TERRE HAUTE —
The Terre Haute City Council is considering an ordinance tonight that would establish a $30 fee to retrieve a vehicle impounded by police due to being “junked” or “abandoned.”
As currently written, the ordinance, introduced by Councilman Norm Loudermilk, would only require a $30 fee to recover vehicles towed because they were “abandoned” or “junked” as defined by current city code, said City Attorney Chou-il Lee.
In the future, the council also could require a $30 fee to recover vehicles impounded due to drunken driving arrests or other criminal violations, he said.
“That code section [mentioned in the ordinance] applies solely to abandoned vehicles, so that is not those that are associated with a crime,” Lee said. “In order to do something associated with a crime, we’ll probably have to do an entirely new section because that entire section applies only to abandoned vehicles… My guess is someone will be asking me to bring something next month as to that issue,” he said.
There is no intention to require a $30 fee to recover a vehicle involved in an ordinary auto accident, said John Plasse, police chief and a supporter of the ordinance.
According to the ordinance, 90 percent of the funds raised by the ordinance would support the police department’s Continuing Education Fund. The remaining 10 percent would go to the Emergency Responder Training Academy on North Brown Avenue.
At last week’s council meeting, supporters of the ordinance stated it would cover approximately 1,800 vehicles annually. However, that estimate was based upon the belief that the ordinance would apply to vehicles impounded as “junked” or “abandoned” and also for criminal violations, such as drunken driving.
The funds raised by the ordinance for the training academy would amount to a police department contribution to the upkeep of the facility, which is used by police officers for training, Plasse told the council last week.
“I think it’s just fair for us to pay our fair share,” Plasse told the council. The remaining funds would be used for equipment and training of police officers, he said. None of the money would be used for salaries, Plasse said.
Currently, the Emergency Responder Training Academy receives approximately $65,000 from a portion of ambulance fees charged when the fire department provides emergency medical transportation, said Fire Chief Jeff Fisher. The only other source of funding for the academy comes from a fee charged to the state of Indiana when it uses the facility for training. That fee is for the use of a fire truck and an operator, Fisher said.
Jason Kane is the new training academy training chief and Kevin Price is the Emergency Medical Services education chief, Fisher said. Both will have offices at the training center, he said.
Loudermilk, a member of the Terre Haute Fire Department, was formerly the director of the academy. He resigned from that position earlier this year.
Jason Durr, co-owner of Durr’s Towing in Terre Haute, said the $30 fee makes sense. Individuals subject to the fee have failed to obey the law in some way and are imposing a cost on the police department, which must deal with the impounding and release of their vehicles, he said.
The Terre Haute Board of Public Works and Safety has drafted a new contract to govern towing companies that tow vehicles on behalf of the city. In its current form, that contract would limit towing fees to $75 and storage fees to $15 a day. That contract may be further amended before Monday’s next Board of Works meeting at 2 p.m. in City Hall, according to city officials.
The City of Indianapolis has a cap of $90 on all towing jobs initiated by city officials. Under current contracts, the city is paid at least two-thirds of that $90 by the towing companies involved, said Kate Johnson, a public information officer for the Code Enforcement Division of the City of Indianapolis. Those funds are used to reimburse the Indianapolis Police Department for administrative work associated with towing vehicles, she said. There is no separate fee to recover an impounded car, she said.
The City of Indianapolis receives a portion of city-initiated towing fees regardless of the reason that a vehicle is towed, Johnson said.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
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Vehicle retrieval fee to be considered
$30 fee for ‘junked’ or ‘abandoned’ autos on City Council agenda
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