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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 7682 ORDINANCE NO. #74 10 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 39, "WRECKERS, " OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS (1964) , AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTION 39-8 THEREOF BY DELETING THE REQUIREMENT THAT WRECKER COMPANIES AND GARAGE KEEPERS OR THEIR DULY AUTHORIZED AGENTS, WHEN TOWING AWAY A MOTOR VEHICLE IMPOUNDED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF SAID CITY, SIGN A RECEIPT AC- KNOWLEDGING HIS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE AND ITS CONTENTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-11 THEREOF BY DELETING THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE PLACE AND WRECKER SELECTION FORM TO BE FILLED OUT BY THE OWNER OF A DISABLED VEHICLE CON- TAIN A SPACE FOR THE DESIGNATION OF ANY AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF WHICH SUCH OWNER IS A MEMBER; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-12 THEREOF BY DELETING THE REQUIREMENT THAT A WRECKER COMPANY ON THE POLICE ROTATION LIST HAVE AN ATTENDANT AVAILABLE TWENTY-FOUR (24) HOURS PER DAY TO RELEASE IMPOUNDED VEHICLES; BY FURTHER AMENDING SECTION 39-12 THEREOF BY LOWERING CERTAIN FEES, RAISING CERTAIN FEES AND ESTABLISHING CERTAIN NEW FEES; BY ADDING A NEW SECTION 39-21 PROVIDING CERTAIN CHARGES FOR THE IMPOUNDMENT AND STORAGE OF VEHICLES BY THE CITY OF FORT WORTH; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE OF ALL PROVISIONS OF ORDINANCES AND OF SUCH CODE AFFECTING WRECKERS; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENAL CLAUSE; DIRECTING PUBLICA- TION: 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 Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 39-8. "The chief of police shall issue a license to engage in the wrecker business to all applicants complying with the provisions of this chapter and shall issue an inspection certificate for each quali- fied wrecker of each licensee. No license author- izing the operation of a wrecker business and no inspection certificate authorizing 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 fol- lowing minimum requirements : "(1) Each wrecker shall not be less than one-half (1/2) ton in size; " (2) Each wrecker shall be equipped with a power or band operated winch, winch line, and boom, with a factory rated lifting capacity (or a city tested capacity) of not less than five thou- sand (5,000) pounds, single line ca- pacity; "(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 (3) 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 underwriter that applicant has in force a policy or policies of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to transact business in the state as follows: " (1) A garage keeper's minimum liability policy covering fire, theft and col- lision in amounts adequate to cover liability, as determined under ac- ceptable standards of insurance com- panies 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 injuries in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for any one person killed or injured and three hun- dred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) for more than one person killed or injured in any one accident; fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for all damages arising out of injury to or destruction of property. In lieu of such a garage liability policy, a policy or policies that will af- ford public liability insurance coverage for each of the wreckers used by the wrecker company in the minimum amounts of one hundred thou- sand dollars ($100,000.00) for any -2- one person killed or injured, and three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) for more than one person killed or injured in any one accident and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for all damages arising out of injury to or destruc- tion of property. "Each policy mentioned in (1) and (2) above shall contain an endorsement providing for ten (10) 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. "Wrecker operators, as well as wrecker company owners shall be required to file for a permit to en- gage in the wrecker business. "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, bold 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 other- wise incident to, the towing or storage of motor vehicles. ' " SECTION 2. That Section 39-11 of Chapter 39 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: -3- "Section 39-11. "When a police officer investigating an accident determines that any vehicle which has been involved in an accident should be removed by a wrecker, such officer shall first determine whether or not the owner has already made arrangements for the removal of his vehicle. The name of the person already con- tacted, if any, shall be written on the place and wrecker selection form. In the event the owner has not already made such arrangements, the investigating officer shall cause the following steps to be taken in sequence to complete the place and wrecker selec- tion form: " (a) Place designation. Request the owner to designate the place to which he desires his vehicle removed. "(b) Owned or representing wrecker. Immediately inform police headquarters of the informa- tion in (a) above. The officer receiving such information shall call one of the following wrecker companies and so inform the investigating officer: " (1) The wrecker company owned by the place selected, or "(2) The wrecker company representing the repair business selected. " (c) Owner's request or rotation wrecker. In the event the place designated does not furnish its own owner wrecker service or is not a represented repair business, or if the owner has failed to select a place, the investigating officer shall request the owner to either designate a wrecker company or authorize a wrecker to be called from the wrecker rotation list. " (1) If the owner selects a wrecker com- pany, the name shall be communicated to police headquarters which shall call such wrecker company. " (2) If the owner authorizes a wrecker to be called from the rotation list that fact shall be communicated to police headquarters which shall call the wrecker next in line on the wrecker rotation list, and furnish its name to the investigating officer. The vehicle shall be described and the -4- owner 's signature shall be written on the place and wrecker selection form for the purpose of approving such statements or authorizations made by the owner. One signed copy of the form shall be retained by the owner of the vehicle, another copy given to the called wrecker operator and the original copy shall be placed by the investigating officer in a well bound book provided for that purpose in the police headquarters before he leaves duty on the same day. " SECTION 3. That Section 39-12 of Chapter 39 of the Code of the City of Fort worth (1964) , as amended, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 39-12. "In order to expedite wrecker company service, the chief of police is hereby empowered and directed to partition the city into zones for wrecker company service under a wrecker rotation list procedure and to assign wrecker companies to each zone. Such par- tition and assignment shall be made in a manner fair and impartial to all licensees and in a manner cal- culated to best serve the public. Notice of assign- ment of wrecker companies to any boundary lines of each zone shall be provided each licensee on such list. No such zone shall be assigned more than six (6) companies. Such companies shall be assigned only to those zones in which such company is physically located and/or to zones immediately adjacent to such location. "Wreckers dispatched from such list may be des- ignated as rotation pulls or police pulls. Such pulls shall be assigned by the dispatcher in any such zone by calling that wrecker company first in alphabetical order on such list and making the proper notation on such list of such assignment. "Succeeding assignments shall be made by first exhausting in alphabetical order that list of those companies serving any such zone and then returning to the alphabetical beginning of such list to con- tinue such sequential, alphabetical assignment pro- cedure. -5- "Upon making any such assignment, the dispatcher shall direct such company to remove the vehicle to the place designated in writing by the owner or the investigating police officer. "To implement such wrecker rotation list pro- cedure, the police department shall maintain a master list, which list shall identify such zones and the names of such companies, arranged in alphabetical order, assigned to each such zone. No wrecker com- pany shall be placed upon such list unless such com- pany has otherwise complied with the provisions of this chapter, and further: " (a) Has been issued a license as provided in section 39-5; "(b) Has applied to be on such wrecker rota- tion list; " (c) Maintains twenty-four hour wrecker ser- vice; " (d) Has at least one wrecker not less than three-fourths (3/4) ton in size, equipped with a power-operated winch, winch line and boom, in addition to the minimum re- quirements for wreckers required in sec- tion 39-8; " (e) Has at least two (2) wreckers in operating condition at all times; " (f) Has an established uniform fee for each service rendered standard passenger auto- mobiles and trucks (one ton maximum) not in excess of each of the following: " (1) Towage. A charge up to a maximum of thirty dollars ($30.00) for tow- ing such 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 by the police department at the place where the tow originated. "(2) Extra work. An additional charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) 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. -6- 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 greater depth than an ordi- nary bar ditch. For fee calculation, fractions of an hour may not be con- sidered a full hour; one-quarter (1/4) of any hour shall be the smallest frac- tion permitted for such calculation. "(3) Tandem axle wreckers. An additional charge of fifty dollars ($50.00) per hour for the use of a heavy duty (tan- dem axle) wrecker. No heavy duty (tan- dem axle) wrecker shall be used unless such use is approved by a police super- visor at the scene of the pull. " (4) Waiting time. Waiting time, when re- quired by the police officer in charge at the scene of the pull or by the police officer in charge of the pound shall be five dollars ($5.00) per quarter hour or any part thereof after thirty minutes. "(5) Making vehicle operable. Wrecker drivers at the scene of an accident, when directed by the police officer in charge, shall 'pull' a fender and/or bumper in order to make a vehicle operable for a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per vehicle in ad- dition to the standard fee collected. All fees for making vehicles operable are payable at the scene. A receipt will be issued for each such fee col- lected. SECTION 4. That Chapter 39 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, be, and the same is hereby amended to in- clude Section 39-21 which section shall read as follows: "Section 39-21. "The City of Fort Worth shall charge a storage fee of two dollars ($2.00) per day with each day figured on a basis of twenty-four (24) hours, com- mencing with the time the vehicle is placed in stor- age. The City of Fort Worth shall also charge a pound fee of five dollars ($5.00) per impoundment. " -7- SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, affecting wreckers, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 6. That all rights or remedies of the city of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of Chapter 39 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, and of any other ordinances affecting wreckers, which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such chapter or other ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 7. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable and if any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance shall be declared void, ineffective or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such voidness, ineffective- ness or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remain- ing sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this -8- ordinance since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation herein of any such void, in- effective or unconstitutional section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase. SECTION 8. That any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance is committed, continued or permitted and each violation shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) . SECTION 9. That the City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption, penalty clause and effective date of this ordinance for five (5) days in the of- ficial newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas. SECTION 10. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and publication as required by law and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY S. G. JOHNDROE, JR. City Attorney -9- &E' FERCRIM City of Fort Worth, Texas BAILIFF (I Mayor or and Council Communication GRAHAM J (�(/y�� BROWN DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Wrecker Ordinance PAGE NUMBER ,QSECUTING ATTl'TY5!3/77 G-3658 1 Of 1 Background The recently constructed city owned Police Automobile Pound, located at 1301 North Side Drive is scheduled to begin operation on December 19th, 1977. The activation of this new facility necessitates the updating of the existing Wrecker Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth to discontinue the present proce- dure of allowing wrecker companies to store towed vehicles on their premises and provide for storage of these vehicles in the new Police Auto Pound. Attached is a copy of the proposed Wrecker Ordinance, prepared by the City of Fort Worth Legal Department to implement the above changes and which includes the following specific changes: 1. Deletion of requirement that wrecker companies sign receipt accepting responsibility of safe return of vehicle and contents; 2. Deletion of requirement that wrecker selection form contain space for designation of automobile club of which vehicle owner is a member; 3. Deletion of requirement that rotation wrecker company have attendant on duty 24-hours per day to release impounded vehicles. 4. Restructured fee schedule (developed with cooperation of wrecker com- panies, Legal and Police Departments) ; a. Use of dolly - $10.00 additional charge b. Extra work - additional charge of $25.00 per hour for removing vehicles off the street right-of-way c. Tandem axle wreckers - $50.00 additional charge for use of tandem axle wrecker d. Deletion of $1.50 per day fee charged for storage by wrecker companies e. Established $2.00 per day fee for storage at City owned automobile pound f. Established $5.00 impoundment fee The ordinance has been examined by Police Department staff and does meet all the requirements necessary to provide improved citizen service in this area. Recommendation It is recommended that the Fort Worth City Council adopt the attached proposed Wrecker Ordinance regulating wrecker service within the City of Fort Worth. RNL:sm Attachment SUBMITTED BY: DISPOSI,TI Y COUNCIL: PROCESSED BY APPROVED OTHER (DESCRIBE) a J, ADOPTED 01". 19 WE :�F 7 a � f7 L E I t�� C17Y SECRETARY (/ DATE L �-(��-N.�.g�.�.�c..e.� .r„ti•.�C. I��^�t-+-+�.� ,etf.e.-.l- P'+•44.3f'�-�- CITY MANAGER �o 3 O -7 /' �