|
DETROIT CITY COUNCIL CALLED TO EMERGENCY MEETING
REGARDING POLICE AUTHORIZED TOW CONTRACTS
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2022
DETROIT, MI – Just prior to Detroit City Council’s holiday recess, the Council unanimously agreed to call back the police authorized tow contracts at one of their first meetings in early January. Over the course of several months, the Detroit Towing Association had publicly voiced concern over the RFP process, selection, terms, and protest/appeal process. Now, an Emergency Meeting of the Council is called for Monday, December 12, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. in Council Chambers (See Agenda Here).
Members of the Detroit Towing Association have been working as police authorized tow companies without contracts since September 2021. Based on Monday’s City Council agenda, only seven tow companies have been selected for police rotation, down from 11 companies previously. Some companies are protesting the decisions made by the Office of Contracting and Procurement and the Towing Select Committee and are awaiting resolutions to their appeals. “We are curious as to why this meeting is being called, when the contracts and protests were to be brought back in just a few weeks,” said Barry Foster, President of the Detroit Towing Association. “We are also concerned that, while the city is growing, they have cut the number of police authorized tow companies down from 11 to seven. We have a 20-minute response time to all calls and now there will be less qualified towers on the road. The city is still 142.9 square miles,” said Foster.
While Detroit Towing Association Vice President Julie Semma agrees with Foster, she adds that the current contracts on the agenda should be approved on Monday and that the City moves forward with the agreement that, 1) Contracted Police Authorized Tow companies will continue to tow and impound stolen and recovered vehicles, which is estimated to be 50% of police authorized towing business, and, 2) The tow companies exercising their right to appeal may be added to the rotation once the appeal process and decisions are finalized. “We really need qualified, experienced tow companies to be part of the police rotation. Since this emergency meeting is being called, let’s resolve what we can on Monday and work on the rest in the weeks to come. We only want the best for the city we’ve worked with for more than 30 years,” said Semma.
About The Detroit Towing Association
The Detroit Towing Association is Southeast Michigan’s Towing Authority representing businesses in the police authorized, private property, auto-club, and municipal parking tow business as well as affiliated vendors. Their mission is to advocate for and share best practices in safety, dispatch, business development, employment and training, hauling, scrap, auctions, clean-up, and hazardous waste removal. Recently, they organized their second annual “Detroit’s Largest Turkey Drive,” at Second Ebenezer Church where they helped thousands of Detroit neighbors-in-need struggling with record inflation enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving. (See Video Below).
| 
