(A) Any towing firm shall become eligible to be listed on the city's tow rotation list and participate in the assignment of service calls by the Police Department if it meets the following requirements.
(1) Must meet all of the requirements outlined in ILCS Ch. 625, Act 5, § 12-606: Tow Trucks; Identification; Equipment; Insurance, except subparagraph (d) of § 12-606 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
(2) Must be able to respond, with the necessary equipment, to the location of a Police Department request for a tow within 30 minutes of the original request.
(3) Must provide an attendant on call, capable of responding to police requests for towing.
(4) Must provide an appropriate 24-hours-a-day telephone number where the service can be contacted, and where vehicle owners can be referred.
(5) Must respond with the appropriate equipment to the scene of a call, regardless of whether it is for an accident or an abandon/disabled vehicle, and should avoid the handling of other business while en route.
(6) Must hold a valid authority issued to it by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
(7) Must not employ any driver or vehicle operator that at any time in the last five years in any state or territory has been convicted of any of the following offenses: homicide, attempted homicide, crimes involving bodily injury and/or attempted bodily injury, robbery, theft crimes, attempted theft, forgery, driving under the influence (DUI), any sex crimes, and/or anyone on parole, probation, and/or a sex offender list for the above offenses and/or any other crime.
(8) Must annually provide a copy of every driver’s and each owner’s driver’s license to the Director of Public Safety, or his or her designee (Operations Captain), so a license check and criminal history background check can be conducted.
(9) Must submit a photocopy of each new employee’s driver’s license, and a signed consent to conduct criminal background check form from each new employee, prior to allowing each new employee to operate police tows.
(10) Must insure every person operating a towing or recovering vehicle on behalf of the towing service has completed a traffic incident management training program approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
(11) Must provide storage facilities within the corporate limits of the city. In order to provide the best customer service, all vehicles towed at the request of the Police Department shall be stored at the O'Fallon location, unless other arrangements are made with the owner of the vehicle and/or the Police Department. The facility shall be easily located, accessible to the public, and open for the release of vehicles during regular business hours (continuous staffing not necessary).
(12) All vehicles must be made available for inspection by city personnel to ensure compliance with the law and this chapter, to include:
(a) Valid vehicle registration;
(b) Display of property tow truck registration;
(c) Compliance with weight limits;
(d) Display of Illinois Commerce Commission and Federal Department of Transportation numbers.
(13) Must possess and maintain the following.
(a) Comprehensive automobile liability insurance with minimum combined single limit coverage of $1,000,000.
(b) Commercial general liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence.
(c) $100,000 minimum garage keeper’s legal liability insurance.
(d) $100,000 minimum on-hook coverage or cargo insurance.
(e) A worker’s compensation policy covering every person operating a tow truck on behalf of the towing firm.
(14) Shall not transfer the responsibility for an assigned tow to another firm. If the service originally contacted cannot respond, police dispatch shall be notified. The Police Department has sole responsibility for reassigning a tow request. NOTE: If service cannot be provided due to equipment failure, prior commitment or other circumstances, police dispatch shall be notified so that the firm can be taken “out of service” until such time as it is available to respond as required.
(15) Must notify the Director of Public Safety, in writing, of any changes in firm ownership or location.
(16) In addition to the above eligibility qualifications the city may at their sole discretion withhold eligibility to any tow company based on any of said tow company’s employees’ history of stalking, excessive traffic violations, and/or any other public safety concern.
(B) The Director of Public Safety may add additional requirements based upon the specific needs of the Police Department.
(Ord. 3990, passed 7-3-2017; Ord. 4097, passed 6-3-2019)