This chapter is entitled the "Towing Regulations Local Law of the Village
of Highland Falls."
No person, firm or corporation shall operate for hire a truck or other
type of motor vehicle designed and able to provide road service and tow other
motor vehicles within the Village of Highland Falls unless a license therefor
shall first have been obtained from the Clerk of the Village of Highland Falls
as hereinafter provided. However, tow truck operators doing business and based
from outside the Village of Highland Falls may enter the Village of Highland
Falls without a license to remove a motor vehicle from any garage, private
residence or any street by permission of the owner.
No such license shall be issued unless an affidavit of application therefor
has been filed with the Village Clerk by the applicant, duly sworn to by said
applicant before a duly licensed notary public of the State of New York, and
thereafter approved. The application shall include the following information:
A. The name and business address of the applicant and, if
a natural person, his age and residence address.
B. The registration number of the tow truck to be operated
and the New York State repair garage license number.
C. The amount of liability insurance for personal injury
and property damage on said tow truck; the name of the insurance company,
which must be licensed to do business in the State of New York; and the policy
number. The limits shall be not less than $100,000 for each person and $300,000
for each occurrence and not less than $10,000 for property damage.
D. A certificate of insurance shall be provided which requires
notice to the Village in the event of cancellation or nonrenewal.
No such license shall be issued unless the applicant agrees to charge
reasonable rates for towing within the Village of Highland Falls.
No such license shall be issued unless the applicant agrees to charge
no more than reasonable rates for road service, regardless of distance, within
the Village of Highland Falls.
Every license issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire on the 20th
day of January following the issuance thereof, and no such license is transferable
from one operator or another nor from one truck to another without the prior
consent of the Village Board.
[Amended 6-16-1987 by L.L. No. 6-1987]
The annual license fee for 12 months or part thereof, payable to the
Village Clerk, for each such license or renewal thereof, which license may
cover all tow truck or trucks owned and listed by a licensee, shall be established
by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
On each side of every tow truck for which a license has been granted,
there shall be legibly inscribed, in letters not less than three inches high,
the name and address of the owner of such tow truck or the person, firm or
corporation having the license number assigned to such tow truck by the Village
Clerk and the license number posted in cab.
The licensed firm shall be responsible for the collection of all fees
for service, towing or storage of any vehicle. Neither the Village of Highland
Falls nor any of its agencies or employees shall act as agent for the collection
of any fees, nor shall they be held responsible in the event of nonpayment
of any moneys due to any licensed firm as a result of services performed in
accordance with this chapter. All licensed tow operators are authorized to
collect reasonable fee in the event that the Village requests towing or impounding.
The Village Board may in each case, after a public hearing, either deny
a license to any applicant whom the Board shall determine to be an undesirable
person or incapable of properly conducting a road service or tow truck business
or revoke the license or licenses of any licensee whom the Board shall determine
has violated the provisions of this chapter.
The specific dollar amounts established herein for liability insurance
requirements and license fees are subject to change by local law or resolution
of the Village Board.
If this chapter is adopted in identical form by the Town of Highlands,
then:
A. A tow operator with a principal office or place of business
in the Town of Highlands outside the Village shall apply for a license hereunder
to the Town of Highlands; a tow operator with a principal office or place
of business in the Village of Highland Falls shall apply to said Village;
and such license shall be deemed valid for both the Town of Highlands outside
the Village and the Village of Highland Falls.
B. This provision shall be effective if and only so long
as said two municipalities have identical chapters containing all these provisions.
If the police agency directs a licensed tow operator to tow and impound a motor vehicle, such operator shall provide the facilities to store said vehicle. In case of impounds, no charge for storage shall be made in excess of an amount set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees. The operator shall provide liability insurance covering said stored vehicles in amounts not less than in §
217-3C, and said policy shall name the Town of Highlands as an additional insured.