The proper and safe functioning of the towing companies has
a critical impact on the safety and welfare of the public since it
involves the use of the public streets of the city, often in circumstances
necessitating prompt removal of dangerous obstructions to traffic.
Therefore, the privilege of any person to engage in a towing company
in the city shall be subject to regulation in order to protect the
health, safety and welfare of the public.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-1)
All certificate holders under this article shall comply with
all applicable state laws and ordinances, inclusive of policies, procedures,
rules, and regulations.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-2)
The police department shall implement and enforce this article.
Furthermore, in addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed
in this article, the department is authorized to:
(1)
Keep
records of all certificates of registration issued, suspended or revoked.
(2)
Require
additional information to clarify items on an application.
(3)
Adopt
rules and regulations, consistent with the provisions of this article,
with respect to the form and content of applications for certificates
of registration, the investigation of applicants, the disposal of
vehicles, and other matters incidental or appropriate to the powers
and duties as may be necessary for the proper administration and enforcement
of this article, to include rules or required methods of accounting
and reporting either by form or electronic systems as determined by
the department.
(4)
Conduct
random periodic investigations of vehicle tow services throughout
the city concerning their compliance with this article. Inspect vehicles
for compliance with uniform vehicle and equipment safety standards,
as established by the department.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-3)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
means any motor vehicle on a public roadway or private property
that has remained without the consent of the owner or person in control
of the property for more than forty-eight (48) hours or as defined
by the state.
includes a certificate holder.
means a continuous series of days, including holidays and
weekends.
means any person possessing a current, valid certificate
of registration to engage in the towing business in the city.
means a written authorization granted by the chief of police,
under the provisions of this article, to a towing company having a
place of business within the city, operating a tow truck that performs
nonconsent tows or incident management tows.
means a situation where one (1) or more motor vehicles have
collided with another motor vehicle, object, or person. Collision
shall also include incidents in which only one (1) vehicle is involved,
such as a rollover, or a vehicle that has left the roadway.
means the person designated by the chief of police to oversee
and enforce this article.
means any tow conducted with the permission of, or at the
direction of, the towed vehicle’s legal or registered owner,
or such owner’s authorized representative, or the vehicle operator.
means a CT permit issued by the state department of licensing
and regulation which is required for a tow truck used for a consent
tow.
Tow truck equipped to tow light-duty or heavy-duty vehicles
according to the manufacturer’s towing guidelines.
Maintain at least three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00)
of liability insurance for the tow truck.
A tow truck with a CT permit may not be used for nonconsent
towing including incident management and private property towing.
means the city police department, chief of police or other
officer representing the city police department.
means an individual who drives or operates a wrecker.
means the municipal judge or designee appointed by the city
manager.
means an auto wrecker with a manufacturer’s carrying
capacity certificate of not less than twenty-six thousand (26,000)
pounds, and capable of supplying air for brakes and electrical power
for lights to the towed vehicle.
means an action taken by or at the direction of the owner
or operator of a vehicle storage facility that is necessary to preserve,
protect or service a vehicle stored or parked at the facility.
means any tow of a vehicle in which the tow truck is summoned
because of a traffic accident or incident.
An IM permit issued by the state department of licensing
and regulation is required for any nonconsent tow initiated by a peace
officer.
Tow truck equipped to tow light-duty or heavy-duty vehicles
according to the manufacturer’s towing guidelines.
Maintain at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00)
of liability insurance for the tow truck.
Maintain at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) of cargo
insurance for the tow truck.
A tow truck with an IM permit may also be used for private property
towing and consent towing.
means a number assigned by the police department to an incident.
means any vehicle in which all four (4) wheels are covered
by more than four (4) inches of water. “In the water”
shall not mean street flooding or water on public streets or city
rights-of-way.
means a verbal or written directive issued by the police
chief or any police officer of the city police department in the performance
of official duties in the enforcement of this article and any rules
and regulations promulgated under this article.
means the wrecker service whose permit number is the next
number on a rotation list and which the department knows by schedule.
Rotation is at 6:00 a.m.
means the towing of a vehicle without the written or verbal
authorization of the operator, owner or lienholder.
means the towing service that is on call for the next twenty-four
(24) hours.
means to drive or to be in control of a tow truck.
means the driver of a tow truck, the owner of a tow truck,
or the holder of a vehicle tow service certificate of registration.
means public or private property used, in whole or in part,
for restricted or paid vehicle parking.
means an individual, assumed name entity, partnership, joint
venture, association, corporation, or other legal entity.
means a PP permit issued by state department of licensing
and regulation which is required for a tow truck used to perform a
nonconsent tow authorized by a parking facility owner.
Tow truck equipped to tow light-duty or heavy-duty vehicles
according to the manufacturer’s towing guidelines.
Maintain at least three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00)
of liability insurance for the tow truck.
Maintain at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) of cargo
insurance for the tow truck.
A tow truck with a PP permit may also be used for consent towing
but not for incident management towing.
means any point of access by a vehicle to private property.
means a person, or the person’s agent or lessee, who
holds legal title, deed, or right of occupancy to private property,
but does not include a vehicle tow service certificate holder or an
employee or representative of a vehicle tow service certificate holder.
means a call system used by the city for the removal of vehicles
from the public rights-of-way or public streets.
means the list of registered towing companies maintained
by the city police department for “on call” duty.
means the call rotation number the city assigns to a wrecker
service.
means the state agency responsible for regulating the towing
and storage industry.
means a wrecker or any truck or other vehicle equipped with
cables, winches, hoists, and wheel dollies or other devices capable
of lifting and towing or otherwise transporting another vehicle from
one place to another with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) that
shall not be less than ten thousand (10,000) pounds as rated by the
manufacturer or certifying laboratory (one-ton truck) and shall be
equipped with dual rear wheels and tires. “Tow truck”
includes a roll-back type vehicle.
means a vehicle which is parked on private property without
the consent of the property owner.
means:
means a person, or the designated agent of a person, who:
means a state licensed garage, parking lot, or any type of
facility owned by a person other than a governmental entity for storing
or parking vehicles as defined by state law.
means days of the week dedicated for work, excluding weekends
and nationally recognized holidays.
means a tow truck or a vehicle designed for the towing of
other vehicles.
means the business of towing, moving or removing vehicles
through the use of a vehicle for compensation, regardless of whether
the purpose of the removal is to transport wrecked or disabled vehicles,
repair, wreck, store, trade, purchase, or repossess vehicles or to
remove illegally or unauthorized parked vehicles. Any person who operates
more than one (1) wrecker service shall comply with all applicable
rules and regulations for the additional wrecker service.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-4)
This article does not apply to a person who engages in towing
a vehicle:
(1)
In
connection with a bona fide repossession of same, when written authorization
has been received from the mortgagee; or
(2)
Which
is abandoned, and the property owner where the vehicle is located
gives written certification of the abandonment and requests the removal
of a specifically identified vehicle.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-5)
(a)
The
department will maintain the call list.
(1)
Rotation list.
The rotation list shall indicate all
valid city wrecker tag numbers. Each will be allowed one (1) twenty-four-hour
period on call from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Vehicles declared as junk
vehicles will be towed by the on-call tow company between 8:00 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excepting city holidays. Once
a wrecker service accepts a junk call they may not pass after arriving
on the scene.
(2)
On-call rotation list.
The rotation list will list all
properly registered towing companies by name, address and phone numbers.
(b)
The
following actions will take place at the scene of any motor vehicle
collision or situation that requires a tow truck to remove vehicles
from the public streets or city right-of-way:
(1)
If the police officer makes a determination that one (1) or more
vehicles need to be towed, the police officer shall ask the vehicle
operator if the vehicle operator has a preference for a particular
wrecker service. The police officer shall notify the communications
dispatcher to request that particular wrecker service. The wrecker
service shall respond within thirty (30) minutes. If the wrecker service
fails to arrive on the scene within thirty (30) minutes, the dispatcher
shall call the “next-out” on the department rotation list.
If the wrecker service requested by the owner is not registered with
the city, the owner or the owner’s insurance company or automobile
club shall be responsible for contacting the wrecker service. No police
officer shall suggest or recommend a particular towing wrecker service.
No police officer shall attempt to influence a vehicle operator’s
selection of a wrecker service.
(2)
If the vehicle operator has no preference, is physically incapacitated,
or refuses to designate for a specific towing wrecker service, or
an emergency situation exists, the police officer shall notify the
communications dispatcher to send the wrecker service who is on call
for the time period. Once the police officer has notified the communications
officer to send the on-call service, the wrecker service shall have
thirty (30) minutes in which to arrive at the scene from the time
the wrecker service is called, unless the call is for a heavy-duty
truck, in which case the wrecker service shall have forty-five (45)
minutes in which to arrive at the scene. If the wrecker service fails
to arrive at the scene within the required time, the department shall
cancel the call, and call the next wrecker service on the rotation
list. The city reserves the right to cancel the on-call service as
warranted by the situation on the scene. If a rotation list wrecker
accepts the dispatch to the call, the wrecker service may not pass
once arriving at the scene.
(3)
Upon the arrival of the wrecker service, the police officer shall
complete the vehicle inventory form in the presence of the tow truck
driver as required for a nonconsent tow. The vehicle operator and
tow truck driver shall properly sign the form before the vehicle is
towed from the scene.
(4)
Upon the proper completion of the vehicle inventory form, the tow
truck driver shall deliver the vehicle to the company’s storage
lot unless the tow is a consent tow and requested to deliver the vehicle
to another location. All nonconsent tows shall be towed to the wrecker
service’s storage lot located within the city limits or if directed
by the department to be delivered to another location.
(5)
No tow truck operator or agent shall be within one thousand (1,000)
feet of the scene unless properly dispatched by the department. No
employee or agent of the wrecker service shall distribute business
cards or other literature to, or communicate with, any vehicle operator
within one thousand (1,000) feet of the scene unless properly dispatched
and in the presence of a police officer. No wrecker service shall
follow, chase or respond to fire, EMS, or police calls unless requested.
(6)
In multi-vehicle towing situations, the tow service on call is responsible
for all vehicles needing removal, unless other arrangements have been
made that comply with state statutes. If the on-call towing service
cannot remove all vehicles in a timely manner, the next tow service
on rotation shall be dispatched for whatever the on-call service cannot
remove.
(7)
All tow truck drivers driving or summoned to the scene shall obey
all lawful orders given them by any police officer and shall not in
any manner interfere with any police officer in the performance of
the officer’s duty. The police officer on the scene shall not
advise or instruct a tow truck driver on the manner of towing.
(8)
No tow truck driver shall remove any wrecked or disabled or illegally
parked vehicle from any public street or city right-of-way without
authorization from a police officer, or any city authorized employee;
however, the owner or operator of a stalled or disabled vehicle not
involved in an accident may authorize a tow truck driver to remove
the vehicle if no police officer is present.
(9)
Each tow truck driver who is dispatched shall be responsible for
cleaning the street of any broken glass or other debris resulting
from a collision. If more than one (1) tow truck is summoned, each
driver shall bear equal responsibility for the cleanup.
(10)
All recovered stolen vehicles will be transported at the direction
of the city police department. All wrecker service fees will be paid
by the owner of a stolen vehicle stored at the city police department
before release of the stolen vehicle.
(11)
No additional fees such as “standby time” will be added
to any nonconsent rotation tow or next-out tow.
(12)
Wrecker service companies and their drivers, agents, or representatives
shall not address complaints, conflicts or disagreements in an antagonistic
manner at the scene of the accident or tow. Any complaints will be
directed to the chief of police or his designee away from the accident
scene.
(13)
Each on-call towing service will provide local tow service free of
charge to any emergency services city vehicle needing removal from
collision scenes or mechanical breakdown to a location designated
by the city employee while on call.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-14)
Tow fees are allowed as posted on the TDLR website by local
wrecker service companies for nonconsent or incident management tows.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-15)
A “towing fee study” is a study to determine the
fair market value of a nonconsent tow and incident management tow
originating in the city, considering financial information provided
to the city by the towing company requesting the study.
(1)
A
towing company may request that the city conduct a towing fee study
by filing a written request with the city manager by certified mail,
return receipt requested, or by hand delivery.
(2)
Within ninety (90) days after the filing of an initial request, additional towing companies may join the request by filing written requests in accordance with subsection (1).
(3)
The
city shall conduct a towing fee study if the initial requestor and
the additional requestors, if any:
(A)
Accounted for not less than fifty (50) percent of the nonconsent
tows or incident management tows performed in the city during the
preceding twelve-month period, as determined by the city manager;
and
(4)
If
the towing fee study is not conducted the city shall refund the fee,
less a ten percent administrative fee.
(5)
Each
towing company requesting the towing fee study shall cooperate with
the city to conduct the study. Each such towing company shall provide
to the city information determined by the city finance department
to be reasonably necessary to determine the fair market value of towing
services regulated under this article.
(6)
The city finance department shall complete a towing fee study not later than the one hundred twentieth day after receiving all information required under subsection (5).
(7)
The
city finance department shall present the city council the results
of the towing fee study. The city manager shall give to each towing
company that owns or leases tow trucks registered with the city written
notice of the time, date, and location of the city council meeting
at which the study is to be considered. The notice must be sent by
United States regular mail to the towing companies’ addresses
listed in the latest registration applications on file with the chief
of police.
(8)
Based
on results of the towing fee study, the city council may change the
nonconsent towing and incident management fees. The maximum fees must
represent the fair market value of the services of a towing company
performing nonconsent and incident management tows originating in
the city.
(9)
The
city is not required to conduct more than one (1) towing fee study
within a two-year time period, measured from the date the city council
most recently considered a towing fee study.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-16; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
(a)
Report of abandoned vehicles.
The department shall be
notified, in a manner determined by the department, by the storage
facility that it is in the possession of a vehicle abandoned for (10)
ten days with the following information:
(1)
The location from which the vehicle was removed and the date and
time of removal, and the reason for the removal of the vehicle;
(2)
A physical description of the vehicle, to include the year, make,
model, color, state, license plate number and the vehicle identification
number, and the trade name of the vehicle tow service; and
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the vehicle storage facility
to which the vehicle was taken, and the name of the operator of the
towing vehicle.
(b)
Allowable fees.
When a storage facility acquires possession
of a private property, nonconsent or police-towed motor vehicle, the
storage facility is entitled to:
(c)
Weekly report of vehicles that have been released.
The
department will be given a weekly list of all reported vehicles that
have been released noting the description of the vehicles and the
release date of the vehicles.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-17)
As provided for in V.T.C.A., Occupations Code, section 2308.452:
If a motor vehicle has been removed from a parking facility and placed
in a vehicle storage facility without the consent of the owner or
operator, or [by] a nonconsent police tow, the owner or operator is
entitled to a hearing to determine whether or not probable cause existed
for the removal and placement of the vehicle.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-18)
All unclaimed vehicles shall be disposed of consistent with
the Texas Transportation Code chapter 683, Abandoned Motor Vehicles.
Motor vehicles that have not been reclaimed shall be sold at a public
auction, a COA issued (certificate of authority to demolish), or storage
liens filed.
(Ordinance 2011-011, sec. 2, adopted 5/9/11; 1988 Code, sec. 35-19)
