Towing ordinance sets new fees, response times
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP - A new towing ordinance recently introduced by the Township Council should color in the "gray areas" of the old ordinance, Township Council President Stephen Acropolis said.

The council also introduced an ordinance upgrade that details what equipment the towing businesses licensed by the township must have to respond to calls, and details what they can charge for services.

"Some towers were not following the existing ordinance as closely as they should have," Acropolis said after the meeting. "We clarified a lot of the gray areas in the ordinance, fees, time on scene."

The biggest change in the new ordinance is the requirement that all towers licensed by the township will have to have both a wrecker and a flatbed to respond to calls, he said.

The goal is to clear the roadways of any obstructions as soon as possible, Acropolis said.

In the past, if a tower arrived on an accident scene and discovered a wrecker was needed rather than a flatbed, traffic on the roadway was tied up even longer, he said.

"All of the other towing ordinances required a tower to have a flatbed and a wrecker," he said. "Nine of our 11 towers had both."

The new ordinance was crafted after examining towing ordinances from Toms River, Howell and Lakewood, he said.

"We wanted to make it a little more user-friendly," he said. "All of the numbers and requirements have to be posted in the place of business. They have to take checks and credit cards. It's all spelled out in the ordinance. It's to make it a little easier for the residents and the towers."

All employees of a towing company will now have to be fingerprinted, Acropolis said.

"It was in there before, but there was a gray area about who had to be fingerprinted," he said. "Some thought it was only the owner. Now anybody who tows for them will have to be fingerprinted."

The new ordinance also sets fees for the towing and storage of various vehicles and increases the fee for a tower's license, Acropolis said.

Towers must be available on a seven-day, 24-hour-per-day basis and must be able to respond to any tow scene within 20 minutes of the township's request, according to the ordinance.

Acropolis praised Sgt. Donald Ling of the police department's traffic safety bureau for meeting with him, members of the public safety committee and the towers.

"Donnie Ling did a really great job," he said. "We really took our time hammering out things they needed to have done."

The township looked at other towing ordinances in Howell, Toms River and Lakewood, Acropolis said.

"We wanted to make it a little more user-friendly," he said. "All of the numbers and requirements have to be posted in the place of business. They have to take checks and credit cards. It's all spelled out in the ordinance. It's to make it a little easier for the residents and the towers."

The number of towers licensed by the township will remain the same at eleven, he said.