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Rancho Mirage council adopts amended vehicle-impound fee and new DUI impound fee
Summary
The City Council voted 4-0 to adopt a resolution updating the vehicle impound cost-recovery fee and to establish a separate DUI impound fee, authorizing annual adjustments tied to the sheriff's contract; a public commenter urged additional oversight of rising law-enforcement related costs.
The Rancho Mirage City Council on Sept. 4 adopted a resolution to amend the city's vehicle impound cost-recovery fee and to establish a separate DUI impound fee, after a staff presentation that said the current fee no longer covers the city's actual costs.
Tyler Folkes, senior management analyst, told the council the vehicle impound cost-recovery fee reimburses administrative costs such as deputy time, paperwork, coordination with tow operators and clerical processing and is not intended to generate revenue. Folkes said the city last adjusted the fee in 2010 and that rising law-enforcement costs mean the current fee does not cover expenses; staff recommended a two-tier fee structure and annual adjustments tied to the Riverside County sheriff's contract rate increases. "The item before you today is a proposed amendment to the city's vehicle impound cost recovery fee and adoption of a new DUI impound cost recovery fee," Folkes said.
A member of the public, Brad Anderson, testified in opposition to the proposed structure and urged council oversight of growing law-enforcement and fleet costs. "I'm opposed to this mainly because of the extreme costs related to the DUI," Anderson said, asking council to review expenses rather than give blanket authority for automatic increases.
After brief council remarks — including Mayor Weil's comment that a way to avoid DUI-related impound costs is to not drink and drive — Council moved and seconded the staff recommendation and the motion carried 4-0. The resolution was described in the staff report as "Resolution 20 25." The staff presentation included numeric fee figures, but the transcripted numbers appear garbled (for example, the spoken figures were rendered as "increased from $1.45 to 2.29" and a DUI fee of "$11.47"); the council packet and the final adopted resolution should be consulted for the authoritative fee amounts and effective dates.
The resolution also authorizes annual adjustments tied to the sheriff's contract rate increases so future updates do not require repeated council action.
