A draft ordinance establishing price caps and protocols for towing companies seeking placement on the Garland County Sheriff's Department's call list doesn't address retrieval of property inside vehicles, an omission several justices of the peace say defeats the intent behind the ordinance.
The Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee's unanimous voice vote Monday night advanced the ordinance to the full quorum court after a lengthy debate over an amendment allowing vehicle owners or operators to remove personal property at the scene of a nonconsent tow, which occurs when a car is towed from an accident or incident scene.
It also required the owner or operator be notified that they can retrieve personal items but didn't stipulate who was responsible for the notification -- the sheriff's department, or the towing service.
The amendment introduced by District 13 JP Larry Raney was adopted by a voice vote, with District 9 JP Matt McKee the lone dissenter, but was later withdrawn after liability and practicality concerns were raised. The amendment was rescinded with the understanding that sheriff's department policy would address the retrieval of personal property.
County Judge Rick Davis cautioned that having the county code stipulate the right to collect items at the scene imposed a liability on the sheriff's office, giving deputies an additional responsibility that's often impractical to execute at an accident scene. He said the notification requirement was also onerous.
"You're creating a problem with this language," Davis told JPs. "I think you're going to make it to where it's so tight, we're going to have people pointing fingers at the sheriff's department and accusing us of stuff we didn't do."
Towing operators and owners in attendance Monday night said they'd be liable for injuries incurred by people climbing on the back of tow trucks to collect personal items, forcing operators to unhook vehicles the sheriff's department had directed them to remove from the road.
"You are going to have people trying to get stuff out when it's on the truck, which is a liability issue," McKee told the committee. "It's one of those things that while it may be a good idea and a nice thought, it doesn't necessarily logistically work in that atmosphere."
Raney withdrew his amendment after it came under fire.
"I don't want to create a situation that creates (towing companies) having to have expenses that are not covered," he told the committee. "By the same token, I'm trying to find a balance where the citizen is protected and has a right to get his personal property."
District 4 JP Mary Bournival said the county was remiss for not including a personal property provision in the ordinance, explaining the inability to access items inside towed vehicles was a central motivation for the ordinance.
"The biggest complaint we had that started this whole thing going was the fact that people couldn't get their children's school books, couldn't get personal stuff out of the car," she told the committee. "And it was the weekend, and he had to wait until Monday to get his personal stuff."
Representatives from the state Towing and Recovery Board, which licenses towing companies, told the committee that items left inside vehicles serve as a security, ensuring towing services are compensated for removing vehicles owners abandon to avoid payment.
"It may be a $300 junker, not worth anything," Greg Cochran of the tow board told the committee. "People would get their fishing poles, crescent wrenches, and we would never receive a dime for towing that vehicle. It's collateral."
State law gives towing and storage services a first priority lien on towed vehicles and their contents but exempts certain items. Personal and legal documents, medications, child-restraining seats, wallets or purses and their contents, prescription eyeglasses, prosthetics, cellphones, photos and books have to be released to the owner at no charge.
The committee raised the fee for collecting items or vehicles after regular business hours to $35 after towing owners and operators said $25 was too low. Tracy Watson, an investigator with the tow board, said it's standard practice to charge a gate fee for retrieval of items after regular business hours, even for items exempted under state law.
The ordinance would allow towing companies on the call list to charge $100 for a routine, nonconsent tow, and an additional $50 to tow the vehicle from the sheriff's department's impound lot to the towing company's storage area. It also establishes price caps on other services such as winching ($65), sets a mileage rate ($2 per mile) and creates a towing service advisory committee than can suspend or revoke call list privileges.
Speaking on behalf of Holcomb's Transport & Recovery, attorney Justin Hurst told the committee that the ordinance's pricing schedule will make it difficult for towing services to recover their operating costs.
"I don't think the committee is taking into consideration the totality of the overhead these companies are spending and having to incur to operate these trucks," he said. "The prices that this ordinance submits almost makes it hard to even break even for all these tow companies.
"A more reasonable decision would be to find a number that would provide consistency for consumers and also allow tow truck companies to make a living."
Capt. Gary Ashcraft of the sheriff's department said he used the price schedule he developed when he was chief of the Hot Springs Police Department to establish the ordinance's price caps. The city's towing ordinance allows $85 for a standard, nonconsent tow.
"Because the county is more spread out, we're letting (towing companies) charge $2 a mile," Ashcraft told the committee. "If you pass this ordinance, you're not going to have one of these guys who wants to get off the list, but you're going to have a whole bunch more that wants to get on the list."
Local on 05/25/2016