Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services

TO:	Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Director of Legal Services
FROM:	Scott J. Miller, Staff Attorney
Date:	June 9, 2009
RE:	Ordinance 8421 – Costs for Storage and Towing of Vehicles

House Bill 2152, which amends K.S.A. 8-1103 and becomes law on July 1, 2009, places certain requirements on any city ordinance that authorizes the towing of motor vehicles.  Cities that have ordinances that authorize the towing of vehicles must include in those ordinances:

1. The maximum rate that the wrecker or tow service may charge for tow and storage fees.

2. That the owner of a vehicle towed shall have access to personal property in such vehicle on or before 48 hours after such vehicle is towed.

3. That the wrecker or towing service shall report the location of the vehicle to local law enforcement within two hours of such a tow.

The City of Lawrence’s tow ordinance is found in Article 2 of Chapter XVII of the City Code and is fairly limited in scope.  The ordinance does not provide a procedure for or regulate the involuntary towing of vehicles at the behest of private property owners.  An example of the type of tow that is not covered by our ordinance would be one ordered by the owners of an apartment complex to clear unauthorized vehicles from the complex’s lot.  K.S.A. 8-1102 regulates those types of tows.  Our ordinances only cover tows ordered by the Police Department for law enforcement purposes.

The current practice of the Police Department is to enter into a competitively bid contract with one tow provider, currently Hillcrest, to perform these tows.  The costs of towing and storage are set forth in that contract.  The present amounts are $95 for the towing of a basic passenger vehicle, $500 for the towing for heavier vehicles such as tractor trailers, trucks with more than four wheels, and the like, and $33.00 a day for storage fees.  If a vehicle is stored for less than 48 hours, no storage fees are typically charged.

Because the amounts are set by contract, setting the price schedule in the ordinance is relatively easy.  In order to increase the likelihood that the ordinance will not have to be amended for several years to increase the allowed costs, it is drafted to cap the cost of a passenger vehicle tow at $150, the cost of heavy vehicle tows at $600, and storage fees at $40 per day.  Because of the current contract, however, the actual cost of every tow will remain capped at the current amounts.

The proposed ordinance also includes language incorporating the other two mandatory provisions of the bill, providing for access to personal property in towed vehicles and requiring tow companies to report the location of vehicles that they have towed under the ordinance.  Because a single provider tows all vehicles under the Police Department’s contract, the reporting of vehicle locations after tows is a redundant protection but one that must be incorporated to comply with the new law.

The rate schedule may be adjusted if the Commission desires, but because the schedule of rates and other provisions must be included in our ordinance by law I am recommending that some version of this ordinance be approved. 

Let me know if you have and questions or concerns.