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Big changes are coming to the regulations covering towing businesses in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council unanimously voted to crack down on predatory towing at Thursday afternoon's meeting.
"It's a new day," Councilman Darrell Curls said.
Curls is the sponsor behind the proposed new towing ordinances.
Among the changes are a vehicle owner bill of rights, creating an electronic reporting system to the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD), and enforcing fines for violators.
The penalty for a first violation is a fine between $250 and $500 and/or 30 days in jail. A second violation could mean a fine of $500 to $750 and/or 90 days in jail. A third violation will mean a fine of $750 o $1,000 and/or 180 days in jail.
"A lot of times, what happens is people don't know their rights when it comes to towing," Councilman Curls said. "The ones that are affected are always the ones that can least afford it."
The city council swiftly passed the ordinance after dozens of people shared their voice on how they suffered at the hands of illegal towing.
Councilman Curls said he started work on the legislation six months ago.
"I think that this is something that's been long overdue," Councilman Curls said. "This came from my constituents, my family members, as well as some of my colleagues expressing concerns about towing fees that affect everybody in the city."
Tow truck drivers also shared their voice at Tuesday's committee meeting on the ordinance.
"I'm all for regulation, I think all of us are here for that," Josh Baker, Jackson County Tow Service, said. "The problem is nobody here [on council] tows."
Drivers cited problems with the Kansas City Police Department's communication and the city taking a large profit from public tows.
"Underneath the guise of public protection, you guys [the city] are profiting $143 off of every single tow that we bring down, and you own no tow trucks," Junior Johnson with Empire Tow Service said.
Councilman Curls responded to their concerns by explaining that the police department is confident in their enforcement, and any profit problems within the city will be addressed.
"I know the director of public works is looking into that [profiting] and I think there will be some changes in regards to that if it hasn't already been made," Councilman Curls said. "We've had KCPD at the table for these discussions, and they were very confident that they would be able to enforce this ordinance."
Now it's up to Jackson County to pass legislation requiring all tow truck drivers to have a license.
According to Councilman Curls, Jackson County is the only county in the area that does not require licensure.
"Clay, Platte, and Cass County had something," Councilman Curls said. "Jackson County was the only one that didn't."
The legislature is expected to take up the ordinance on Monday, May 5.
At Thursday's meeting, the City Council also decided to dedicate funding to keep buses and IRIS micro transit running.
Two ordinances that would provide $2.75 million for the transit buses and an additional $3.25 million for KCATA and IRIS will be discussed May 6th in the council's Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee meeting.
The Ride Share program was supposed to end on Thursday, but council members pledged an additional $500,000 on Wednesday afternoon to keep it running.
It's unclear how long that funding will last, but the KCATA stated it costs about $500,000 a month to keep IRIS in service.
"I would love to see some more definition to [the funding], but I feel confident that we have the opportunity to work with council and help define what this looks like and find an opportunity to fund both sides of the services more long term," Tyler Means, KCATA chief mobility and strategy officer, said.
According to the KCATA, IRIS helps more than 300 people get to work every day. Councilman Wes Rogers said they still need to find a long-term solution for public transit.
"We figured out how to keep the buses running, we figured out how to keep IRIS going," Councilman Rogers said. "At least in the short term, everything's going okay. I saw Bobby Witt hit a home run today. This is not a home run, it's an infield single, but it's a positive."
IRIS rideshare will continue at least throughout the next week.
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