This article is adopted in accordance with the authority granted by RSA 31:39, 41:11 and 47:17 and any other applicable chapter or amendment thereto of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated.
[Adopted as Ch. 3, Art. 14, of the Code of Ordinances]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures and regulations pertaining to the operation and maintenance of a twenty-four-hour police wrecker call list.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A readily recognizable place of business conforming to the Zoning Ordinance of the Town, which shall have normal established business hours. For the purpose of this article, there will be only one towing company at each business location.
Any vehicle unsafe for the roadway due to a mechanical failure or accident damage.
This may take the form of either a written reprimand or a suspension from the police wrecker list.
This will be a detailed bill listing the basic towing charge and the specification of any other additional charges incurred, such as storage, labor, equipment, etc.
This type of tow will be mandatory as the result of an arrest, parking violation, unregistered or abandoned vehicle, road service call, or accident scene, where the driver of said vehicle is incoherent or disabled or absent, or in the interest of public safety.
This type of tow will be the result of a disabled motor vehicle's driver or owner selecting a towing company.
Any form of a corrective measure that is initiated by a problem not foreseen by the formulation of the rules, regulations, and requirements that is not the result of deliberate misconduct or nonadherence to this article.
Any vehicle left on a towing company's business location unclaimed over 24 hours from the time of the initial tow is subject to the basic storage rate.
Any person, corporation, firm or entity properly qualified to tow vehicles for the Town of Hampton.
All towing companies will respond to any towing request, and will also be responsible for the releasing of a towed vehicle to its owner/driver upon request and payment of all charges, at any hour of the day or night, seven days a week.
To be maintained and regularly updated by the Police Department. Said list will provide the name of each towing company properly qualified to tow vehicles for the Town of Hampton or any of its public safety agencies and shall contain each company's address, telephone number, and AAA or ALA designation if applicable.
The owner/driver or any employee(s) of a towing company performing any wrecker service.
Only towing companies agreeing to these conditions in writing will be allowed to perform any wrecker service in conjunction with the Town of Hampton or any of its public safety agencies.
A.
Wreckers for removal of vehicles from accident scenes, parking violations, arrest, for unregistered or abandoned vehicles, and where otherwise required in the interest of public safety will be made available by means of a call list that will be maintained and administered by the Police Department. Said call list will be open to public inspection. Impounded and unregistered or abandoned vehicles towed at the request of the Town of Hampton shall be towed to a destination stipulated by the Town, and charges for these tows shall be paid for by the Town of Hampton.
B.
The wrecker call list will be maintained with two sections. One will be the standard list where the wrecker services will be called in normal rotation. This section will indicate the date, time, location, registration number, vehicle description, towing destination, and officer on the scene, as well as the duty dispatcher's initials. The second section will be designed for owner's preference requests. They will be recorded in the order that they occur. This section will indicate the date, time, location, registration number, vehicle description, telephone number of vehicle's driver, towing destination, and officer on the scene, as well as the duty dispatcher's initials. All preference requests shall be supported by a signed preference authorization slip.
A.
A police officer requiring a wrecker will advise the dispatcher of his needs. The dispatcher will then consult the wrecker call list to determine which wrecker is next in sequence to be called. This wrecker will be requested to perform said wrecker service. If a wrecker does not arrive at the tow site within 30 minutes, the tow will be forfeited, and the dispatcher will notify the next tow company on the wrecker list and the tow is assigned to that tow company. When an arrest situation is the cause behind a wrecker being required to tow a vehicle in the interest of public safety, there will be no officer preference under any circumstances.
B.
In circumstances where there is a disabled motorist requesting assistance, said motorist will be afforded an opportunity to review a list of the wrecker services available on the call list. All individuals present at the scene of any tow should be allowed to have the police call for any preference, provided that time avails itself and that the vehicle does not hamper movement of traffic. No officer shall recommend a specific wrecker service. If a specific wrecker on the list is requested, then that request will be so noted and recorded on the call list as the result of owner's preference, and the owner will be required to sign a preference authorization slip. If no owner request is made, the dispatcher will follow the normal rotational sequence of the standard list.
C.
At accident scenes, the police officer in charge will afford the owner or person responsible for any disabled vehicle the opportunity to request a specific wrecker on the call list. This situation will be honored as an owner's preference and so recorded, provided that the owner or person responsible shall sign a preference authorization slip. In circumstances at an accident scene where there is an arrest or the driver of a disabled vehicle is unable to exercise his right to owner's preference, the call list will be utilized in the manner enumerated in arrest situations. There will be no deviation from this procedure.
The Chief of Police is authorized to enter into agreements with towing companies in the Town of Hampton. The following regulations, rules and requirements are established as a prerequisite to participation. They are as follows:
A.
Towing companies desiring to participate in the wrecker call list must have an approved business location within the Town of Hampton, and any towed vehicles shall be stored within the Town of Hampton unless otherwise specified by the owner of said vehicle.
B.
Adequate insurance coverage shall be maintained to cover liability of said towing company. Proof of this insurance coverage will be filed with the Chief of Police. Thirty days' notice of cancellation of any such policy is required. The towing company also will agree to hold the Town of Hampton harmless of any claims arising out of any towing, nor shall the Town be held liable for any towing fees incurred.
C.
The Chief of Police reserves the right to regulate maximum basic rates for towing and storage. Those rates will be predicated upon the requests and consensus of the towing companies and the Chief's discretion in fairness to both the public and the companies participating. These rates will be posted at each towing company's place of business in a conspicuous location. These rates are subject to review upon petition by 2/3 of the participating towing companies to the Chief of Police. A hearing will be held where each towing company will have an opportunity to justify its request for a rate increase, and a rate revision will be made by the Chief of Police at his discretion. This basic maximum rate does not preclude additional charges in instances where additional labor, equipment, and manpower are required to perform minimum or any additional services that may be requested by the owner or operator of the vehicle.
(1)
Towing and storage rates.
[Added 2-21-2008 (Chief of Police)]
(a)
Under authorization granted by § 805-52 of the Hampton Town Ordinances, the following basic tow and storage rates are to become effective 12:01 a.m. on February 21, 2008:
Basic tow rate (all tows) | $110.00 |
Storage (after 24 hours) | $50.00 |
After-hours release rate (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.) | $55.00 |
This rate may be charged for the after-hours release of necessary personal items from the vehicle or for releasing the vehicle. The towing company must have closed for the day and the employee must respond from another location to open the facility to accommodate the owner/operator. | |
(b)
The maximum rate does not exclude additional charges in instances where additional labor, equipment, and manpower are required to perform minimum or any additional services that may be requested by the owner or operator of the vehicle.
D.
The driver/owner of any vehicle being towed under this article will be provided an itemized bill detailing all charges.
E.
The towing company will agree to be reliable, timely and cooperative with the Police Department in its methods of towing, storage, and relations with the public. The towing company agrees that 30 minutes is a reasonable length of time to respond to a tow request and that the Town will move to the next tow company on the list in the event that 30 minutes is exceeded. Requests by the police to clean debris off the roadways at accident scenes will be honored within reason, equipment and manpower available.
F.
The Chief of Police will have the authority to suspend the use of the wrecker call list in times of emergency when an imminent threat to life, personal injury, or property damage exists which requires that the wrecker call list be suspended and the action taken be that which would most readily relieve the existing emergency.
G.
The Chief of Police will have the authority to conduct informal administrative hearings that will oversee the proper processing of any complaints regarding a towing company or the call list.
H.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this article, Public Utilities Commission rights are a requirement for any tow which traverses any Town boundary.
A.
The purpose of administrative hearings is to investigate a complaint or complaints against any participating towing company that indicate a need for corrective action. It is also intended to analyze all the factors involved in any complaint in order to decide upon the most suitable action, be it either remedial or disciplinary.
B.
Prior to any administrative hearing, complaints will be investigated by a staff officer appointed by the Chief of Police to determine the nature and validity of the complaint. The purpose of this procedure is to effectively administrate the wrecker call list in a manner best suited to the interests of the Town, to towing companies, and the community.
C.
If a hearing is recommended, it will be conducted as an administrative hearing and in an informal manner. The procedure used will be as follows:
(1)
Evidence of misconduct substantiating a complaint will be presented by a staff officer appointed by the Chief of Police. Witnesses may be called upon to testify, but this will not be a requirement of any of these administrative hearings.
(2)
Questions may be asked in the form of cross-examination of any evidence that may have been presented. It is to be remembered that this administrative hearing is informal in nature and that the rules of evidence will not be an absolute prerequisite.
(3)
The towing company which has allegedly committed a misconduct will be allowed to present evidence in its behalf. Witnesses may be called upon to testify, but this will not be a requirement of any of these administrative hearings.
(4)
The representative of the Police Department presenting the complaint will have an opportunity to ask questions in the form of cross-examination on the evidence that the towing company may have introduced.
(5)
The Chief of Police will have the authority to determine if indeed there was a violation of the aforementioned rules, regulations or requirements set forth and agreed upon by said towing company. If a violation has been found to have occurred, remedial or disciplinary action may be initiated by the Chief of Police as he deems appropriate.
When a violation of the rules, regulations or requirements is found to have occurred with a towing company, the remedial or disciplinary action that the Chief of Police may take is as follows:
A.
Remedial action. This is any form of corrective measure that is initiated by a problem not foreseen by the formulation of the rules, regulations, and requirements that is not the result of deliberate misconduct or nonadherence to the aforementioned policies in this article. The remedial action will be whatever the Chief of Police feels is necessary to rectify any administrative or operational shortcomings of this wrecker call list procedure. Repetitive occurrences of the same complaint against the same towing company will not be treated with remedial action if a prior hearing has been held and the difficulty continued to arise on the part of said towing company.
B.
Written reprimand. The Chief of Police may deem it necessary to issue a written reprimand as a form of disciplinary action. This written reprimand will be maintained in a file pertaining to said towing company and a copy will be forwarded to the owner of said company. Three written reprimands are prerequisite to the suspension of a towing company from the wrecker list.
C.
Suspension. The Chief of Police will have the authority to suspend a towing company from the wrecker list for any period of time he deems appropriate in relation to the nature of the complaint against the company and the prior record of said towing company. The third suspension from the wrecker list may be for an indefinite period of time.
Appeal of the findings of the Chief of Police and/or any action that he may have taken against a towing company may be taken to the Town Manager, Town of Hampton. The findings and action of the Town Manager will be final and binding.
If any section or part of a section or paragraph of this article is declared invalid or unconstitutional, it shall not be held to invalidate or impair the validity, force or effect of any other section or paragraph of this article.