Council appoints hearing officer for legacy tow cases; staff to propose tow statute changes

The council approved a resolution appointing a local attorney to serve as a hearing officer for legacy 'boot and tow' cases that accrued during recent storms. Staff said they expect to need the hearing officer to preside over three to four hearings and that the appointment is a short-term measure to resolve cases promptly under an existing statute.

Corporation counsel Greg Kalmitsky said the administration plans to draft amendments to the tow statute to transfer future adjudicative functions to the city court rather than requiring separate hearing-officer appointments. "In the coming couple of weeks, I'm going to be revamping the statute... which will transfer the entire function to city court," he said. Council members and public commenters asked about procurement and the process to select a hearing officer; staff said the previous one-year contract had expired and that the statute requires submission of qualifications for council appointment.

The resolution authorizing the appointment was included in a block vote and carried. Staff said they would return with proposed ordinance language for council consideration to streamline the process going forward.