307.03 NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT.

   Within two business days (Saturdays, Sundays and municipal holidays excluded) or as soon as practicable after the impoundment of any motor vehicle under the provisions of Section 307.01, notice shall be given of the impoundment to the owner of the motor vehicle personally; or by regular mail sent to the last known address of the registered owner; or by certified mail where notice of the date of the auction of the motor vehicle as unclaimed is to be held is included. Such notice shall state:

   (a)    That the motor vehicle has been taken into custody and stored;

   (b)    The location where the motor vehicle is stored;

   (c)    The reason for impoundment;

   (d)    The procedure for obtaining release of the motor vehicle;

   (e)    The basic charges for impoundment and storage;

   (f)    That the person claiming the motor vehicle can challenge the validity of the impoundment at a hearing before a hearing officer as provided in Section 307.05; and

   (g)    That failure to obtain release of the motor vehicle within thirty days after the impoundment may cause it to be sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of.

307.04 COSTS; FEES.

   (a)    Storage Costs. Whenever any vehicle, except a bicycle, is stored in a vehicle pound upon the order of the police officer, a charge of five dollars ($5.00) for each day or portion thereof shall be charged for the storage of such vehicle. For purposes of this section, a "day" shall be construed to mean the twenty-four hour period commencing at the date and time such vehicle is impounded by legal authority and every succeeding twenty-four hour period thereafter. When the fees are paid as provided in the first paragraph of subsection (c) hereof, the owner or other person claiming an impounded vehicle must remove such vehicle from the vehicle pound within the same day as defined herein; otherwise, additional storage costs will be incurred and must be paid as provided in such subsection (c) before the vehicle can be removed from the vehicle pound by the owner or other person claiming such vehicle. From the storage charge collected for each day or portion thereof pursuant to this section, the City may retain as an administrative fee that portion of the daily storage charge as agreed to by the Chief of Police and the owner or lessee of the vehicle pound, if other than the City.

   (b)    Impounding Fees. In addition to any storage fees which may be assessed under the provisions of subsection (a) hereof, a fee to defray the costs of impounding, operating, removing or conveying a vehicle, shall be assessed against the owner or other person claiming any impounded vehicle. Such fee shall be deemed assessed and due from the moment of impounding as established in Section 307.01. Impounding fees are hereby determined to be as follows:

      (1)    Forty dollars ($40.00) for all vehicles towed fromprivate tow-away zones within the City and for all other vehicles up to and including one ton trucks and one ton buses impounded within the City limits or from Clearfork Reservoir. Of such fee, fifteen dollars ($15.00) shall be retained by the City as an administrative fee.

      (2)    Fifteen dollars ($15.00) as an administrative fee to be retained by the City, plus fifty dollars ($50.00) per hour, or portion thereof, for use of a mediumsized wrecker, when required, computed from the time such wrecker leaves the garage until the work is completed.

      (3)    Fifteen dollars ($15.00) as an administrative fee to be retained by the City, plus seventy-five dollars ($75.00) per hour, or portion thereof, for use of a large-sized wrecker, when required, computed from the time such wrecker leaves the garage until the work is completed.

   (c)    Payment of Fees. Payment of fees assessed under the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) hereof shall be made to the City at the Police Division, or other designated location, in the Municipal Building; provided, if the owner or person claiming an impounded vehicle arrives at the scene of impounding before the vehicle is removed from the point of the violation such owner or person claiming the impounded vehicle may bar removal of such vehicle to a pound by payment of the following service call fees which are hereby established:

   Service calls within the City limits pursuant to subsection (b)(1) hereof are twenty dollars, if the vehicle has been prepared for removal, if not so prepared, the service calls are fifteen dollars ($15.00).

   Service calls at Clearfork Reservoir pursuant to subsection (b)(1) hereof are twenty doll ars ($20.00).

   Service calls within the City limits pursuant to subsections (b)(2) and (3) hereof are twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

   Service calls at Clearfork Reservoir pursuant to Sections (b) (2) and (3) hereof are thirty-five dollars ($35.00).

   Such service call fees shall be paid only to the operator of the tow vehicle and the operator shall issue receipts for such fees in sufficient number to provide at least one copy thereof to the owner or other person claiming the impounded vehicle and one copy to the City.

(Ord. 83-054. Passed 3-15-83.)

307.05 PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING.

   (a)    Right to Hearing. A person who is the owner or lienholder of record of a vehicle which has been impounded pursuant to the authority granted under Section 307.01 has a right to a post seizure administrative hearing to determine whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle. Such person must file a writtendemand, on forms provided, for such a hearing with the Municipality within five days after such person has learned such vehicle has been impounded or within five days after the mailing of the date set in the notice of impoundment, whichever occurs first.

   (b)    Conduct of Hearing. A hearing shall be conducted before a hearing officer, who shall be the Director of Law or his designee, within seventy-two hours of receipt of a written demand therefor from the person seeking the hearing unless such person waives the right to a speedy hearing. Saturdays, Sundays and municipal holidays are to be excluded from the calculation of the seventy-two hour period. The sole issue before the hearing officer shall be whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. "Probable cause to impound" means a state of facts from which a person of ordinary care and prudence would conclude that there were sufficient grounds for removal of the vehicle under the authority granted in Section 307.01.

   The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. The person demanding the hearing shall carry the burden of establishing that such person has the right to possession of the vehicle. The Police Division shall carry the burden of establishing that there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written decision. A copy of such decision shall be provided to the person demanding the hearing and the registered owner of the vehicle (if not the person requesting the hearing). The only issue to be considered at the hearing shall be the correctness of the impoundment of the motor vehicle. Any question of the merits of any traffic citation issued concurrently with or underlying the impoundment of the motor vehicle shall not be considered. The decision of the hearing officer is final. Failure of the registered or legal owner, or their agent to request or attend a scheduled post-seizure hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such hearing.

   (c)    Decisions of the Hearing Officer. The hearing officer shall only determine that as to the vehicle in issue either:

      (1)    There was probable cause to impound the vehicle, or

      (2)    There was no such probable cause.

   In the event that the hearing officer determined that there was no probable cause, the hearing officer shall prepare and date a "certificate of no probable cause", copies of which shall be given to the possessor of the vehicle and the Police Division. Upon receipt of the possessor's copy of such certificate, the garage having custody of the vehicle shall release the vehicle to its possessor. Upon a finding of no probable cause, towing and storage fees shall be paid by the City in accordance with arrangements made between the City and such garage. If the possessor fails to present such certificate to the garage having custody of the vehicle within twenty-four hours of its receipt, excluding such days when the garage is not open for business, the possessor shall assume liability for all subsequent storage charges. Such certificate shall advise the possessor of such requirements.

   (d)    Pending the outcome of the hearing provided in this section or a later hearing on the correctness of the impounding a bond may be posted by the person seeking possession of the vehicle in order to secure its release.

307.06 SALE OF IMPOUNDED VEHICLES.

   Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, whenever any vehicle which has been impounded by a police officer remains in the possession of the Municipality, unclaimed by any person having the right to possession of such vehicle, for a period of thirty days, such vehicle shall be sold under the direction of the Chief of Police at public auction to the highest bidder, after a notice of such auction has been given by advertisement published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the County, or at the order of the Chief of Police disposed of to a motor vehicle salvage dealer as defined in Ohio R.C. 4738.01 or a scrap metal processing facility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4737.05.

   At least fifteen days prior to such sale or disposal, a notice of the date, time and place thereof shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of such motor vehicle, if ascertainable, and to all mortgage and lienholders of record, advising them of their rights to claim the vehicle upon payment of all towing, storage and impounding fees, and in addition thereto, the costs of any services performed by the Municipality in order to properly maintain the impounded vehicle.

   In lieu of the foregoing, abandoned junk motor vehicles may be disposed of to a motor vehicle salvage dealer as defined in Ohio R.C. 4738.01 or a scrap metal processing facility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4737.05 and in accordance with the provisions and procedures established by Ohio R.C. 4513.63. (Ord. 86-030. Passed 2-25-86.)

307.07 VEHICLE POUNDS.

   (a)   The Director of Public Safety is hereby authorized to create a vehicle pound or pounds to which vehicles may be removed by police officers in the manner herein provided. Such pound or pounds shall be located at such places as may be designated by the Director of Public Safety and may be situated on municipally owned or leased lands or upon private property by agreement with the owner or lessee thereof. Any pound situated upon private property shall have an attendant thereat, at the expense of the owner or lessee, at any and all times during the day or night.

(Ord. 83-054. Passed 3-15-83.)

   (b)    Any pound created or designated by the Safety Director under the provisions of subsection (a) hereof which shall be situated on private lands by agreement with the owner or lessee of such private lands shall be non-exclusive in nature and shall be terminable at the discretion of the Safety Director or the owner or lessee of such lands.

(1969 Code §20.350)

   (c)    No owner or other person claiming an impounded vehicle shall remove the same from any pound situated on City owned or leased lands without the consent of the Safety Director or his designated agent. (1969 Code §20.352)

307.08 IMMOBILIZATION OF VEHICLES BY BOOTING.

   (a)   Vehicles booted under authority of Section 307.01 may be “booted”, for a maximum of seventy-two hours, and then towed. If the vehicle is immobilized by a “boot”, a notice of the booting shall be placed on the windshield, and attached with tape, that explains the reason for the “booting” and the release procedure.

   (b)   An immobilization fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) must be paid in addition to any outstanding traffic fines and applicable storage costs in order to obtain the official release of the vehicle. Payment must be made in cash, by money order, certified check, or personal check. An additional fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) will be charged for any check returned by the bank for insufficient funds or because the account is closed.

   (c)   The immobilizating device (boot) is the property of the City and any damage to this device shall make the offender liable for the destruction of municipal property. Removing this device or moving the immobilized vehicle by any means or in any manner before an official release is obtained constitutes a separate and additional offense and may subject the offender to criminal penalties.

   (d)   The government of the City assumes no liability for loss or damage to the vehicle or its contents while so immobilized.

   (e)   Upon satisfaction of all fees, fines and costs referred to above, an employee of the Mansfield Police Department shall remove the immobilization device or notify the impounding organization of the vehicle’s release as soon as practicable in accordance with Section 307.02.

(Ord. 98-188. Passed 8-4-98.)