Wallet watch: Storing cars will cost the owner

Owners whose cars are towed and stored by the city had better get ready to write a hefty check.

A $20 daily storage fee will go into effect within the next few weeks for any car police order towed.

Storage fees are common among many other cities, Public Safety Department Director Greg Smith told the City Council on Monday. As of now, the city does not charge for storing cars.

Most confiscated cars have been used to carry or sell drugs, Smith said. The city keeps the car until the owner goes to trial, which could be as long as a year.

If the car has a lien on it, the lien holder (usually a bank, finance company or credit union) can retrieve the car after the defendant has been found guilty and the judge orders the vehicle to be released. The finance agency would have to pay storage and towing fees before taking possession. If a car has been towed erroneously, or the owner found not guilty, the city would be liable for towing charges. Smith said he couldn’t remember any incident when a car was confiscated for drugs and the owner was not convicted. Storage fees would not be charged to an owner who is not found guilty.

If the car is paid for, and the suspect is found guilty, the judge can allow the city to keep vehicle or he can order it sold and the proceeds turned over to the schools. Storage fees would be deducted from the sale.

Police might have several cars towed in one month, or could tow none. The number varies, Smith said.

Proceeds from towing fees will be kept in a separate account for use if police want to buy a confiscated car. Smith recalled one case in which an expensive SUV was confiscated and the owner owed the bank only $6,000. The SUV would have been a good buy for his department, he said. The fee for storing a car for a year would have been $7,300 – more than was owed to the bank. Undercover drug investigators could have made good use of the vehicle.

The fund would be replenished when police sell the vehicle a year or more later.

The policy will apply to conveyances other than cars. It will include boats, planes or any other form of vehicle used to carry controlled substances.

The same conveyances would be subject to towing and storage fees if they are abandoned on the road and the owner cannot be found; if the vehicle identification number has been removed, replaced or altered; or if the license plate on the vehicle is not the one assigned to it.

City Council members will meet only once in April. If the policy is not approved at that time, it will be approved in May, Smith said, and take effect immediately.