City Council Member Jack Young makes Baltimore City government look more like government for the people.
He called for a special hearing Wednesday to address why so many cars being towed are not abandoned and why so many of them are sold without their owners? knowledge ? the subject of numerous Examiner reports.
“The ticketing, towing and auctioning policies have become more about making money than about public safety and regulation,” said Young in a resolution he plans to introduce Monday.
And it?s certainly not about making money for the city. Private contractors towed 43,000 of the 46,501 cars picked up this past year, garnering $4.2 million in fees from taxpayers.
The city sold one quarter of those cars at auction for a total of $2.8 million, so the cost of towing them outweighed their sale price.
We wonder if the same people who tow the cars or those connected to them or to the Department of Transportation also buy them and resell them for a profit? We?ve asked the Department of Transportation for a list of the buyers of auctioned cars, but were told the information is private. If an auction is open to the public, how come those who buy cars are shielded from public view?
We hope Young demands an answer to this question from the Director of the Department of Transportation, Alfred Foxx.
What?s clear is that the system is not working. Examiner reports chronicle how cars are deemed “abandoned” and towed after just 48 hours; excessive fees are charged for towing and impounding; items are stolen from vehicles in the impound lot; and cars sold without owners? knowledge.
In one case, police seized the car of Keith Spence after arresting him for stealing it, despite the fact that he had the title to prove he owned it. The Department of Transportation then sold his car two months before a court cleared him of wrongdoing.
We look forward to the sunshine a special hearing would shed on the DOT and police policies and procedures.
But we don?t think that Mr. Foxx must wait to make necessary changes ? like extending the time between towing and selling ? to ensure a reasonable timeframe to retrieve a car. City residents deserve a towing and auction system that puts public safety first.
Let Foxx know what you think at 410-396-6802 or [email protected].
