Friday, July 25, 1997
Towing companies angry over budget proposal
By TANYA EISERER / Abilene Reporter-News
Abilene's towing companies are in an uproar over a perceived
encroachment of the city into their livelihood.
Towing company operators were angered by a 1997-98 budget proposal
that would turn the police impound lot into an around-the-clock
facility.
The city would pay for the cost by taking over the storage
of prisoner vehicles from wrecker companies.
The proposal also calls for the hiring of five new employees
to man the impound lot, and storage fees are expected to generate
$7,770 more than the $148,360 cost.
"(The city) didn't even bother to inform us that they
wanted to take all prisoner vehicles into their storage facility,"
said Joyce O'Bar, who owns O'Bar Wrecker Service with her husband,
Don.
O'Bar learned of the proposal in a Reporter-News story.
"They tried to pass one on us," said Joe Perez, owner
of J&R Wrecker Service. "I'm not upset at what they're
doing, but how they're doing it. Why couldn't we sit down and
talk about it?"
"They want to secure the place at our expense," Perez
added.
Three towing companies - O'Bar, Durant and J&R - are currently
under contract with the city to retrieve prisoner vehicles and
store them.
Abilene Police Chief Melvin Martin agreed that the towing companies
have a "legitimate gripe" about not being told of the
proposal.
But Deputy Chief Ron Harris denied any insinuation that the
department has plans to enter the towing business.
"We have no intent to take (traffic accident) vehicles,"
he said. "This is nothing more than speculation on somebody's
part. We're not in a money-making business. We're trying to offset
the cost to provide a service to the community as a whole."
He said that the department recognizes that "if we did,
it would adversely affect a number of free-enterprise businesses."
The department has made this same proposal for the last three
years, but it's never actually made it into a proposed budget,
Harris added.
Harris explained that a rash of vandalism and thefts at the
impound lot, located at East Highway 80 and Loop 322, spurred
the department's request.
Last year, the impound facility was burglarized 16 times and
102 vehicles vandalized. Harris estimated about $30,000 in damage
has been done.
Harris said the department has even installed razor wire and
barbed wire on top of its fences, but it has not ended the problem.
He also explained the police department needs a secure place
to store seized vehicles awarded to the department.
The current location, where seized vehicles are stored, has
also been plagued by burglaries and vandalism, he said.
The police department is proposing to raise the fees for storing
prisoner and abandoned vehicles from $5 a day to $8 a day, he
added.
Harris also pointed out that towing companies would still tow
prisoner vehicles for which they are allowed to charge up to $45.
Currently, the impound lot employs one person and is open Monday
through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
People must go to the police department, pay for the storage
and arrange to have a police officer meet them at the impound
lot.
"It takes officers away from their duties," Harris
said.
O'Bar estimates his company handles an average of 25 prisoner
vehicles a month. Both O'Bar and Perez charge $7.50 per day for
prisoner vehicles.
Perez said the city's proposal will force him to eliminate
two jobs: The man who tows the prisoner vehicles and the woman
who writes the required notification letters.
"(Prisoners vehicles) bring in enough to keep this one
guy on and the lady writing letters," Perez said.
While the city's action only affects those three towing companies,
other operators view the proposal as a first step to running them
out of business, O'Bar said.
"They see this as the first step toward taking their livelihood,"
said Perez, who along with other operators plans to attend today's
council meeting.
O'Bar said towing company operators fear the city might try
to take over the storage of accident vehicles.
O'Bar and Perez said towing company operators plan to band
together and form an association to protect their interests.
"Most cities with a 100,000 population already have an
association, but we just never had any problem," O'Bar said.
"We just think now that we need to."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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