The purpose of this chapter is to:
(1)
Provide the public and the city's police department with prompt,
safe, reliable, and responsive vehicle towing and storage services
by:
(A)
Establishing official police tow services,
(B)
Timely removal of vehicles which are apparently abandoned, or involved
in an accident, or which constitute an obstruction to traffic,
(C)
Contracting with private-sector tow companies, and
(D)
Setting minimum performance standards to ensure quality service.
(2)
Create a fair and impartial means of distributing requests for towing
services among qualified firms;
(3)
Ensure that towing services are prompt, reasonably priced, and in
the best interest of the public as well as the interest of efficient
policing operations for the removal of vehicles from public streets;
and
(4)
Establish a fee equal to the city's actual, reasonable administrative
costs and expenses for administering the official police tow services
providers' agreement and operating a towing program on the public's
behalf.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
The city council finds, determines, and declares that:
(1)
The city needs the services of one or more privately owned tow companies
to:
(2)
The city has enjoyed success in awarding city agreements by using
competitive procedures, delivering high-quality, responsive, and dependable
services to the community. It is now in the city's best interests
to award one or more official police tow services agreements through
a competitive process.
(3)
Establishing a rotational program that allows the city through the
city's communications system to dispatch one or more of the tow contractors
on a rotational basis among tow service providers under tow service
agreements with the city:
(A)
Is sufficient to provide a high level of service at the present time;
(B)
Contributes to the efficient administration of the city's towing
program;
(C)
Ensures safe and prompt towing service on an emergency basis; and
(D)
Assures that an official police tow services provider receives ample
income to adequately maintain equipment, personnel and service levels
to the public.
(4)
California Vehicle Code Section 12110(b) allows the city to charge
a fee for awarding a private company the special privilege and exclusive
right of towing vehicles on the city's behalf. Under that provision,
the city may recover its actual and reasonable administrative costs
related to its operating a towing program.
(5)
As part of its review of the costs in using private contractors to
provide vehicle towing, storage, and road-side assistance to the public,
the city's police department has determined that in the administration
of agreements with private tow companies to provide public assistance,
the city incurs substantial labor costs and administrative expenses,
including, but not limited to:
(6)
The creation of a uniform and annual vehicle towing fee charged to
each towing service provider is an appropriate means for recovering
the city's costs and expenses for administering the agreements with
the private towing firms, operating the vehicle towing program, and
ensuring that the general public does not shoulder an excess or unfair
burden of paying those costs.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases
have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context otherwise requires:
means all direct and indirect costs associated with the administration
of the provisions of this chapter and any agreement entered into pursuant
thereto.
means a trained and/or qualified individual responsible for
the operation of a tow truck or vehicle storage facility.
means the chief of police or a designee of the chief of police
designated by the chief of police to hear any appeal or conduct a
hearing pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
means towing service:
Ordered or requested by the city's police department or other
city employees who are duly authorized by law to remove, impound,
or store vehicles; or
Done without the vehicle owner's or operator's knowledge, consent,
or authorization, regardless of whether the vehicle is on public or
private property. Examples include, but are not limited to, a vehicle
for which registration is at least six months past due, or a vehicle
driven by persons who are not licensed for that particular class of
vehicle, or when an owner or an operator:
means a towing company having a contractual relationship
with the city of Palm Springs to provide towing services to the police
department.
means a person who is lawfully entitled to possession of
a vehicle. The term includes the operator's agent.
has the same meaning as that term is defined in Vehicle Code
Section 460, or any successor legislation.
The term includes the owner's agent.
means an individual, company, firm, association, trust, estate,
partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or an entity,
however organized.
means the chief of police for the city of Palm Springs, or
the designee of the chief of police.
is a motor vehicle which has been altered or designed and
equipped for and exclusively used in the business of towing vehicles
by means of a crane, tow bar, tow line, or dolly, or is otherwise
exclusively used to render assistance to other vehicles.
means a vehicle hauled, pulled, or transported by a tow truck.
means roadside assistance, towing, storing, lien-selling
or related operation for a damaged, inoperative, abandoned, stolen,
recovered, or illegally parked vehicle.
has the same meaning as that term is defined in California
Vehicle Code Section 670, or any successor legislation. A "stored
vehicle" or "impounded vehicle" is any vehicle removed from a site
and taken to the tow yard at the direction of a police department
employee and for which a Vehicle Report (currently, form CHP 180)
is provided to the official police tow service provider.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
No tow operator shall perform nonconsensual vehicle towing at
the request of the city's police department unless the person is an
official police tow services provider.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
Each official police tow service provider shall be placed on a rotation
list in an initial order to be determined by the police chief. The
rotation list shall be used whenever a driver or owner of a disabled
vehicle is unable to specify a particular garage or tow service, or
whenever a police department employee stores or impounds a vehicle
and the driver or owner is not present or is not consulted.
(b)
Official police tow service providers shall be called, in turn, in
response to a police department request. Whenever any official police
tow service provider cannot, for any reason, respond any equipment
needed to accomplish the requested service within the response time
specified herein, the official police tow service provider shall be
passed over and the next company on the rotation list will be called.
The official police tow service provider shall become eligible to
provide service again only in its next turn in rotation. Whenever
a police department employee determines that an emergency exists because
a official police tow service provider is unable, for any reason,
to provide adequate tow service, the police department employee shall
have the right to have such services performed by any other means
available. In the event a police department employee cancels a rotation
tow due to no fault on the part of a provider, such provider shall
be placed on the top of the rotation list for the next requested tow.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
Using an open, competitive process, the city council shall select
one or more persons to serve as an official police tow services provider.
The chief of police shall prepare a request for proposals which, at
a minimum, must include:
(b)
By resolution, the city council shall adopt the request for proposals
and authorize the city clerk to advertise for proposals.
(c)
In evaluating a proposal, the city council may consider all relevant
facts or information, including any one or more of the following criteria:
(2)
Quality of the proposer's existing or proposed facilities, equipment,
and personnel;
(3)
Demonstrated and successful completion of services of similar scope
and size, including, but not limited to:
(4)
Other cities' and clients' evaluations of the proposer's prior or
current services and any actions taken by such cities or clients regarding
the proposer;
(5)
Demonstrated safety record for the proposer's tow vehicles and employees;
or
(6)
Degree to which the proposer ascertained and addressed this city's
needs and priorities.
(d)
By resolution, the city council shall award an agreement to a person
whom the city council determines is the most qualified to serve as
an official police tow services provider.
(e)
When it best serves the city's interests, the city council may do
any one or more of the following:
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
Each official police tow services provider shall enter into a written
agreement with the city, which agreement shall contain eligibility
requirements, operating regulations, fee schedules, and service requirements
as adopted by the city council. The agreement, in a form that the
city attorney approves, must include at least the following provisions:
(1)
Minimum requirements and performance standards for equipment, facilities,
personnel (including back-ground checks where appropriate), and services;
(2)
Procedures for handling and protecting vehicles in the official police
tow services provider's care, custody, or control;
(3)
Conditions for releasing vehicles;
(4)
Maximum allowable rates and charges;
(5)
An indemnification provision satisfactory to the city attorney;
(6)
Minimum insurance coverages and amounts, satisfactory to the city's
risk manager or the city attorney;
(7)
The term of the agreement and grounds for its suspension, termination,
or cancellation.
(8)
Terms and provisions for payment of the vehicle towing administrative
cost recovery fee as required in this chapter.
(b)
The city council shall set, and may amend from time to time, the
tow fee schedule. The term of official police tow truck service agreements
shall be three years, with two one-year options.
(c)
Every official police tow service shall post an approved rate schedule
in a form approved by the chief of police in a conspicuous place on
the premises of the vehicle storage lot operated by such official
police tow service and such other locations as the chief of police
may require.
(d)
The chief of police shall enforce each agreement's terms and conditions.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006; Ord. 1991 § 2, 2019)
(a)
Except as the official police tow services provider's agreement or
the law provides, an official police tow services provider shall not
receive any compensation from the city for providing or performing
nonconsensual vehicle towing. An official police tow services provider
will receive compensation for providing or performing towing service
by its collecting from an owner or an operator any one or more of
the fees and charges that are listed in the agreement's schedule of
rates and charges for the city of Palm Springs's official police tow
services.
(b)
In place of the city's paying compensation and in exchange for the
official police tow services provider's services, the city grants
the official police tow services provider, during the agreement's
term, the special privilege and exclusive right of:
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
The city establishes a vehicle towing administrative cost recovery
fee for the city's administering the official police tow services
providers' agreement and operating a vehicle towing program (VTACR
fee) in an amount as adopted by the council by resolution.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
An official police tow services provider shall, prior to or at the
time the agreement with the city is entered into, and on the annual
anniversary of the date the agreement was entered into, pay the VTACR
to the city. In lieu of an annual payment as required under this section,
the annual fee may be divided into twelve installments with the first
payment being due and payable prior to or at the time the agreement
is entered into and with each successive installment being due and
payable on the first day of each successive month thereafter.
(b)
By resolution, the city council shall establish or modify the amount
of the VTACR Fee, basing it on the actual and reasonable costs to
the city, including administration and overhead, for administering
the official police tow services providers' agreement and operating
the vehicle towing program.
(c)
To reflect cost-of-living changes and to ensure that changing economic
conditions do not impair the real value of the fees and charges under
this chapter, on July 1st of each year the chief of police shall:
(1)
Review the VTACR fee; and
(2)
Adjust the VTACR fee upward or downward by the same percentage increase
or decrease, occurring during the previous twelve months, in the consumer
price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) for the San Bernardino-Palm
Springs Metropolitan Area (published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
U.S. Department of Labor), or applying a similar index if the CPI-U
is not published or available, to the nearest one dollar.
(d)
In addition to adjusting the fees and the charges for cost-of-living
changes under subsection c of this section, the chief of police shall
recommend, with the city manager's approval, that the city council
revise the fees and the charges when a change in the cost of either
administering the official police tow services providers' agreement
or operating the vehicle towing program makes the revision appropriate.
(e)
The chief of police may prepare, adopt, amend and enforce rules,
regulations or procedures for calculating, collecting, paying and
administering the fees and charges under this chapter.
(f)
A copy of the resolution establishing the current fees and charges
under this chapter will remain on file and will be available for inspection
in the police department.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
When a person fails, neglects or refuses to pay, collect or
remit the VTACR fee under this chapter, or such person otherwise pays
that fee but later cancels or stops payment on it and in either situation
that fee's payment, collection or remittance is lawfully due or owing,
the entire amount of the unpaid, uncollected or nonremitted VTACR
fee constitutes a debt to the city by that person, from whom the city
may recover in a civil action. The failure to timely pay the VTACR
shall also be deemed a material breach of the tow service provider's
agreement with the city and the city may suspend or terminate such
agreement on such terms as may be provided in the agreement.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
Official police tow services shall provide towing equipment capable
of providing for the following services:
(1)
Recovery trucks with an adjustable boom with at least eight ton lifting
capacity;
(2)
Wheel lift towing;
(3)
Roll back/flatbed towing;
(4)
Towing in parking garages;
(5)
Towing from off-road areas;
(6)
Towing of large and oversized vehicles;
(7)
Towing of motorcycles without causing additional damage.
(b)
All tow trucks shall be equipped as provided in the California Vehicle
Code.
(c)
Official police tow services shall, at all times, have at least three
fully equipped and operational tow trucks in service. All of the tow
trucks in service must have a minimum capacity of fourteen thousand
GVW. At least one of the tow trucks in service must be a flatbed tow
truck. At least one of the three tow trucks in service must have a
eight-ton lifting capacity.
(d)
Every official police tow service shall be equipped for and have
personnel proficient in unlocking locked vehicles where practicable
when requested to do so by police department employees.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
All requests for nonconsensual vehicle towing service on city or
public property, including public rights-of-way, and the removal of
traffic hazards shall be made through the police department.
(b)
Official police tow service provider's business office shall be located
within the provider's storage yard and at-tended at all times for
servicing the public and the city from eight a.m. to five p.m., Monday
through Friday, except for the holidays of January 1st, known as New
Years Day; third Monday in January, known as Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.'s Birthday; third Monday in February, known as Washington's Birthday/President's
Day; last Monday in May, known as Memorial Day; July 4th, known as
Independence Day; first Monday in September, known as Labor Day; the
second Monday in October, known as Columbus Day; November 11th, known
as Veteran's Day; fourth Thursday in November, known as Thanksgiving
Day; and December 25th, known as Christmas Day. If January 1st, July
4th, November 11th or December 25th fall upon a Sunday, the Monday
following is a holiday and if they fall upon Saturday, the preceding
Friday is a holiday. Official police tow service providers may make
an additional charge for after normal business hours release of vehicles
consistent with the guidelines or provisions of the council resolution
establishing fees and charges for tow services.
(c)
General Rules of Operation.
(1)
Official police tow service provider must be available to promptly
respond twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for all requests
by the city for towing services.
(2)
Official police tow service provider shall release vehicles stored
or impounded by the police department, pursuant to authorization provided
by appropriate employees of the police department. Such authorization
shall be in writing on a form provided by the police department or
may be given verbally by employees authorized by the department to
provide verbal releases.
(3)
All vehicles stored or impounded as a result of a tow ordered by
the police department shall be made available during business hours
to the owner of the vehicle or his representative, or any authorized
insurance agent, insurance adjuster, or any body shop or car dealer,
for the purpose of estimating or appraising damages, except vehicles
with a police hold.
(d)
Removing Hazards. After being dispatched by the police department
to the scene, the official police tow service provider shall cooperate
with the police officers in removing hazards and illegally parked
vehicles as requested. It is the duty of the police officers to determine
when such vehicle should be impounded or moved, and the tow truck
attendant shall abide by their decisions.
(e)
The owners of an official police tow service provider participating
in towing assignments by the police department shall be responsible
for the acts of their employees while on duty. Each official police
tow service provider shall be responsible for damage to vehicles while
in its possession caused by the active or passive negligence of the
official police tow service provider.
(f)
Access to Provider's Facilities.
(1)
All official police tow service providers' records, equipment, and
storage facilities will be subject to periodic checks by police department
or other city investigators during normal business hours.
(2)
Throughout the term of this agreement, every official police tow
service provider shall maintain all offices, storage facilities and
equipment in a neat, clean and organized manner.
(3)
Every official police tow service provider shall provide access to
employees of the city at any time during normal business hours, for
the purpose of inspection or audit to determine that the objectives
and conditions of this agreement are being fulfilled.
(g)
Each official police towing service provider shall record its time
out and its time in or the end of service on every tow truck assignment.
Such records shall be available and open to city examination.
(h)
All official police towing service providers shall submit a monthly
report to the chief of police and finance director, which shall include
the following:
(1)
Total police impounds;
(2)
Number of times dispatched by Palm Springs police department;
(3)
Number of dispatch calls resulting in impounds;
(4)
Number of vehicles sold on lien sale under authority of Civil Code
Section 3072, as may be amended from time to time;
(5)
Number of vehicles sold under authority of Civil Code Section 3073,
as may be amended from time to time;
(6)
Certification of (A) the availability of the names and addresses
of buyers and description of vehicles when sold; and (B) that such
names, addresses, and descriptions are available for inspection by
the chief of police and the finance director.
(7)
Number of calls answered in which time beyond one hour was required
to handle.
(i)
All official police towing service providers shall comply with the
following communications requirements:
(1)
Official police tow service provider shall maintain a twenty-four
hour per day telephone service to receive calls from the public.
(2)
Official police tow service provider shall require the answering
service to retain data and records relating to the city's requests
for towing services on premises for the term of the contract.
(3)
Official police tow service provider shall require the answering
service to promptly accept and relay requests for towing services
made by the city. Failure or refusal to promptly relay the city's
requests for towing services shall constitute failure to comply with
the requirements, terms and conditions of this agreement and may result
in suspension or termination of the agreement.
(4)
Official police tow service provider shall install and maintain at
all times during the length of this agreement, communications between
their tow vehicle(s) and the official answering service. This communication
may be either by two-way radio or cellular telephone.
(5)
Official police tow service provider shall maintain a twenty-four
hour per day communication contact with their tow vehicle(s).
(j)
Official police tow service shall have a secure and environmentally
safe vehicle storage facility with a minimum of fifteen thousand usable
square feet.
(1)
The vehicle storage facility must be located within the corporate
city limits of the city of Palm Springs.
(2)
The vehicle storage facility must be completely enclosed by a six-foot
high wall or fence with no holes, gaps or other unsecured openings,
and a gate. The wall or fence shall have two or more strands of barbed
wire installed in such a manner as to discourage access over the top
of the wall or fence, or the wall shall be a minimum of eight feet
in height without barbed wire. All gates into the storage yard shall
meet the same standards required of the wall or fence. Any damage
to walls, fences or gates which allows unauthorized access must be
repaired within twenty-four hours.
(3)
The vehicle storage facility shall have adequate lighting, and comply
with all applicable building codes, zoning regulations, environmental
laws and regulations, and any and all the applicable laws, rules and
regulations established by federal, state, county and/or city governments.
(4)
No official police tow service provider shall perform any work in
the vehicle storage facility upon any vehicle stored or impounded
by the police department without first obtaining authorization from
the police department and the registered owner of the vehicle.
(5)
Official police tow service provider shall not dispose of any impounded
vehicle, through any process whatsoever, without first obtaining authorization
from the police department. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent
or prohibit the official police tow service provider from commencing
the lien sale process on any such impounded vehicle.
(k)
Official police tow service providers shall abide by all federal,
state, and local laws pertaining to the disposal of unclaimed vehicles
and shall not use any vehicle stored or impounded as a result of tow
ordered by the police department for any purpose except as expressly
authorized under the agreement.
(l)
All vehicles stored or impounded as a result of a tow ordered by
the police department shall be towed directly to an official storage
lot unless the police department or other person legally in charge
of the vehicle requests that it be taken to some other location. Vehicle
release fees shall be established by resolution of the city council.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
When it becomes evident that there will be a delay in responding
to a request for towing service, the official police tow services
provider shall advise the police department of this delay and the
reason for the delay.
(b)
Each official police tow services provider agrees that, for any thirty-day
period, the average response time pursuant to requests for tow service
by the police department, shall not exceed fifteen minutes. Each official
police tow service provider also agrees that the maximum response
time for any single request for tow service by the police department
shall not exceed twenty minutes. Response time is defined as the elapsed
time between the relaying of the tow service request to the tow service
provider and arrival of the tow vehicle on the scene.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
(a)
The agreement shall be subject to cancellation, revocation or suspension
by the chief of police either as a whole or as to any person or vehicle
described therein. The procedure for such cancellation, revocation
or suspension is set forth in this section. The contract holder shall
be given five business days' notice to appear before the hearing officer
to show cause why the contract should not be suspended, revoked or
cancelled for any of the following reasons:
(1)
Nonpayment of any city business license fees or other fees provided
in the contract or by the Palm Springs Municipal Code;
(2)
Breach of any rules, regulations, or conditions set forth in the
contract or the Palm Springs Municipal Code;
(3)
For the violation of any federal, state or local law by the contract
holder, any person having any ownership interest in the official police
tow service provider, or any employee of the official police tow service
provider;
(4)
For failure to maintain a satisfactory level of service to the police
or public;
(5)
For failure to keep any vehicle towed at the request of the police
department in safe condition and good repair;
(6)
For failure to use distinctive coloring, monogram or insignia;
(7)
For any deviation from the schedule of rates set forth in the agreement
without the prior approval of the chief of police;
(8)
Passing on a tow assignment three or more times in any calendar month.
"Passing" is defined as refusing, for any reason, any tow assignment
from the Palm Springs police department;
(9)
For any cause which the Palm Springs police department finds makes
it contrary to the public interest, convenience, necessity, or general
welfare for the contract to continue.
(b)
For equipment violations or business omissions, where the police
department desires to provide official police tow service the opportunity
to correct such violations or omissions, the police chief may suspend
official police tow service from providing service for a period of
time, not to exceed five calendar days. Such suspension shall not
be considered punitive and shall be for the specific purpose of providing
official police tow service time to correct specified violations or
omissions.
(c)
For substantive violations of the agreement between the official
police tow service and the city of Palm Springs, where the police
department intends to take punitive action against official police
tow service, the hearing officer may suspend official police tow service
from providing service for a period of time, not to exceed ten days,
in preparation for a hearing.
(d)
The hearing officer shall conduct such hearing and may receive information
from any source deemed relevant to the inquiry.
(e)
The purpose of the hearing shall be to determine the factual basis
of the allegation(s) against the official police tow service provider.
(1)
The hearing shall be informal in nature.
(2)
Formal rules of evidence (California Evidence Code and/or the Federal
Rules of Evidence) shall not apply.
(3)
Official police tow service provider shall have the opportunity to
respond to the allegations and present information relevant to official
police tow service's defense.
(4)
At the conclusion of the hearing or within a reasonable time thereafter,
the hearing officer shall make a finding as to whether the allegation(s)
are founded or unfounded.
(5)
Upon a finding the allegation(s) are founded the hearing officer
shall determine the appropriate sanction to be taken against the official
police tow service provider.
(6)
The hearing officer shall notify the official police tow service
provider of the finding and/or sanction to be imposed in person, by
registered mail, or by written notice hand-delivered to official police
tow service provider's business office.
(7)
Official police tow service provider may appeal the finding of, or
the sanction imposed by, the hearing officer to the city manager.
(Ord. 1686 § 1, 2006)
