Aurora raises rates for towing vehicles (IL)

[TowNews]

The Aurora City Council has increased and stabilized the rates tow truck drivers can charge while on city business.

 

“The fees are standardized,” Sgt. Dan Woods, of the Aurora Police Department, told aldermen. “So, every one changed the same.”

 

A lot of the fee changes were made to bring them in line with what other cities charge, officials said. The code was last amended in 2009.

 

Companies can now charge $140 for tows made during standard business hours, which are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, up from $125. For tows made outside regular business hours, or on weekends or holidays, companies can charge $150, up from $140.

 

Also, the rate for each day of storage changed to $45 a day for outside storage, and $50 a day for inside storage, up from $40 and $45, respectively. A service call, for a lock, battery jump, refueling or tire change, is now $100.

 

Aldermen also increased the amount a tow company pays to be on the city’s list from $1,500 a year to $2,000.

 

The city keeps a list of 12 companies, and rotates it with each request for service. But Woods pointed out that the city actually keeps three lists, because not all tow requests are created equal.

 

The lists are for: off-street, non accident tows; accident tows; and city vehicles, such as a squad car, that need to be towed. Each list is rotated independently, so that each company does not get called out for the same kind of tow each time.

 

“The reason this is done is to spread out the kinds of tows,” Woods said. “It’s the same 12 companies, each list just rotates differently.”

 

City officials also said they will review the tow rates every two years from now on, so they won’t go another 10 years without looking at it or changing the rates.

 

Two weeks ago, the City Council approved changes updating language in the ordinance involving eligibility and insurance requirements for tow trucks. The changes were made largely to bring the city ordinance into agreement with state regulations.

 

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