Mount Olive police back current tow-service radius; council considers opening market with 7-mile option

Police and council debated proposed updates to the townshiptowing ordinance on July 7 as the police department presented a review of vendor coverage, response times and a revised standard operating procedure for impound and vehicle release.

"We're required to review what we charge for tow services every three years," Mount Olive Police Captain Lou Sanchez told the council, explaining the department missed a scheduled review and recommended using the Attorney General/state-recommended billing schedule. He cautioned council members about expanding the vendor radius too far because of storage location and response-time concerns: "If the person who's on call lives in Pennsylvania or lives in Flemington, they're not gonna get here within 20 minutes," he said.

Council members said they were broadly satisfied with the 20-minute response-time standard but questioned whether the five-mile radius could be expanded to improve coverage on the 206 corridor. One council member summarized earlier research showing nearby vendors with travel times that would not always meet the 20-minute standard. "East Coast Towing 7.6 miles away has a 17-minute drive time," a councilmember said, citing a 2021 memo, and said some former vendors were no longer in business.

Council consensus was to ask police and legal to discuss fee-structure specifics and proposed radius language offline and return with a clarified proposal. Captain Sanchez said changes to the townshipSOP for impound and release have eased burdens on residents by reducing repeat trips to the police station, and he urged caution about pushing the service area too far without ensuring local storage and response capabilities.

Next steps: council asked for a private follow-up discussion with police and legal staff to refine proposed ordinance amendments, especially the fee schedule and mileage/radius language, before formal introduction or amendment.