Weber State Debate Team Helps City Council Fight Predatory Towing
WSU debate team to report findings on predatory towing
MONDAY , DECEMBER 15, 2014 - 3:41 PM
"A car gets towed from the Ogden City Plaza in August.
Mitch Shaw
OGDEN — Ogden City will pass legislation in 2015 to combat what they call “non-consensual” towing and they’ve recruited Weber State University’s debate team to help them craft a law.
Earlier this year, the team was asked by the city to conduct comprehensive research on options for city regulations regarding non-consensual, or predatory towing. On Tuesday, the team will present its findings to members of the city administration and council during a special council work session.
Brittany Griffin, communications specialist for the city council staff, said the team will present several viewpoints related to the topic, then the council will discuss and consider policy options on the matter during subsequent meetings.
“We don’t currently have any ordinance on predatory towing, but we’ve had a lot of complaints from residents on the issue,” Griffin said. “The council does intend to develop an ordinance.”
Council chair Rich Hyer said predatory towing has been a hot topic among his constituents.
“I don’t know if ’victims’ is the right word — because the fact is, they were parking somewhere they technically weren’t authorized to — but I’ve heard from a lot of (Ogden citizens) that have felt like they’ve been towed unfairly,” Hyer said.
Ogden Chief Administrative Officer Mark Johnson told the Standard-Examiner earlier this year that his office has also received similar complaints of citizens unknowingly parking illegally in private lots due to inadequate or insufficient warning signage.
Hyer said enough noise has been made among residents to urge the council to take some kind of action.
“Basically, we’ve asked the debate team to do some research so we can get educated on both sides of the issue,” he said. “The big question is, are the penalties equal to the infraction? We feel like we probably do need to address it in some way, so we’ll find out what the research tells us and move forward from there.”
Utah law dictates that all non-consent tows must be reported to the Utah Motor Vehicle Division before payment can be collected. Local law enforcement agencies are also contacted by towing companies to avoid confusion and inefficient use of police resources in case a citizen calls to report a stolen vehicle that has actually been towed.
Consumers can report overcharges, inadequate certifications for tow drivers and other violations to the Utah Department of Transportation. Complaints can be filed at www.udot.utah.gov by clicking on the Motor Carrier Division link, then clicking on tow trucks link.
Griffin said the debate team was recruited to help the city as part of an ongoing formal relationship between WSU and the city dubbed “The College Town Initiative.” Griffin said the team was given a list of legislative items the city and council will be working on in 2015 and the team will provide the city with research on additional items throughout the year.
“This will be an ongoing relationship,” Griffin said.
Tuesday’s towing work session will be held immediately following the regular city council meeting, which begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Ogden Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Blvd.
Contact reporter Mitch Shaw at 801-625-4233 or mishaw@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @mitchshaw23.
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