Towing companies have asked city leaders to put a hold on a proposed fee schedule.
LEWISTON – Plans to regulate towing fees and tow-truck drivers are in limbo while the companies look for a way to regulate themselves.
Towers are taking the next couple of weeks to study a plan that would require them to get licensed and adhere to fees set by the city.
Police Chief William Welch discussed the plan with the City Council last week. Just talking about it was enough to get the towing companies involved.
“They’re trying to alleviate the problems that led up to that document being created,” Welch said. “What we do next is all based on how well they manage.”
Members of the Androscoggin Towing and Safety Association are looking over Welch’s proposed changes and planning a response, he said.
“They don’t want to see any new regulations, certainly,” Welch said. “They’ve taken my proposed document and passed it around to say that this is what everyone is faced with if they can’t put their house in order.”
The city does not regulate towing companies currently. Companies can charge whatever fees they feel are fair.
That would change under Welch’s proposal. Wreckers would pay a $45 fee to register with the city and $10 for each vehicle. They would also agree to a set fee schedule – $50 per non-accident tow, $60 per accident tow and $15 per day for storage.
They also would be required to let car owners rescue their vehicles from the drivers for $25 cash when cars were towed without the owners’ permission. That could include towing the car of a person injured in an accident or of someone being arrested, or removing illegally parked vehicles in a private lot.
“We have had a number of complaints,” Welch said. “We’ve had people claim that the companies were charging exorbitant fees for towing and storage. We had people ask us to do something.”
The city might not have to now. Burnie Eveleth, of Burnie’s Garage and a member of the Androscoggin Towing and Safety Association, said towing companies are concerned. They’re reading Welch’s proposal and could come back with a plan of their own.
“We agreed to take a few weeks and look at them,” Eveleth said. “A lot of things need to be ironed out.”
Mark Champagne, owner of Anytime Towing, said the chief’s proposal would put him out of business. He currently charges between $75 and $90 when his company tows a car.
“This is what we have to do to pay for our overhead and for our drivers,” he said. “They have to get paid, too.”
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