Denison increases police towing fee (TX)

[TowNews]

Denison raised the fee associated with vehicles police mark for towing from $80 to $125 Monday night.

 

Denison Police Department interim Chief Paul Neumann said the city doesn’t get any of the money, as the fee is what the tow truck company is allowed to charge when the police department calls for a tow.

 

“The way cars are built now is requiring our wreckers to get new equipment to pick them up,” Neumann said. “This is allowing us to allow them to raise the initial tow fee. They drop what they are doing because our tows are time sensitive. It just matches what the other agencies in Grayson County are doing.”

 

Neumann said the issue came to his attention during his normal business discussions with several of the towing companies. He learned Denison had fallen behind what other law enforcement agencies in the area allow to be charged for a police tow. Neumann said because the wreckers are dropping what they are doing, he wanted to ensure they were getting fairly compensated for their work. He also said the wreckers have 15 minutes to respond to a call initiated by the police, which is another reason for the increase in the fee.

 

Neumann said the rotation of wreckers the city uses are Texoma Wrecker, Texoma Auto Care, Blake Utter, B&B Wrecker, and Lone Star Auto Body. He said the primary reason police call tow trucks is when a vehicle is stopped and the driver doesn’t have insurance. He said other scenarios include following wrecks or when a vehicle is broken down on the side of the road or abandoned.

 

The measure was passed along with other items as part of the consent agenda with no discussion.

 

RESOURCE LINK