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Commissioners approve higher towing rates after debate over equipment and insurance costs
Summary
Holmes County commissioners approved new maximum towing and incident-response rates, including raising the county service-truck rate from $125 to $200, after a towing operator described rising vehicle and insurance costs and low recovery rates for wrecked equipment.
Holmes County commissioners voted to approve updated maximum towing and incident-scene rates after hearing a detailed explanation from a towing company representative about rising operating costs.
The new schedule raises the county rotation service-truck rate to $200 from the county’s previous $125 ceiling, a $75 increase that commissioners debated before approving the change. The motion to approve the rates was made and carried during the meeting; the mover was identified as Jim (motion-maker) and the motion received a second. The commission recorded a voice vote in favor.
The towing representative said the requested increases reflect higher equipment and insurance costs since 2020. “Back then, my insurance was maybe $225,000. My now insurance is around $700,000 on a good day,” the towing company representative said, describing additional cost pressures such as flatbed truck prices that have roughly doubled. He also told commissioners that actual recovery payments after wrecks are often far lower than costs — he said national averages for recovery payments are about 50 percent — and that uninsured or heavily damaged vehicles can leave towers with large losses.
Commissioners asked whether neighboring counties had adopted comparable rates; county staff confirmed the proposed schedule reflects current rates from some neighboring counties but that rates vary across jurisdictions. The discussion clarified that the county sets maximum allowable rates for rotation (companies on the county’s rotation list for incident responses), and that these maximums do not govern every private tow call by a resident or insurer.
The commission approved the motion to adopt the towing-rate schedule as presented. Commissioners did not specify an effective date during the discussion; the approved schedule and the county’s packet were referenced by staff for details.
The action affects towers on the county’s rotation for rapid incident clearance and could change the maximum the county will allow vendors to charge on those calls. County staff will record the approved schedule in the county’s rotation contract documents and follow up on any required notifications to rotating vendors.
A fuller record of the discussion and the towing representative’s explanation appears in the meeting transcript.
