The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Tow truck licensing ordinance gets OK'd
City says lawsuit is possible
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 22, 2007
Local towing companies are reeling after Ypsilanti City Council last week adopted an ordinance requiring they obtain a license to operate in the city of Ypsilanti.
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The ordinance was adopted, 4-2. Council members Lois Richardson, D–1st Ward, and Brian Filipiak, D-3rd Ward, dissented and Bill Nickels, D-2nd Ward, was absent.
The ordinance will take effect 30 days after being published in the newspaper of record.
Filipiak said his opposition to the ordinance was because of a section that prohibited people with a past drunken driving offense, within the last five years, to drive tow trucks in the city.
"It just seems like bordering on double jeopardy," Filipiak said at a prior meeting.
He said he had a problem with City Council imposing further restrictions after the offender already has repaid his debt to society.
"Five years is a reasonable amount of time to cool off from that offense," said Mayor Paul Schreiber.
John Gawlas, D-2nd Ward, said, "I don't recall that I actually heard anybody from the towing companies have any troubles about finding employees if this were to pass."
Bud King, a driver for Sobbry's Towing in Ypsilanti, said the provision already is handled when a driver gets licensed by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
"To get a (driver's) card, you have to be drug free," King said. "The state tells you what you can do and what you can't."
However, many companies are upset with the $300 per vehicle fee for city inspections of vehicles. According to the ordinance, vehicles must be inspected when the license is renewed every two years.
"Why am I paying for my (state) inspection?" asked American Towing owner Daryl England. "(The state) is above the city on this."
Because MDOT already inspects vehicles for safety, towing owners are upset that the city is imposing another inspection on top of what is already required by the state.
At a council meeting last month, when several towing companies voiced their concern about the fee, a representative from Stadium Towing said the new inspection would be to make a truck is equipped with the proper tools. He said the MDOT inspection only covers the safety of a truck or wrecker.
"If I call a tow truck, I expect it to have the right tools," King said. "It's standard equipment."
England said the fee would have to be passed onto the consumer. He said it would make the cost for a tow and impound even more expensive than it is now.
"The actual tow bill is $140, then you've got to tack on everything else," he said.
David McCoy, a driver for Discount Towing, said the city of Toledo tried passing a similar ordinance, which was defeated in court.
"We're all going to get an attorney," England said. "We're going to file a class-action law suite."
Representatives from American Towing, Discount Towing and Sobbry's Towing said they plan to take the city to court.
The tow companies aren't the only party taking matters to the courts, the city is planning to start collecting money owed by tow companies through civil action.
Karl Barr, city attorney, said he plans to file the first of several law suits.
"They can't get this license while being in default to the city," Barr said.
He said every time a tow and impound is made in the city, the tow company has to report the tow to the police to ensure the vehicle is not stolen. He said there is a $30 fee for this transaction.
Of all the tow companies, he said there is only one company not in default to the city. He wouldn't name the company, but several owe thousands of dollars.
"That's what your taxes are for," England said.
He said the only city in the region that charges for this service is Ann Arbor. Other municipalities, he said, charge no fee at all.
Barr said the license also will prohibit property owners from receiving kick-backs for tows, and improve the towing companies operating in the city.
"The intent is to improve the towing stock in the city of Ypsilanti," he said.
Representatives from American Towing, Sobbry's Towing and Discount Towing all said they do not give kickbacks.
Representatives from Budget and Stadium Towing could not be reached for comment, and representatives from Aachen Auto said they had no comment because they had not read the ordinance yet because they had not been given a copy.
Contact Staff Writer Dan DuChene at 1-734-697-8255 or at dduchene@heritage.com
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