WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.49, the Town of West New
York may, by ordinance, regulate the removal and storage of motor
vehicles within the town; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(u), the town may establish
a rotation list of official towers to provide towing, wrecker and
storage service without public bid; and
WHEREAS, the governing body, by this ordinance, desires to establish
such a rotation list of official towers, to establish qualifications
for inclusion on that list and to set forth regulations governing
the towers on that list:
To qualify for inclusion on the list of official
towers, applicants must meet the following minimum standards:
A. Minimum vehicle requirements.
(1) Every official tower shall maintain and have available
to render services required by this chapter a minimum of two regular
tow vehicles, two flatbed vehicles and one heavy-duty tow vehicle.
[Amended 1-15-2014 by Ord. No. 30/13]
(2) Vehicle classes.
(a)
Regular tow vehicles must be equipped with a
boom or winch assembly mounted on the chassis, a dolly assembly, a
tow sling or wheel lift assembly at least 100 feet of either three-eighths
inch or seven-sixteenths-inch cable attached to a motor-driven winch.
(b)
Flatbed vehicles must be equipped with a winch
or hydraulically operated bed which slides or tilts to accommodate
transporting of vehicles.
(3) Each applicant shall submit, along with its application,
proof of ownership or lease of the vehicles which will be utilized
to provide services pursuant to this chapter.
B. Minimum equipment requirements.
(1) Every tow vehicle or flatbed vehicle shall have two-way
communications capability with a dispatching center on a twenty-four-hour
basis.
[Amended 1-15-2014 by Ord. No. 30/13]
(2) Every tow vehicle or flatbed vehicle shall be equipped
with the following:
(a)
At least one amber rotating beacon or strobe
light mounted on the highest practical location of the vehicle, visible
from 360° when in use and visible at a minimum distance of 500
feet during daylight hours.
(b)
One snatch block per winch.
(c)
Safety tow lights or magnetic tow lights for
towing vehicles at night, amber colored.
(d)
Extra chains and cable for pulling or securing
a towed vehicle.
(e)
At least one heavy-duty broom, a shovel, a crowbar
or pry bar, a set of jumper cables, a flashlight, one two-pound or
larger fire extinguisher of dry-chemical-type, one dozen flares or
similar warning devices for placement at the scene of an accident
or behind a disabled vehicle, at least 10 pounds of dry sand or a
drying compound for gasoline and oil spilled onto the roadway and
a sufficient quantity and types of tools to enable the tow vehicle
operator to perform proper and adequate emergency repair services
for the tow.
(3) Every tow vehicle or flatbed vehicle shall comply
with any and all state, federal and local laws, regulations and ordinances
pertaining to safety, lighting and towing equipment requirements and
shall be subject to inspection by the Chief of Police or his designee
at any time. No changes may be made in said vehicles or equipment
unless prior written approval is obtained from the Director of Public
Safety.
(4) Every tow vehicle or flatbed vehicle shall display
the official towers' license and shall have the name of the official
tower displayed on the vehicle in such a manner and of such lettering
as conforms to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-46.
C. Minimum personnel requirements.
(1) Official towers shall have available, at all times,
a minimum of four persons to provide the services required by this
chapter.
(2) All persons employed by official towers to provide
the services required by this chapter shall meet the following requirements
and be subject to the following regulations. They shall:
(a)
Be competent mechanics able to provide minimum
road services for disabled vehicles.
(b)
Have a valid driver's license having no restrictions
or conditional endorsements other than a condition requiring the wearing
of eyeglasses.
(c)
Be mentally alert and present a neat appearance
at all times.
(d)
Obey all traffic laws and regulations.
(e)
Be subject to inspection by the Director of
Public Safety or his designee and shall be approved by the Director
prior to rendering any services pursuant to this chapter.
[Amended 1-15-2014 by Ord. No. 30/13]
(f)
Not have been convicted of a crime nor have
had their driving privileges suspended or revoked within the past
year.
D. Minimum storage requirements.
(1) Every official tower shall maintain an inside building
or outside secured storage area meeting the following requirements:
(a)
The storage area shall be capable of storing
a minimum of 50 passenger vehicles and one tractor and trailer. The
area shall have an indoor secured area for the storage of five police
hold vehicles. This area shall be equipped with a door to which the
Police Department can attach its own padlock.
[Amended 1-15-2014 by Ord. No. 30/13]
(b)
The location of the storage area shall be either
within the limits of the town or at such location outside of the town
as to facilitate reasonable towing distances. If located out of town,
it must provide transportation to the storage location from the police
station or accident scene.
(c)
The storage area shall be fully enclosed by
a sturdy fence having a minimum height of six feet, with at least
one lockable gate for ingress and egress, and shall be lighted from
dusk to dawn.
(d)
The storage area shall be in an area legally
zoned for such use.
(e)
The storage facility shall be available for
towing and to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
(f)
The official tower shall have an employee on
duty during all hours in which the storage facility is open.
(g)
The official tower shall not charge a release
fee or other charge for releasing vehicles to their owners after normal
business hours or on weekends.
(h)
The Official Tower shall have 20 spaces available for use by
the Town of West New York to store abandoned vehicles. The Tower shall
keep the junk vehicles for a minimum of six months. During the six-month
period, the Town shall comply with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1
through 7 and attempt to notify the vehicle owner. If the vehicle
owner cannot be located and the vehicle qualifies as a junk vehicle,
then the vehicle shall be processed for a junk title. Once junk titles
have been obtained and it is determined that the value of the vehicles
are below 15% of the bid threshold, then the Board of Commissioners
can determine that the vehicles are surplus property and the junk
vehicles released to the Official Tower, who has stored the vehicles,
to offset the cost of towing and storing the vehicles. The Official
Tower shall accept the junk vehicles as full payment for the storage
of these vehicles. The Town shall not be liable for any additional
costs for the towing or storage of the vehicles.
[Added 1-15-2014 by Ord.
No. 30/13; amended 8-19-2015 by Ord. No. 12/15]
(2) No vehicles may be stacked during storage unless the
stacking equipment is approved by Chief of Police.
(3) The applicant shall, with its application, submit
proof of ownership or lease of the storage area.
(4) The official tower shall be responsible for ensuring
the proper and safe storage of all vehicles towed pursuant to this
chapter. The official tower shall be liable for any damage incurred
by such vehicles while in transit to or while stored in the storage
areas.
Applicants shall agree in writing to assume
the defense of and indemnify and hold harmless the town, its elected
officials, boards, commissions, officers, employees and agents, from
all suits, actions, damages or claims to which the town may be subjected
to any kind and nature whatsoever resulting from, caused by, arising
out of or as a consequence of the provision of towing, wrecking, storage
and/or emergency services provided at the request of the town pursuant
to this chapter. Official towers shall enter into a hold harmless
agreement in a form to be prepared by the Town Attorney prior to being
included on the official towers' list.
[Amended 12-3-1997 by Ord. No. 33/97; 8-19-2009 by Ord. No. 22/09]
A. This chapter
is not intended to regulate and set fees for the provision of emergency
road services.
B. The following charges shall be the charges for basic
towing services and storage:
[Amended 1-15-2014 by Ord. No. 30/13]
(1) Towing charges.
[Amended 5-17-2018 by Ord. No. 9/18]
(a)
All vehicles five tons and under: $125.
(b)
All vehicles over five tons: $250 per hour, two-hour minimum.
(c)
Motorcycles or motor scooters: $125.
(d)
Police and other municipal vehicles: All licensees shall be
obligated to tow and to make minor roadside service repairs to vehicles
owned by the Town of West New York, in the event that they become
disabled, without charge to the Town if towed within the County of
Hudson.
(2) Services related to damaged or motor vehicle accidents.
(a) Crash or window wrap: flat fee of $75.
(b) Site cleanup: $25 per bag of absorbent and $25 for debris removal.
(3) Winching service charge. Winching service charges apply to instances
where the vehicle must be pulled back onto the roadway and put in
proper position to "hook" the vehicle to the tow truck. These instances
include, but are not limited to, vehicles that are positioned in embankments,
overturned or positioned in such a precarious manner that normal winching
to facilitate the tow is unsuitable. The charges are as follows:
[Amended 5-17-2018 by Ord. No. 9/18]
(a)
Light tow vehicle: $75 per hour.
(b)
Heavy tow vehicle (over 10,000 pounds): $150 per hour.
(c)
Snow-locked vehicles: $50 per tow, additional charge.
(d)
Winching fees are not applicable to the towing of parked automobiles
or minor maneuvering of automobiles prior to towing.
(4) Storage charges.
(a) All vehicles five tons and under (including motorcycles): $35 per
twenty-four-hour period or part thereof. No charge for storage will
apply for the first 12 hours.
(b) All vehicles over five tons: $100 per twenty-four-hour period or
part thereof.
(5) Any person found to be in violation of the terms and
conditions of this chapter two times within any one year shall have
his license to operate a tow vehicle or towing service in the Town
of West New York suspended for six months.
(6) It shall be the duty of all official towers and towing
services to maintain a listing of the rates shown herein in their
vehicles and posted at their facilities.
(7) If the owner of an unattended vehicle appears on the scene and the
vehicle does not need to be towed or impounded, the licensee shall
not charge for the service call, unless the vehicle has been hooked
up to the tow truck, in which event a flat fee of a towing charge
of $80 may be assessed against the owner of the vehicle. The tow operator
is not required to wait more than five minutes on scene to receive
payment.
[Amended 5-17-2018 by Ord. No. 9/18]
(8) There
shall be no charge for towing, storage, impoundment if it is determined
by the Director of Police that such vehicles have been towed, stored
or impounded due to an error by the towing operator or the Police.
This determination shall be in the sole discretion of the Director
of Police and is binding upon the licensee, who shall make no claims
against the Town or the owner of the vehicle, and if payment has been
received, the payor shall be reimbursed the full amount.
C. The following shall be required:
(1) Every official tower shall maintain a written schedule of all rates and charges, in compliance with the limitations in Subsection
B hereof, and shall make such schedule available to any person requesting same at any time.
(2) Every official tower shall plainly and conspicuously
post, in an area within the premises where customers are likely to
be present, a schedule of maximum fees and towing charges permitted
by ordinance of the Town of West New York.
(3) Whenever practicable, the owner or driver of any vehicle
utilizing official tower services shall be given a copy of a full
schedule of rates at the time the official tower services are rendered.
In any event, a full schedule of rates shall be annexed to each bill
for wrecking services.
(4) Before any license is issued or renewed as provided in this chapter, a representative of the Police Department shall inspect the official tower to determine whether the schedule and statement prescribed by Subsection
B of this section are conspicuously displayed on the tow vehicle.
(5) Every official tower that performs private property or other nonconsensual
towing shall retain, for three years, records of invoices, job orders,
documentation of waiting time, logs, documents relating to services
performed and rates charged, and any contracts under which the towing
company is authorized to perform private property towing services.
These records must be made available for review by the Division of
Consumer Affairs upon request.
[Amended 5-17-2018 by Ord. No. 9/18]
D. The fees set forth in Subsection
B for towing rates are the maximum charges that shall apply for basic towing services unless a competent state agency capable of setting rates for local municipal towing has set lower standard or model rates for such services, in which case those shall apply. There shall be no additional charges other than those provided herein, including but not limited to flatbedding, waiting time, cleanup cost and additional labor when only basic towing services as defined are provided.
E. The fees set forth in Subsection
B for storage fees are the maximum storage charges per twenty-four-hour period that shall apply to an automobile that is stored by a person, unless a competent state agency capable of setting rates for local municipal towing has set lower standard or model rates for such services, in which case those shall apply.