Jackson County committee holds ordinance on tow services, schedules public hearing

The Jackson County Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on an announced date held Ordinance 5,978 — an ordinance enacting sections 52.93–52.97 of the Jackson County Code (1984) related to wreckers and tow services — and scheduled a public hearing on the measure for next week.

Chairman Sean Smith said the ordinance, as drafted, includes new fees and that a public hearing is appropriate before advancing the measure. "There's new fees associated, so I think it's important that whenever we're dealing with something like a new fee, that we have a public hearing," Smith said.

Smith told those in the room that the committee planned to "hold 5978 till next week, and we'll do a public hearing and have a little longer meeting next week." He invited tow operators and other interested parties to speak informally with committee members after the meeting to clarify concerns before the public hearing.

Committee members did not vote to adopt the ordinance at this meeting. The committee chair characterized the action as a hold to allow further clarification and public comment; no mover or second was recorded and no formal vote tally was taken.

The ordinance was introduced on the committee agenda as affecting wreckers and tow services under the Jackson County Code (1984) and specifically referenced proposed sections 52.93, 52.94, 52.95, 52.96 and 52.97. The committee did not provide specific fee amounts during the discussion; the chair said those fees are "new" but did not specify dollar amounts.

The committee announced a public hearing to occur the following week; members asked that affected operators attend to present concerns and details to staff and members before action is taken.