Modesto puts brakes on towing contract

A Modesto City Council committee is asking the Police Department to do more work on a proposal that would result in drivers paying more when officers have their cars towed because of traffic-related offenses.

Great Safe Neighborhoods Committee members voted 3-0 on Monday to have police officials report back to them in 60 days with answers to their questions. Council members Kristi Ah You, Jenny Kenoyer and Doug Ridenour serve on the committee. Police officials were recommending the committee forward the proposal to the full council for approval.

The vote came after several officials with local towing companies spoke against the proposal, saying it would place a financial burden on their businesses (as well as the drivers who get their cars towed) and put their businesses at risk of being sued. While the police met twice with the towing companies, towing company officials said police did not provide them with enough information or solicit their input. Thirteen towing companies perform these tows and representatives from seven of the companies were at the meeting.

The proposal is for a three-year contract between the city and the towing companies that would replace the current contract, which ends in April.

Drivers now pay a $160 administrative fee at the Police Department to get their vehicles back. (The police also charge the towing companies a $60 fee.) The towing companies charge drivers $215 for the tow and $39 a day for storing the cars. The new contract calls for drivers to pay a variable administrative fee, from $160 for being an unlicensed driver or letting the registration expire, to $250 for driving on a suspended license and $450 for a DUI. The cost of a tow rises to $220, but storage jumps to $65 a day.

The new contract also calls for the police to charge a $60 administrative fee when they have a vehicle towed that has been in an accident and is blocking the road. The police would have the vehicle towed if the driver is not able to do so.

The $60 that the towing companies pay the police would go away with the new contract, but they would be responsible for paying the drivers’ administrative fee to the police and collecting it from the drivers when they retrieve their cars. But some of the towing companies said only about a third of the vehicles they tow are reclaimed by drivers. The other cars end up being sold for scrap or are sold to new owners.

The Police Department expects under the new contract the revenue for its traffic offender program to increase from about $300,000 to about $500,000 annually. The money can be used to hire traffic officers.

The California Vehicle Code lets cities charge an administrative fee to cover their costs of having a vehicle towed. A Modesto report says that cost is $391.08 when the driver is arrested, but some tow company officials said Modesto is including costs it is not allowed to recoup, including about $110 in overhead charges.

The companies also are concerned they could be sued if they release a car to someone without a valid license and that driver gets into a wreck and hurts someone, though the police would train the companies in how to release vehicles.

The administrative fees paid by drivers vary among neighboring law enforcement agencies. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department charges $150, Stockton $188, Oakdale $110, Turlock $160, and Manteca $225.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Modesto puts brakes on towing contract."