[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Windham 2-25-1986 (Ch. 220 of the 1991 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
In order to protect persons who operate motor vehicles within
the Town limits; to ensure that the streets, public ways and public
property of the Town remain open and free of hazard to the public;
and to further effectuate the enforcement of the Town's traffic, parking,
snow removal and other regulatory ordinances, it is determined necessary
to register and regulate businesses engaged in vehicle wrecker and
towing services. The following regulations are promulgated by the
Town of Windham for that purpose.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Equipment capable of accomplishing the following:
A business entity that files a separate and distinct federal
income tax return.
[Amended 11-24-1992]
6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
When a vehicle operator does not designate a specific towing
business or auto club or similar entity that provides roadside service,
the request shall be considered a nonpreference request by the Town,
thereby subject to the Town's towing rotation list.
[Added 4-10-1995]
This is a fee which may be collected when the vehicle to
be towed is located in an extraordinary situation requiring unusually
difficult and skilled efforts and/or special equipment during the
recovery of said vehicle. Examples are: a vehicle in a body of water;
a vehicle no longer resting on its wheels; a vehicle well off the
road into a wooded area or a field with an unstable surface; or a
vehicle well off the road over a steep embankment. (The fact that
all four tires of the vehicle are not on the pavement does not constitute
a recovery/extraction under this definition.)
[Amended 6-9-2020]
A fee which may be collected by the towing business for storage
of a towed vehicle at the towing business' storage location listed
on the wrecker rotation application filed by the towing business.
There shall be no fee charged for the first 24 hours after the towing
business takes possession of a vehicle. The daily fees listed in the
fee schedule may be applied in twenty-four-hour intervals after the
first 24 hours of possession has expired.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
A business engaged in or offering the services of a vehicle
wrecker or towing service whereby motor vehicles are towed or otherwise
removed from one location to another by use of a vehicle specifically
designed and equipped for that purpose.
[Added 4-10-1995]
A list maintained by the Police Department ,containing the
names of those towing businesses licensed by the Town to respond to
nonpreference requests for the towing of vehicles at the request of
the Police Department.
[Added 4-10-1995]
The following minimum regulations must be met on a continuous
basis by the registered towing business:
A.
Each registrant shall own and operate its own wrecker(s) and shall
supply to the Chief of Police satisfactory evidence, including vehicle
registration and title, if applicable, a notarized bill of sale or
a notarized lease agreement, to show ownership by the resident towing
business.
[Amended 11-28-1995]
C.
In registering, a towing business shall hold the Town harmless from
all claims for damages to property and injuries to persons resulting
from the towing business's negligence in the towing of or storage
of vehicles pursuant hereto.
D.
Each towing business shall maintain such records as hereinafter may
be required by the Chief of Police and shall permit their inspection
during normal business hours. Among other requirements, the Chief
of Police may require that a prescribed vehicle accident-damage form
be completed prior to towing any vehicle; that a receipt be kept,
acknowledged by the claimant of a towed vehicle, showing all charges
assessed for towing, storage and repair; and that all records indicate
the place of vehicle storage and any damage sustained during or after
the towing operation.
E.
Each registrant shall permit the Chief of Police or his designee
to conduct regular inspections of each towing vehicle and of each
storage area during normal business hours.
F.
Licensees shall arrive on the scene within 30 minutes of receipt
of a request for service from the Police Department.
G.
Vehicles must be towed and secured at the towing business's storage
location listed on the wrecker rotation application filed by the towing
business. Vehicles may not be driven to a storage lot.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
H.
No vehicle shall be towed to/stored at a lot outside the Town of
Windham.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
I.
A towing business shall clean the accident area of any and all debris
resulting from a traffic accident the business responds to. If multiple
vehicles are involved, responding towing businesses will work cooperatively
to clear the scene of all debris.
J.
Each licensee shall comply with all applicable state, federal and local laws and regulations, including Chapter 120, Land Use, of the Code of the Town of Windham.
[Amended 3-14-1988]
K.
Once approved by the Town, each licensed towing vehicle will be referenced
by a sticker to be affixed by the Town. No vehicle shall have more
than one Town of Windham towing sticker.
[Amended 3-14-1989]
A.
No towing business shall be issued a license until the applicant
has deposited with the Chief of Police a certificate of insurance,
indicating the following coverages:
(1)
Garage keeper's policy, covering fire, theft, wind storm, vandalism,
and explosion in the amount of at least $25,000.
(2)
Garage keeper's liability policy, covering the operation of the applicant's
business, equipment and vehicles for any bodily injury or property
damage. This policy shall be in the minimum single limit amount of
$300,000.
(3)
Road service liability, covering the lifting, hoisting and towing
of vehicles in the minimum of $25,000.
B.
Each policy shall contain an endorsement from the insurer, providing
30 days' notice to the Windham Police Department before cancellation
or amendment of the policy.
C.
Failure to maintain the required insurance in force shall result
in the immediate termination of the towing business's license without
any action on the part of the Town or refunding of licensing fees.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
A.
Those towing businesses wishing to be placed on the towing rotation
list shall complete a prescribed registration form at the Town Clerk's
office and shall submit other required documents to the satisfaction
of the Chief of Police or his designees.
B.
Upon satisfactorily meeting the registration requirement as herein
set forth, the towing business's name and phone number shall be placed
on the towing rotation list, which shall be utilized in response to
nonpreference requests in which a vehicle is to be towed from a public
way or public property, or from any private property at the request
or direction of the Town.
C.
When a request for towing a vehicle is received at the regional communications
center, the dispatcher or his/her supervisor shall select the name
of the towing business from the towing rotation list. Names shall
be selected on a rotating basis; that is, the name shall be selected
which next succeeds the last towing business called for towing services.
The selections shall proceed in this manner until the end of the list
is reached, at which point a towing business shall be selected from
the top of the list, and so on, consecutively.
D.
The dispatcher shall dial a single and separate telephone number
when contacting each towing business. This telephone call shall be
considered a telephone request. If the telephone request is not confirmed
within three minutes, the next towing business on the list will be
contacted. If the towing business is unable to or chooses not to accept
the request for service, the next towing business on the list will
be contacted. In either circumstance, the telephone request will constitute
a turn on the rotation.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
E.
Those towing businesses maintaining more than one towing vehicle
shall be selected only once during each rotation of the towing rotation
list.
A.
No towing business shall respond to the scene of an accident or other
emergency unless specifically called there by the Police Department
or the person involved in the accident or emergency. It is intended
that no towing business owner, his agent or employee solicit towing
contracts at the scene. However, nothing in this subsection shall
be construed as prohibiting a towing business from privately contracting
with any person.
B.
In the event that a vehicle owner or operator requests a wrecker
of his own preference, the Police Department will attempt to secure
the services of the wrecker chosen, provided they are reasonably available,
given the nature of the circumstance.
C.
In the event that towing services are performed by other than the
next wrecker on the towing rotation list, e.g., when the vehicle owner
selects his own wrecker, then the towing rotation list shall be disregarded
and the manner of the rotation shall be unchanged.
D.
In regard to vehicles that have been impounded, it shall be the responsibility of the towing business to record the date and time as well as record the name of the authorized Police Department official that releases a vehicle from impound. In the event that a vehicle is released from impound without documented authorization from a Police Department official, then the towing business shall be subject to action by the Chief of Police in accordance with § 215-9.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
E.
The Town shall not be held responsible for any storage fees incurred
as a result of a vehicle that has been impounded. The only exception
to this will be if the vehicle is owned by the Town of Windham. Refer
to 29-A M.R.S.A. §§ 1861 and 2069, Subdivision 4, for
further clarification.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
F.
No wrecker operator or employee of a towing business who responds to an accident/crime scene for a wrecker rotation request shall photograph or video record any element of the accident or crime scene being investigated by the Windham Police Department, to be shared with the public, the news media, or to be posted on any aspect of social media. Violation of this subsection may compromise an ongoing criminal investigation and will be considered a serious offense when applying § 215-9. Photo and video documentation of towed vehicles for towing business purposes is permitted.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
At his discretion, the Chief of Police or his designee may select
a towing business that does not appear on the towing rotation list
sequence when warranted by the requirement for special equipment and
procedures or when due to the location or exigent circumstances surrounding
vehicle removal.
Nothing in these regulations should be construed as creating
vested exclusive rights of a towing business to be called or selected
for a towing operation requested by an employee or official of the
Town of Windham; neither are the provisions contained herein designed
or intended to restrain the course of free trade nor restrict the
number of qualified registrants on the towing rotation list.
A.
The Chief of Police may remove or suspend any registrant from the
towing rotation list when the Chief finds:
(1)
That
the towing rotation list registration was secured by fraud or by concealment
of a material fact by the towing business owner and that such fact,
if known, would have caused disqualification.
(2)
That
the towing business owner has violated any of the requirements or
regulations established herein.
(3)
That
the Town is not satisfied with the general services of the towing
business or its employees or with the cooperation it has received
when services are rendered.
B.
A towing business may voluntarily suspend itself from the towing
rotation list for a specific period of time due to health concerns,
equipment failure, or vacation as long as proper notice has been provided
to the Chief of Police or his designee.
[Amended 6-9-2020]
[Amended 6-9-2020]
Licenses shall remain in effect for one year, terminating on January 1 annually, unless terminated or revoked as provided herein. (Notation: The 2020 license year will be adjusted to accommodate the change over from May 15 to January 1. See the notation at the end of § 215-11 for the fee adjustment for the 2020 year.)
[Amended 6-9-2020; at
time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
An annual license registration fee for each towing business
requesting placement on the towing rotation list and an annual vehicle
administrative fee for each vehicle shall be set by the Town Council.
These fees will be payable in advance and nonrefundable. The administrative
fee for each tow vehicle is vehicle-specific and nontransferable.
These fees are not in lieu of required state inspections, but merely
to assure that the vehicles are properly registered, have an appropriate
inspection sticker and meet the requirements of this chapter.
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Order 15-144; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Maximum rates for services regulated by this chapter may be
established by the Town Council and filed in the office of the Town
Clerk.
Any licensee aggrieved by the actions of the Chief of Police taken pursuant to § 215-9 hereof may appeal to the municipal officers, in writing, within 10 days of such actions. After a hearing, which must be held within two weeks of filing of the appeal, the municipal officers may reverse, nullify or sustain the decision of the Chief.
