companies are required to deposit with the Chief of Police a certificate of an underwriter that the company has in force the following insurance coverage: A) Public liability personal injury insurance policy covering the vehicles which he tows -in the minimum amounts of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per Accidenti"and $50,000 property damage b) Fire, theft and collision insurance in adequate .amounts to cover his liability, and c) Garage liability policy covering operation of the company's busi- ness equipment or vehicles for personal injuries in the amount of $100,000 for any one person killed or injured and $300,000 per accident, as well .as $50,000 property damage coverage. F DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Chapter 39 PAGE NUMBER of the Fort Worth City Code - 5/24/71 G-1756 Wrecker Service 3 °r 3 4) A limit of six companies is established as the maximum number that may be assigned in each zone and the wrecker company must be located within or immediately adjacent to the zone to which he is assigned. Also, each company on the rotation wrecker list is required to have at least two wreckers in operating condition at all times in order to take care of its own customers as well as the Police Department business. 5) The proposed ordinance also authorizes the Chief of Police to make such rules and regulations regarding wreckers as he deems necessary so long as they are not in conflict with the ordinance itself or other local or State laws. Recommendation It is recommended that the City Council adopt the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 39 of the Fort Worth City Code as herein described. RNNL/je Attachment: ordinance SUBMITTED BY: DISPOSITIONJOY-COUNCIL: PROCESSED BY PROVE Q OTHER (DESCRIBE) / to y M CITY SECRETARY DATE / CITY MANAGER