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Council tables towing contract after members request fee schedule and contract amendments
Summary
Council members asked for the towing agreement’s detailed fee list and an amendment addressing how days in storage are charged; the item was sent to the next workshop for further review rather than being voted on at the meeting.
Paterson City Council postponed action on a contract item for towing and vehicle storage after multiple council members requested more information and at least one amendment to the contract. Council members said the item had been processed through the purchasing agent and procurement but wanted the explicit fee schedule attached to the resolution.
Councilman Colleague and Councilman Jackson raised questions about the specific charges a towing company levies per vehicle and asked the administration to provide the fee list before final approval. Councilman Jackson asked for a contract amendment to ensure vehicles towed late at night are not automatically charged for multiple full days if they are recovered the next morning, saying, “they're being charged for 2 days…there needs to be an amendment within the contract to state that it has to be there. It's a 24 hour period.”
Corporation Counsel agreed to convey the requested amendment to the purchasing agent and the police department liaison and to bring proposed language back to the council. The council’s president proposed tabling the item to the next workshop so members would have time to review the fees and proposed amendments; that recommendation carried while several members stressed the item is not time-sensitive and a workshop review was appropriate.
The item will return to the council’s workshop with the towing operator’s fee schedule and proposed contract language addressing the storage-day calculation. Council members said they preferred to have the vendor’s fee list and any proposed amendments in hand before final approval to avoid future complaints from residents.
