(A) Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to provide a documented call system to provide reliable and efficient service to the Police Department and citizens when towing services are required. All tow services are required to complete an application before being placed or considered for placement in wrecker rotation. A copy of the policy will be provided with the application.
(B) (1) Tow companies are required to attach proof of insurance to the initial application. On an annual basis thereafter, tow companies will be required to provide the Police Department with proof of insurance. The certificate of insurance will include liability coverage for towing of vehicles and garage keepers’ coverage for the care and custody of towed or impounded vehicles. This required coverage must be kept current and proof provided to the department.
(2) Each tow company shall maintain a relatively secure impound area. Such location is subject to inspection of the premises and vehicles by Police Department representatives.
(3) Each tow service must provide a 24-hour wrecker service and provide 24-hour phone numbers to ensure a prompt response to a call for service.
(4) Each tow service must be able to respond in a reasonable amount of time. The Chief of Police or a designee may decide what is a reasonable amount of time. Distance, traffic conditions, and the like will be considered in that determination.
(5) Wrecker rotation will be computer generated by the Police Department’s computer aided dispatch system to maintain documentation. Towing services are not given any right to calls by this policy. The department may change the documentation process to keep current with available technology.
(6) The tow company shall provide a list of equipment and services they have available to provide. This list shall be updated by the tow service when necessary or when an update is requested.
(7) Specific tow service company requests by citizens will be documented as owner requests and not considered a rotation call. This will apply when no police incident is involved. An example of this would be when a car is broken down and the owner contacts an officer or the department and requests a specific wrecker service and the contact is a courtesy effort by police personnel.
(C) The City Manager, for any legitimate reason, may remove tow service companies from the department wrecker list. This removal will be documented in correspondence to the tow service being removed. The following, while not being all-inclusive, is a list of possible reasons for removal from the list:
(1) Violation of law;
(2) Refusing calls;
(3) Failing to respond after accepting a call;
(4) Delayed response to service calls;
(5) Failure to properly clean debris, including liquid spills such as oil, fuel, and anti-freeze;
(6) Failure to maintain adequate impound areas;
(7) Failure to provide current proof of insurance;
(8) Releasing vehicles without proper authorization from the Police Department;
(9) Failure to charge reasonable or prevailing rates for towing or roadside services;
(10) Jumping wrecker calls;
(11) Towing a vehicle from a crash scene without contacting the department to respond;
(12) Making consistent unfounded complaints to the Chief of Police or designee.
(Ord. 4-2003, passed 2-26-03)