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Council asks staff to research private-property tow rates after Beaverton Towing request
Summary
Following a letter from a towing company asking for higher permitted rates, the City Council asked staff to research market rates and active vendors and to return with recommended ordinance changes; no rate change was adopted at the work session.
City staff briefed the City Council on a request from a licensed towing company to amend Tualatin’s private-property tow rate schedule in the municipal code. Don Hudson, assistant city manager, said the city’s tow fees (hookup, after-hours release, mileage, storage and release-at-scene fees) were set in October 2013 and have not been revised since.
Hudson said the city currently has 10 licensed tow companies authorized to tow from private property. The council discussed a July letter from Beaverton Towing asking the city to review and increase the fee schedule; the company provided suggested updated rates in the letter attached to the staff report.
Councilors expressed concern about the impacts of higher tow fees on lower-income residents and asked whether the request represented a broader market trend or an isolated request from one company. Councilor Brooks noted complaints in the industry about abusive practices and said the council should be mindful of vulnerable residents. Councilor Gonzalez said the current fees appeared "pretty reasonable" to her and that she preferred not to raise rates without benchmarking them to neighboring jurisdictions.
Outcome: the council directed staff to research comparative rates in surrounding cities, confirm how many licensed tow companies are actively towing in Tualatin and return with an informational report and recommended ordinance language if changes are warranted. Hudson confirmed tow licenses renew annually and said he would assemble the requested data.
Ending: staff will return with market comparisons and recommendations; no ordinance change was adopted during the work session.
