Committee asks staff to study non‑consent towing rates, seeks safeguards against predatory towing

The Transportation Infrastructure Committee on March 18 heard a briefing from Rick Riley, assistant director of the San Antonio Police Department, on a request from non‑consent towing companies for a tow‑rate increase and directed staff to produce a recommended rate adjustment and a memo addressing consumer protections and regulatory options.

Riley told the committee that non‑consent towing is regulated under Chapter 19 of the City Code and that the city’s current light‑duty non‑consent tow rate is $177. He reviewed state and local procedures that govern requests for a tow‑fee study and summarized prior city work: a 2021 request was not completed due to missing financial data; a 2023 request included financial submissions that produced no recommended increase after finance reviewed profit margins and operating costs.

Industry position and city scenarios

Michael Guerrero, representing towing interests during public comment, urged the committee to consider standardizing fees that reflect operational costs and inflation and argued that ‘‘raising tow fees is not about gouging customers, it's about ensuring that companies can cover the cost of providing legal regulated, necessary services.’’ Riley told the committee that some towing companies had proposed adding an administrative fee of 3.3% of a tow that would be remitted to the city if rates were raised.

Riley presented three staff scenarios based on prior proposals and ordinance constraints:

- Scenario 1: Raise light‑duty rate from $177 to $210; a 3.3% administrative fee at that level would produce an estimated $420,000 annually (assuming roughly 60,000 tows per year). - Scenario 2: Raise the rate to $244.85 (a cumulative CPI adjustment since 2013); 3.3% admin fee would yield an estimated $489,000 annually. - Scenario 3: Raise to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) maximum of $272; 3.3% admin fee would yield an estimated $543,000 annually.

Riley said that a city finance review of the 2023 submissions found an average profit margin of about 17% for the companies that provided complete financials; staff used a 9% profit margin target for the 2013 rates. He recommended that SAPD and Finance work with the non‑consent towing companies to develop a recommended rate adjustment based on projected 2025–26 operating costs and labor increases and return that recommendation to full City Council in April 2025.

Consumer protections and committee concerns

Multiple council members raised concerns about predatory towing, unclear signage, short‑notice tows, storage fees, wrongful tows and the effect of fee increases on lower‑income residents. Council members asked staff to list existing accountability mechanisms and complaint processes, to consider options that would limit predatory practices, and to return public‑facing outreach information. Council members also asked whether towing firms are licensed and how many companies operate; staff said the state licenses towing companies (TDLR) and that roughly 208 companies operate in San Antonio, while three companies account for about two‑thirds of the city’s estimated 60,000 annual non‑consent tows.

Action and next steps

The committee directed SAPD and the Finance Department to work with the non‑consent towing companies to produce a recommended rate adjustment grounded in projected operating and labor costs for 2025–26 and to return to full City Council in April 2025 with that recommendation. Staff also agreed to provide a memo addressing council questions about complaint processes, oversight options, the administrative fee proposal, and other consumer protections. Riley said that if the Council approved a rate adjustment, towing companies would have 48 months to provide complete financial information required by the ordinance to support a full TOEFI study.

Ending

The committee concluded that any rate adjustment should be accompanied by clearer enforcement and stronger consumer protections; members asked staff to include information on complaint processes, complaint volumes, and possible uses of any administrative fee in the memo to Council.