When used in this article, the following words and terms, unless the context indicates a different meaning, shall be interpreted as follows:
ETA.
Estimated time of arrival.
Wrecker.
Any motor vehicle used for the purpose of towing or removing disabled or wrecked vehicles.
Wrecker business.
The business of towing or removing disabled or wrecked vehicles on the public streets, regardless of whether the purpose of the towing is to remove, repair, wreck, store, trade, or purchase such disabled or wrecked vehicles.
Wrecker rotation list.
The rotation list of wrecker businesses prepared and utilized by the city.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 1, adopted 7/9/91)
Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this article shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 14, adopted 7/9/91)
(a) 
Each and every individual, business, corporation or entity desiring to engage in the business of providing vehicle wrecker service within the corporate limits of the city shall make application in writing, on a form provided for that purpose, to the chief of police for a license to engage in the wrecker service business and for an inspection certificate for each wrecker vehicle proposed to be operated by such business. Such application shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the applicant, and the number and types of wrecker vehicles proposed to be operated, and such application shall also contain the name, address and telephone number of each operator of the wrecker equipment, and the same information pertaining to the true owner of the company concerned, if he or she is different from the individual or entity identified in the initial portion of the application.
(b) 
Every application, when filed, shall be sworn to by the applicant and accompanied by an inspection and license fee in the amount of $50.00 for each wrecker vehicle proposed to be operated by said business of the applicant, and this fee shall be nonrefundable.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 2, adopted 7/9/91; Ordinance 224-92, sec. 1, adopted 10/13/92)
The police chief of the city shall issue a permit to engage in the vehicle wrecker service business to all applicants complying with the provisions of this article and shall issue a permit to all wrecker vehicles of such applicants so complying. No permit authorizing the operation of a wrecker on the streets of the city shall be issued unless the following requirements are met and certified by the chief of police:
(1) 
Each wrecker shall not be less than one-half ton in size;
(2) 
Each wrecker vehicle shall be equipped with a power or hand operated winch, winch line and boom, with a factory-rated lifting capacity (or a city-tested capacity) of not less than five thousand pounds, single line capacity;
(3) 
Each wrecker vehicle shall carry as standard equipment: tow bar, safety chains, a fire extinguisher, wrecking bar, broom, axe, shovel, flags and flares;
(4) 
Each wrecker vehicle shall have inscribed on each side thereof, in letters not less than three inches in height, the name and address of the licensee. In addition, each wrecker shall have inscribed on each side thereof, in letters no less than one and one-half inches in height, the issued inspection certificate number proceeded by the letters “JW,” which indicate a “Joshua Wrecker.”
(5) 
Each wrecker shall be equipped with at least one 360-degree rotary beacon light which can display a yellow or amber flashing light for a distance of at least three hundred feet during the daylight hours. Such beacon shall be permanently mounted on the uppermost portion of said wrecker.
(6) 
Each applicant agrees to operate the service within all requirements of state law and other applicable ordinances of the city.
(7) 
Each wrecker vehicle shall be equipped with a two-way radio or other communications equipment capable of contacting the police department communications officer.
(8) 
Each applicant shall procure and keep in full force and effect and deposit with the chief of police a certificate of an underwriter that the applicant has in force policies of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to transact business in the state on the standard form approved by the state board of insurance, with the insuring provision of such policy including the city as insured, and the coverage provision insuring the public from any loss or damage that may arise to any person or property by reason of the operation of a wrecker vehicle of such company and providing that the amount of recovery on each wrecker shall be limits of not less than the following sums:
(A) 
A garage liability policy covering the operation of the applicant’s own business equipment or vehicles for bodily injuries in the amount of $100,000.00 for any person killed or injured and $300,000.00 for more than one person killed or injured in any one accident;
(B) 
A fifty thousand dollar policy for all damages arising from injury to or destruction of property.
Each policy mentioned in subsections (A) and (B) above shall contain an endorsement providing for ten days’ notice to the city in the event of any material change or cancellation of such policy.
(9) 
No license shall be issued if any delinquent taxes are due the city by the vehicle wrecker company.
(10) 
A license shall not be issued if the applicant has been convicted of or is currently under indictment for a felony or offense involving moral turpitude.
(11) 
A license shall not be issued unless the applicant provides an adequate storage area located within ten (10) miles of the corporate limits of the city. Such storage area shall have sufficient lighting and other necessary precautions to deter theft. Such storage areas shall be enclosed by a fence at least six feet in height, and such fence shall be constructed of materials which tend to deter unauthorized and/or illegal entry. Every vehicle storage facility must be licensed by the state.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 3, adopted 7/9/91; Ordinance 224-92, sec. 2, adopted 10/13/92)
Wrecker vehicle operations shall be required to file for a permit to engage in the vehicle wrecker business within the corporate limits of the city. In order to obtain such a permit, the applicant shall complete a permit application with the chief of police of the city on the forms provided for such purpose by the city. Said application shall require the name of the proposed vehicle operator, the address of the vehicle operator, the telephone number at which the vehicle operator can generally be reached, the type of operator’s license, and the operator’s or driver’s license number of the proposed operator.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 4, adopted 7/9/91)
(a) 
In addition to a license authorizing a person to engage in the wrecker business, there shall be issued an inspection certificate for each approved wrecker vehicle owned by the applicant. Each inspection certificate for a wrecker vehicle shall state that such wrecker has been inspected and approved under the direction of the chief of police and shall be affixed securely to the inside of the windshield of the appropriate vehicle. No person shall operate a wrecker on the public streets of the city unless a license to engage in the wrecker business has been issued to the owner of such wrecker. No license shall be transferable, and every license shall expire at the end of one year from the date of issuance.
(b) 
Every person authorized to operate a wrecker business for the city shall present his wrecker vehicles at the police station of the city for a complete inspection by the police department once every year during the life of any license or permit issued to individual operators for the privilege of operating a wrecker service.
(c) 
No person shall operate a wrecker vehicle on the public streets of the city unless an inspection certificate for such wrecker has been issued by the chief of police, and no person shall operate a wrecker vehicle on the public streets of the city unless the certificate duly issued to such wrecker is posted on the windshield of such wrecker is provided in this section.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 5, adopted 7/9/91)
(a) 
The licenses and permits provided for in this article may be revoked on any of the following grounds:
(1) 
If the license or permit was procured by fraudulent conduct or false statement of material fact, or a fact concerning the applicant was not disclosed at the time of his making application that would have constituted just cause for refusing to issue the permit;
(2) 
If the permittee has been guilty of the violation of any of the provisions of this article;
(3) 
If the driver or operator of a wrecker vehicle is drunk or disorderly, or his or her conduct is such as to contribute to an emergency rather than to aid it;
(4) 
If the permittee is on the wrecker rotation list and has refused to tow a vehicle at the request of the police department. However, the wrecker service shall retain the right to call the dispatcher and temporarily remove itself from service for the purpose of making repairs to equipment, etc.
(b) 
Such license or permit revocation shall terminate all authority and permission heretofore granted by the license or permit to the applicant. Any person whose license or permit has been revoked shall not be eligible to again apply for a license or permit for a period of one year from the date of such revocation.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 6, adopted 7/9/91)
All individuals, businesses, corporations or entities seeking to acquire any license or permit under the terms and conditions of this article shall be required to execute the following agreement: “I (name), covenant and agree to, and by these presents do hereby fully indemnify, hold harmless and defend the city, its officers, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, suits or causes of actions of any nature whatsoever, whether real or asserted, brought for or on account of any injuries or damages to persons or property, including death, arising out of or incident to the operation of such vehicle wrecker service and all other such operations arising under, or otherwise incident to, the towing or storage of motor vehicles.”
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 7, adopted 7/9/91)
The vehicle wrecker company, or the individual garage keeper, agent or representative, is responsible when towing away a motor vehicle impounded by the police department for the safe return of the motor vehicle and all contents therein to the lawful owner upon direction of the municipal police department.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 8, adopted 7/9/91)
It is unlawful for any person operating a wrecker or towing service within the city in, on or along any street or other public place to tow a wrecked car or motor vehicle without first removing from the street or other public place any broken glass in the vicinity of such wrecked car or motor vehicle, or other debris or junk; provided such wrecking or towing service may clear the street for travel immediately prior to removing the glass, debris or junk.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 9, adopted 7/9/91)
This article is not and shall not be held applicable to bona fide auto dealers as long as they are handling their own vehicles and not operating a commercial wrecker business.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 10, adopted 7/9/91)
(a) 
When filing an initial application for a license, or at any time subsequent thereto, a vehicle wrecker service may also make an application, in writing, to the chief of police for placement on the wrecker rotation list. If the individual wrecker service is in full compliance with all other provisions of this article, its name shall be placed upon the rotation list in the order of its application.
(b) 
When a municipal police officer of the city makes a determination that a vehicle wrecker is necessary to remove a disabled vehicle or to clear an obstruction on a public roadway, he will notify the police dispatcher, giving the time of his request and the location where the vehicle wrecker is needed, and identifying the vehicle or vehicles to be removed. The police dispatcher shall then commence with the first name on the vehicle wrecker rotation list and shall contact that wrecker service or operator and request wrecker assistance as requested by the police officer on the scene. Upon receipt of the next request for vehicle wrecker service from a police officer in the field, the police dispatcher shall go to the next wrecker service on the rotation list, contact that service and request that it dispatch a wrecker unit to the scene. To insure that the rotation list is properly utilized, the police department will maintain a master list and will establish a rotation procedure to insure that the correct rotation sequence is consistently used. When a wrecker service on the authorized wrecker service rotation list is contacted by the police department and requested to respond by the police dispatcher, the individual wrecker operator shall be required to give his ETA at the scene. In the event of a major emergency involving a number of vehicles requiring removal from public rights-of-way, the police department may temporarily abandon the rotation list and utilize the most easily accessible and available wrecker service. As soon as the extraordinary condition has been resolved, the police department will return immediately to use of the regular rotation list. It is the intent of the city council that an emergency departure from the rotation list occur only during the most extraordinary situations and that such deviation should be held to an absolute minimum. At any time that the police department departs from use of the regular wrecker rotation list, a written report shall be directed to the city council at its next regular meeting containing the following information: the date and time upon which a deviation from the list was made, the nature of the emergency or circumstances requiring abandonment of the list, and the time at which the unusual situation was resolved and use of the regular rotation list was resumed.
(c) 
When a police dispatcher dispatches a request to the first name on the vehicle wrecker rotation list for assistance in removing a disabled vehicle or any other obstruction on a public roadway, the wrecker service shall have an estimated time of twenty (20) minutes to respond to the request and arrive on the scene. If, for any reason, the respond time by a wrecker service exceeds an estimated time of twenty (20) minutes on at least two (2) separate occasions within a four-month period, the wrecker service shall be withdrawn from the rotation list for a period of time not to exceed one (1) year, notwithstanding any unusual and/or unique situation that hampers the wrecker service from arriving on the scene within the mandatory time frame. Such unique situation will be reviewed by the chief of police as to its legitimacy. At the expiration of one (1) year, written application to the chief of police can be made for replacement on the wrecker rotation list. The chief of police is granted full discretion in reviewing the application for replacement to ensure that compliance with the suspension time and all other provisions of this article has been made. If the applicant is denied replacement on the rotation list, written notice of an appeal can be made within twenty (20) days after denial to the city council.
(d) 
Each wrecker service placed on the authorized rotation list shall have a secured area to store wrecked, disabled or impounded motor vehicles; all vehicles that are towed will be placed inside these facilities. Secured areas shall be surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence with at least three strands of barbed wire on the upper portion of the fence. Fencing shall be a minimum of seven feet in total height. Structures consisting of a fully enclosed building with secure lockable doors shall also be acceptable as a secured area.
(e) 
In addition to any minimum requirements for vehicle wreckers contained elsewhere in this article, each wrecker service placed upon the official wrecker service rotation list shall have at least one wrecker vehicle a minimum of three-quarter ton in size, equipped with a power operated winch, winch line and boom.
(Ordinance 211-91, sec. 11, adopted 7/9/91)