City updates tow truck policy

By Randy Bell

     After operating with the same tow truck policy for about thirty years, Clinton decided it was time for a change.  The Board of Aldermen, at its September 17 meeting, approved an updated policy which City Attorney Will Purdie says includes “new rate structures and new requirements” for tow truck companies who want to be on the City’s rotation list.

     To qualify for the list, a company’s tow trucks must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and an operator who receives a call from the rotation list may not transfer the call to another company.  Each tow truck company must have an administrative office and storage facility at the same location within fifteen miles of the Clinton city limits that is open for business Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

     For a tow truck which Clinton police request at the scene of an accident, the maximum charge for a regular vehicle will be $200.  No other fees associated with the vehicle being towed are permitted.

     The new policy doesn’t establish a maximum fee for towing big trucks, tractors, trailers and heavy equipment, leaving those charges to the discretion of the tow truck company.

     The maximum storage fee a towing company can charge is $35 per day, starting with the second full day that the vehicle is at the company’s storage lot.  The maximum charge to release a vehicle after normal business hours is $45.

     Towing companies are required to have a minimum $750,000 comprehensive auto liability insurance policy and $25,000 “on-hook” coverage per vehicle.

     Ward 2 Alderman Jim Martin suggested that might not be enough.

     “These days, as far as vehicles go, $25,000 doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to,” Martin said.  Purdie agreed to take another look at the insurance amount, to see if it needs to be revised.