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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8051 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No, 0* > To the Mayor and Members of the City Council February 4, 1997 Xjk% Subject: REVISION OF CITY'S WRECKER ORDINANCE BACKGROUND Under provisions of the current City towing ordinance, Fort Worth regulated virtually all aspects of the towing industry within the City limits. There were only twenty-four wrecker companies on the service rotation fist and only these companies paid the following annual fees: Wrecker Business License at $200.00, Rotation List Service at $250.00, and Wrecker Inspection at $30,00. The twenty-four wrecker companies were divided into four geographic wrecker zones from which they responded to calls for service on a rotation basis. Wrecker companies were subject to removal from the rotation list for violation of the ordinance. A vehicle being towed fell into one of two categories; consent or non-consent. A consent tow was initiated by the owner or operator of a vehicle and a non-consent tow would most generally be initiated by the police department where the driver was in jail, at the hospital or where the vehicle had been abandoned. A non-consent tow would also be a tow from private property at the bequest of the owner of the property but without the permission of the owner of the vehicle. The City maintained two lists. One fist was for consent tows, where the owner of the vehicle did not have a specific wrecker company named to tow the vehicle but needed the vehicle removed from the scene of an accident or mechanical failure. In these cases the owner of the vehicle would request the assistance of the Police Officer at the scene and the officer would request the next wrecker from the rotation list. The other fist was for requests from the Police Department where the vehicle was to be impounded by the police officer on the scene. Impounds of this nature were for a variety of reasons, to include: the driver was in the hospital, the vehicle had been abandoned, or the vehicle had been recovered from a previous auto theft. Non-consent tows from private property made at the request of the property owner were not regulated by the previous ordinance. REVISION OF CURRENT ORDINANCE During a review of the present ordinance, the Police Legal Advisor and the Department of Law found the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act,which became effective January 1, 1996, had superseded virtually all aspects of the current ordinance. The Act took away authority from local government to regulate intrastate transportation of property, pertaining to price, route, or service of any motor carrier including wrecker companies. 01"FICIA1, RECORD CITY SECRETARY FL WORTI, 111, 1Sql]Fn RV THE r.1TV RAAK1Ar_C0 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. TE To the Mayor and Members of the City Council February 4, 1997 Page 3 of 4 Subject: REVISION OF CITY'S WRECKER ORDINANCE yen, 5. There has been a complete overhaul of the consent tow process used by the Police Department. Under the new ordinance, the City may provide this service in the interest of public safety. However it can not regulate the price of a consent tow. Referrals from this"Public Service Referral Towing Rotation Listing" are merely that, and any decision regarding price for a consent tow rests with the wrecker company and the person requesting the tow. The referral list will be managed by the Police Department and will require a response time to the scene of no more than 30 minutes, clean up of all debris, verifiable compliance with all state financial responsibility and safety statutory requirements and the payment of an annual administrative fee of $275 per participating wrecker company. At present, a rotation system is in place which fin-dts the number of wrecker companies allowed to participate in this program. It is the Police Legal Advisor and the Department of Law's opinion that, under the new federal statute, any attempt to regulate the number of wrecker companies under this plan places the City in violation of the statute. Therefore, all towing companies who qualify will be allowed to participate. INANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS In order to determine the economic impact of the new ordinance and its revised wrecker fees, a review was conducted of tows using the new fee structure. Had the new fees been in place during 1996, the City would have experienced an estimated increase of$47,539 in cost associated with wrecker service. However, the new ordinance,based in part on the Texas Vehicle Storage Facility Act, allows the City to adjust its day storage fee from $10 per day to $15 daily. The City currently charges no storage fee for vehicles removed from the Auto Pound prior to the first twenty-four hour period. Under the new ordinance, the storage fee is assessed beginning from the vehicles initial arrival at the Auto Pound. Had these storage fees been in effect during 1996, the revenue generated would have offset the $47,539 additional expense for wrecker services. Additionally,the City will soon recover administrative charges for registered, certified, return receipt letters sent to the legal owner and Hen holder of a vehicle stored at the Auto Pound. The Police Department has now determined this expense to be approximately $3 per letter. Had this fee been in place during 1996, an additional estimated $36,405 would have been recovered by the City. ()FFICIAL CITY S"Els Ay FT. WORTH, 111,,- ISSUED RV THP CITY RAAMA('PQ