North New Castle News

One-year agreement with City Towing Services (CTS) provides scofflaws and other vehicle owners more time to retrieve their vehicles and items from their vehicles

The City of Wilmington’s parking enforcement improvement plan has taken another step forward with the completion of a new, one-year contract with City Towing Services LLC (CTS) for the towing of vehicles from within the boundaries of the City. The contract will expire on March 31, 2024. Wilmington is forced to tow vehicles each year because they have been involved in accidents, are part of police investigations, are abandoned, are parked in violation of the law, or because individuals have repeatedly failed to pay their parking tickets. The new one-year agreement has been revised to provide greater accommodation to individuals seeking to retrieve their towed vehicles and personal items contained in their vehicles, as well as modifying the requirements of CTS to account for towed vehicles and fees charged to vehicle owners. The new contract includes the following provisions, as well as others, some of which are new as noted: 

• CTS will not charge towing or storage fees to owners of average-sized vehicles (under 8,000 pounds, which includes most regular-sized vehicles and SUVs).
• CTS will charge a towing fee and daily storage fee for over-sized vehicles (over 8,000 pounds) based on a state-prescribed rate (NEW) beginning on the eighth day of storage.
• A 15-day increase in the length of time (60 days instead of 45 days) CTS must hold a vehicle in storage before it may institute the State-authorized legal process to take title to the vehicle when vehicle owners fail to retrieve their vehicles. (NEW)
• A requirement that CTS must provide the City’s Police Chief and Finance Director with notification at least two weeks prior to instituting any State-authorized legal process to take title to a vehicle when the vehicle owner fails to retrieve it.
• A requirement that CTS may not institute any legal process to take title to a vehicle until the Police Chief or Finance Director confirms that CTS has held the vehicle for the required time period under the contract. (NEW)
• A requirement that CTS obtain prior written approval from the City to hire a subcontractor to tow vehicles beyond the towing weight capacity CTS can handle.
• A requirement that CTS must provide the City with a copy of the mailed, certified notice CTS is required to send to all registered owners and lienholders of towed vehicles no later than 72 hours after the vehicle was towed. (NEW)
• A requirement that CTS must allow a vehicle owner access to the storage lot where their vehicle is located 24-hours a day, seven days a week for retrieval of the vehicle or of personal items in the vehicle.  There will be no charge to owners for such access. (NEW)

Mayor Purzycki said these changes will hopefully provide more time for vehicle owners who are delinquent in paying their tickets to find a way to pay the fines owed and retrieve their vehicle. “We don’t tow vehicles because we want to,” said the Mayor, “but because we unfortunately have to. That said, this new contract falls in line with our plan to improve parking enforcement by doing all we can to issue fewer tickets and hopefully tow fewer vehicles.” 

Original source can be found here.