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Supervisors press MTA, SFPD and Auto Return to ease fees for owners of stolen vehicles
Summary
At a Board committee hearing, Supervisor Wiener urged renegotiation of the city's tow contract to reduce or waive fees for recovered stolen vehicles. SFPD, SFMTA and Auto Return described current waivers, fee amounts and possible reform options; the committee continued the matter for further work.
Supervisor Scott Wiener convened a committee hearing to review San Francisco's towing contract and fees for stolen vehicles, saying the city should avoid "victimizing the victim" when cars are recovered. Wiener told the committee that Auto Return tows about 45,000 vehicles a year and roughly 2,500 of those were stolen last fiscal year, and he said the contract that governs towing and fee waivers should be renegotiated before the contract comes back to the full Board.
The San Francisco Police Department's operations commander, Mikhail Ali, described SFPD's procedures for recovered stolen vehicles: officers generally attempt to contact owners and will wait on scene about 20 minutes, and the department waives its $194 administrative fee when a police report indicates a vehicle was stolen. Auto Return said it applies written waiver instructions it receives from the Police Department and uses an automated process to offset waived charges.
Steve Lee, SFMTA manager of financial…
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