[Added 1-7-1997 (Ch.
67 of the 1995 Code)]
[Amended 10-3-2006]
The purpose of this article is to establish a procedure for
providing towing services to the City of Rochester. The intent is
to have six individual towing services available 24 hours a day on
a rotating basis.
Any business or individual desiring to provide towing services
to the City of Rochester shall complete an application, which shall
be available at the Rochester Police Department. Each interested applicant
shall provide the information and/or documentation required to the
Rochester Police Department along with a nonrefundable application
fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.).
The business or individual shall meet the following minimum
qualifications:
A.
Be able to provide on-call service 24 hours per day, seven days per
week.
B.
Be able to respond to any call within the City limits within 25 minutes
of receiving a call.
C.
Be able to provide comprehensive general liability insurance with
limits not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.) per
occurrence for property damage, subject to an annual aggregate limit
of one million dollars ($1,000,000.), with automobile liability insurance
with limits of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.) per person
and one million dollars ($1,000,000.) per occurrence for property
damage, subject to an aggregate limit of one million dollars ($1,000,000.),
with the City of Rochester named as an additional insured.
D.
Be able to provide workers' compensation insurance as required by
New Hampshire statutes.
E.
Be able to provide all the necessary equipment to handle the normal
problems that arise in removing vehicles from an accident scene with
at least one of the vehicles being a slide back carrier.
F.
Be able to provide secure exterior and/or interior storage space
within the City of Rochester for any towed vehicles.
G.
Have at least one year of experience in the towing business.
[Amended 10-3-2006]
All applications shall be reviewed by the Chief of Police or
his/her designee. All applications determined to meet the minimum
qualifications shall be placed in a pool of eligible applicants. Six
applicants shall be selected by random lottery conducted by the City
Licensing Board to provide towing services to the City.
[Amended 10-3-2006]
The six applicants selected shall each enter into a two-year
contract between the City, through its Licensing Board, and the individual
towing service. The form and content of said contract shall be determined
by the Licensing Board. Each towing service shall pay the City a fee
of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) for the contract rights covering
the two-year period; two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) shall be paid
upon execution of the contract. Any vacancy occurring during the two-year
contract period shall be left unfilled with the remaining towing services
equally dividing the rotation schedule.
[Amended 10-3-2006; 5-1-2007]
During the contract term, the six vendors shall be on a rotating
schedule and shall be referred all calls for towing which are due
to accident and/or arrest which are police related. The City reserves
the right to call any towing service designated by the owner/operator
of a vehicle involved in an accident who requests the officer on the
scene to call such towing service.
A.
The towing service shall also clean the road area and remove all
glass and debris from an accident scene.
B.
The towing service shall provide free storage to all vehicles impounded
by the police. Towing charges will be the responsibility of the owner
of the impounded vehicle.
C.
The towing service shall, upon request of the City, tow any vehicles
which have been abandoned as defined in RSA 262:32, which are obstructing
access as defined in RSA 31:102 or which are in violation of private
property restrictions as outlined in RSA 262:40-a. Towing and storage
charges shall be as provided by law.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
D.
Emergency repairs and towing shall be provided without charge by
the towing service to all Police Department vehicles. Any parts required
shall be charged to the City at dealer cost.
E.
The towing service shall notify the City of Rochester of any change
in its legal or storage site address at least 14 days prior to the
effective date of such change.
All rates charged by the towing service may not exceed reasonable
rates commonly charged in this area.
[Amended 1-5-2021]
All issues relating to contractual matters relating to the towing
service and the City shall be determined by the Chief of Police or
his/her designee. Failure to maintain the above listed qualification
requirements, repeated reports of failure for response to service
calls, repeated lack of secure storage, or failing to provide the
described services shall cause an immediate review of the contract
by the Chief of Police or his/her designee. A negative review shall
be forwarded to the Licensing Board for further action. Any dispute
or interpretation unable to be resolved between the Chief of Police
and the towing service shall be referred to the City Licensing Board
which shall make the final determination in any such matter.
