The city tows about 25 a day, but recovering a towed vehicle takes trips to multiple agencies, prompting Whaley to seek an easier process for owners.
If she delivers, Dayton would follow in the footsteps of some other Ohio cities that say one-stop impound lots make a stressful situation less of a headache.
MORE: Dayton mayor vows to reduce evictions, focuses on poverty
“You’re frustrated already when your vehicle gets towed,” said Doug Thoma, co-owner and general manager for Sandy’s Towing, which handles the city’s towing. A one-stop impound “would make things so much easier for the average consumer.”
Towing fees are about $145, and that doesn’t include the fees needed to be paid to get a vehicle released.
Dayton police reported about 9,300 vehicles towed last year, and most require a police release order to retrieve, meaning owners have to make two stops — one downtown and one to the tow yard.
In her State of the City address this month, Whaley vowed to work with police city officials to ensure towing practices aren’t hurting poor and working-class people.
She said unpaid parking fees can be hard on people’s wallets, and she doesn’t want them to lose their transportation to work.
Randy Smith, director of the legal clinic at Miami Valley Community Action Partnership, said most clients he sees can’t pay their tickets and are unlikely to be able to pay the fees to retrieve their vehicles.
“The fees add up with each passing day,” said Smith, who questioned the current system.
He asked whether it is fair to make a person earning $12 an hour who has a car valued at less than $2,000 pay the same fees to retrieve their car from a tow yard as a person who earns $80,000 each year and has a much more expensive vehicle.
“Is the fee/fine really equivalent to both parties?” he said. “Or should this matter be handled how court fees/fines are supposed to be determined — by a person’s ability to pay?”
Mayor: ‘It was stressful for me’
Whaley sees a variety of ways to simplify the process, including offering online and mobile payment options or establishing a one-stop impound.
Whaley’s vehicle was towed in Columbus in September. The mayor said she didn’t realize her car was blocking a driveway.
Whaley said Columbus had a one-stop impound, which was a relief. But she said the process was still stressful, and she imagines it would be very hard on people with limited funds and resources.
“I remember standing in the tow line like, ‘We need to look at our overall tow process,’ because I’m sure it’s not very easy people who don’t have means,” she said. “I have money, and it was stressful for me.”
In Columbus, the counters to pay parking violations and the counters to claim impounded vehicles are in the same building, on opposite sides of the lobby, said Cathy Collins, Columbus’ assistant director of the department of public safety.
“This has been a big benefit to the public because it is a ‘one-stop shop,’ as you say,” Collins said.
Cleveland opened a “one-stop” impound and Clerk of Courts payment center in 2013 to be more customer friendly. The center eliminated the step requiring people come downtown to pay fees before retrieving a vehicle.
Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said: “The Dayton Police Department is in favor of a process, potentially a one-stop set-up, that would be customer friendly in assisting citizens regain possession of their vehicle.”
How it works in Dayton now
In Dayton, cars and trucks that were in automobile crashes can be picked up directly at Sandy’s Towing’s lot at 1541 S. Broadway St.
But the process if different for people whose vehicles were towed for unpaid citations, or for being illegally parked. Those owners, or drivers who were hospitalized or faced crime-related issues need to get a release from the Dayton Police Department Auto Recovery Unit, which is located in the safety building at 335 W. Third St.
Residents must to fill out paperwork and provide ID cards and proof of registration/ownership.
About 60 percent of the vehicles Sandy’s tows for the city require the owners to get a release form the police department, Thoma said.
MORE: Dayton resident reactions bring some easing of tow rules and ticket payment plan
Sandy’s tow lot is about 2.5 miles from the safety building. The drive is eight to 10 minutes in light traffic conditions.
The trip can be 20 t0 30 minutes on a Greater Dayton RTA bus, depending on the route. Some people don’t bring the all the documents they need the first trip downtown and must return for a follow-up visit.
Thoma said he has not talked to the mayor or anyone with the city recently about a establishing a one-stop impound. But he said it would be fairly easy to create because Sandy’s has a large building at its tow lot that has space for offices for the courts or other city staff.
Simplifying the retrieval process would make it a less frustrating experience for car owners and “sure couldn’t hurt” with getting more people to reclaim their vehicles, Thoma said.
Of the vehicles Sandy’s tows for the city each year, about one-third are never claimed, he said.
Some cars that are towed are junk and not worth what it would cost to get them out of impound, Thoma said.
Some vehicle owners decide to buy a new vehicle if they owe a large amounts of fines, Thoma said.
“We get very few good cars,” he said. “I probably could count on my hand how many we had last year.”
The towing business
Seven years ago, the city changed its policies to tow vehicles only after they had three unpaid parking or traffic camera enforcement citations. The number of vehicles on the city’s tow list plummeted after raising the threshold from two unpaid citations.
MORE: Nearly 9,000 vehicles dropped from the city of Dayton’s tow list
Sandy's Towing has a five-year contract with the city that lasts through the end of 2022.
Sandy’s agreed to pay the city more than $1.6 million in administrative fees during the life of the contract, or about $324,685 per year. Sandy’s also pays a $10 administrative fee for each vehicle release order.
Sandy’s can charge a tow fee up to $145 for most passenger vehicles and motorcycles. The company can charge up to $175 for heavier vehicles, trailers and equipment.
Sandy’s also can charge up to $25 per day to store vehicles that it towed. Car owners don’t have to pay a storage fee if they retrieve their vehicles within four hours of getting placed in the lot.
MORE: Towing contract expected to bring over $1.5M to city of Dayton
Towing fees in some of Ohio’s largest cities
Dayton, $145 per tow, storage $25 per day
Akron, $105 per tow, storage $15 per day
Canton, $90 per tow, storage $15 per day
Cincinnati, $150 per tow, storage $25 per day
Columbus, $125 per tow, $48 for first day of storage, $18 per day after that
Toledo, $145 per tow, storage $20 per day
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