Sheriff outlines TowPro rollout to automate tow-rotation; vendors to pay registration fee

The sheriff of Washington County told the Public Safety Committee the Sheriff's Office will implement an automated tow‑rotation platform called TowPro to handle "no‑preference" tow requests starting April 1, with a five‑month inclusion window for other vendors to opt into the system in September.

The sheriff said consolidation of countywide dispatch operations and rising call volumes made the automated rotation attractive because it reduces dispatcher phone and radio traffic, provides transparency on vendor position in the queue and tracks response times and compliance. "We chose a product called TowPro... it really cuts down on phone calls, radio traffic, and lets dispatchers concentrate on public safety dispatching rather than administrative tasks," the sheriff said.

To implement the system the sheriff described an annual registration fee of $357 per tow company and a $15 per‑tow charge. He said the county will not pay the registration fee and will pass it to participating tow vendors to ensure vendor buy‑in. "I did not think the taxpayers of Washington County should have to bear that fee," he said.

The sheriff said the vendor onboarding letter went out in mid‑February, vendors were invited to training sessions with the Utah‑based company that developed the platform, and the county sent staff to observe a neighboring county (Walworth County) that has been using the product. The sheriff said the company’s owners were on site to train dispatchers and vendors, and that data‑tracking features will help the county monitor vendor performance.

Chairman Schlife and other committee members thanked the sheriff and praised the automation as a fairness and transparency improvement for vendors and dispatch. No formal action was taken at the meeting; the item was informational.