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§ 112.27 STORAGE FACILITIES.
   (A)   The towing contractor must maintain storage facilities for towed vehicles at his/her own business facility. The storage facility must have signage on the exterior of the business that clearly indicates to the general public the company name and 24-hour telephone number. The towing contractor must have an appropriate staff to be responsive to the police and any individual involved with towing or wrecker services.
   (B)   The towing contractor must have a minimum 20 vehicle storage area. If towing contractors on the town's rotational system choose to share storage facilities, they must have the appropriate storage capacity to meet the minimum vehicle storage requirement for each towing contractor utilizing the facility. The storage compound must be appropriately secured to ensure the protection of personal property and to prevent further damage to the vehicle. Outside storage facilities must be sufficiently lighted with lockable fences which encompass the entire storage lot and be of an adequate size to discourage theft of vehicles and property stored within. If the storage compound is located in the town, then the storage facility must comply with all zoning ordinances, including providing sufficient buffers and/or screening of the storage area.
   (C)   All equipment and storage facilities may be inspected by the Town Police Department at any time without notice. The town reserves the right to reject the use of any storage facilities or equipment after inspection by the Town Police Department.
('81 Code, § 74.08 q., r., s., bb.) (Ord. 93039, passed 8-10-93; Am. Ord. 00049, passed 12-12-00; Am. Ord. 03007, passed 3-11-03; Am. Ord. 18069, passed 10-9-18) Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 112.28 TOWING PROCEDURES; CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES.
   (A)   The towing or wrecker service shall be responsible for all damage on all vehicles unless such damage is noted by the police officer before the vehicle is removed from the scene. The towing or wrecker service towing for the town will be responsible for pointing out damage on the vehicle to the officer before leaving the scene. The service shall not be responsible for lost or stolen articles unless they are negligent or fail to comply with the storage requirements as set forth in this chapter.
   (B)   The Town Police Department reserves the right to cancel a request for towing service from the towing contractor at any time, including and up to the time of hookup. When canceled by the Town Police Department, the towing contractor will be placed back at the top of the call out list.
   (C)   The towing contractor, when towing vehicles from the scene of an accident, will be responsible for removing all broken debris, glass, fluids, and other matter from the swale, street, and right-of-way as a result of the accident. Proper and full clean-up by the towing contractor is essential for safety reasons and to remain on the rotation system. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the towing contractor being removed from the rotation for a period of up to 30 days.
   (D)   The town reserves the right in each case requiring a heavy-duty wrecker to call any towing service not in the rotation system if any towing service in the system does not have such capability.
('81 Code, § 74.08 f., v., w., ww.) (Ord. 93039, passed 8-10-93; Am. Ord. 00049, passed 12-12-00; Am. Ord. 18069, passed 10-9-18)
§ 112.29 RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY.
   (A)   The towing contractor will have his/her employee, representative, or agent inventory jointly, with a police officer or owner or possessor of the vehicle, all personal property in the vehicle which they are directed to tow. Such inventory shall be made in triplicate and shall be maintained by the towing contractor as a permanent record; one copy will be given to the owner or operator of the vehicle being towed, if known, or securely attached to the vehicle; one copy will be retained by the Town Police Department. The towing contractor shall be solely liable and responsible to the owner or person of legal entity entitled to lawful possession for all personal property in any vehicle towed under this chapter.
   (B)   The towing contractor shall be responsible for the safe keeping of, and shall be accountable to, the owner of the vehicle for all personal property, vehicle accessories, and vehicles stored within the storage facilities of the contractor. The towing contractors shall make sure that they have adequate insurance coverage for any loss of property from their storage compounds.
   (C)   Personal property contained in vehicles which is removed and stored by the contractor shall not be disposed of by the contractor to defray any charges for towing or the storage of vehicles and such property must be returned to the owner or to the person legally entitled to lawful possession of the vehicle upon request and without regard to any fees owned by such person or legal entity.
('81 Code, § 74.08 jj., kk., ll.) (Ord. 93039, passed 8-10-93; Am. Ord. 18069, passed 10-9-18) Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 112.30 REMOVAL OR SUSPENSION FROM ROTATION SYSTEM.
   (A)   Complaints for damage or loss will be noted by the Police Department and a lack of action to settle any justifiable complaint or a number of complaints will be just cause for removal from the towing/wrecker list.
   (B)   Any towing companies monitoring police calls will not respond to an accident scene unless called by the Town Police Department dispatcher or by the owner of the vehicle involved or the owner's authorized representative. See § 112.01. Any towing company who does so and receives a tow will lose the next two turns on rotation or can be removed from the rotation system at the option of the town.
   (C)   The towing contractor is expected to respond to all calls within 30 minutes from the time that the towing contractor was called by the Town Police Department dispatcher during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and within 45 minutes during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Any wrecker canceled, due to failure to respond in the allowed time, shall lose their turn on the rotation and the next wrecker on the rotation will be called to respond.
   (D)   Any complaint received by the town concerning violations of this chapter by the towing contractor, such as excess charges, poor business practices, damage to vehicles, and so forth, will be investigated. Failure of the towing contractor to correct the problem will be considered a material breach of this chapter and cause for the towing contractor's suspension, upon written notice to the towing contractor, from the rotation system for a period up to six months. After any suspension from the rotation system, the towing contractor may apply for reinstatement under a probationary period of six months Three suspensions from the rotation list in a five-year period will result in a permanent removal from the list.
('81 Code, § 74.08 g., p., u., rr.) (Ord. 93039, passed 8-10-93; Am. Ord. 18069, passed 10-9-18) Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 112.31 IMPOUNDMENT AND REDEMPTION PROCEDURES.
   (A)   The towing contractor will not release any vehicle which has been marked "hold" by the Town Police Department without written authorization to do so by the Town Police Department. If a vehicle has been placed on hold and has remained in storage for longer than three days, the towing contractor must immediately notify the official representative of the Police Department. During this hold, the vehicle must appear on the monthly written report until it is released.
   (B)   The towing contractor will release any vehicle which is not to be held or which has been authorized to be released when proof of ownership by a tow sheet, title, or registration when it is accompanied by proper identification which has been presented to the towing contractor.
   (C)   Any vehicle which is not claimed by the legal owner within three days shall be reported, in writing, to the Town Police Department, and must be included in the monthly written report until it is released.
   (D)   Storage fees will be paid at a rate for each 24-hour period or fraction thereof at the rate provided in this chapter. When a vehicle is released to its owner, an itemized statement of all charges made for the towing and/or impounding of the vehicle will be provided to the owner. No stored or impounded vehicle shall be released until proper evidence of ownership is exhibited, and all towing and storage charges have been paid. Storage fees will stop accruing once all charges have been paid in full and the vehicle has been removed from the storage facility. An owner may be subject to additional storage fees if the vehicle is not removed from the storage facility within 24 hours of payment. The towing and storage charges shall be collected by the towing company.
   (E)   All owners of vehicles, which were towed, or which are located in the impound area, must be able to redeem said vehicle from the towing contractor during every business day from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. When the storage site is closed, the telephone numbers of the towing contractor or his or her employees must be posted so that they can be reached at all times. Upon receipt of a telephone request to open the site to redeem a vehicle which is not on "hold" by the Town Police Department, the vehicle must be released within twelve hours after the request.
('81 Code, § 74.08 cc., dd., ee., ff., gg.) (Ord. 93039, passed 8-10-93; Am. Ord. 18069, passed 10-9-18) Penalty, see § 10.99
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