The Lake County Council has dropped a fee levied on tow operators, siding with an argument that there was no justification for it.
The Board of Commissioners asked the council to drop the fee. Commissioner Mike Repay, D-Hammond, said there wasn’t a real justification for the added cost for tow operators that do business with the county.
The county’s ordinance currently levies a $50 franchise fee of tow operators, and a $75 fee paid to the county for each tow conducted under the terms of the contract.
Repay said the county will retain the tow release fee.
Councilman Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said he was concerned about the loss of income to the county.
“The $80,000 is quite a bit of money,” Dernulc said.
Repay said the board’s discussion has floated the idea of a licensing fee or equivalent fee for tow operators in the future to fill any hole created by the loss of the franchise fee.
“I think we would, we could and we should,” Repay said.
Repay said he’s looked at other communities’ towing regulations to see what fees they levy for inspections or licensing.
“Maybe we can get to that point,” Repay said.
Councilman David Hamm, D- Hammond, said there are other ways to generate revenue besides the franchise fee.
“We can always raise the release fee,” Hamm said.
The Lake County Council stripped governance of the towing contracts from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department earlier this year after federal indictments against Sheriff John Buncich alleged he solicited bribes from operators in exchange for more tow jobs.
The Board of Commissioners continues to move forward with its reforms to the county’s towing policies, many of which were set to start June 1.
In March, the county received proposals from 23 tow operators vying for contracts, and eight of those operators previously had contracts with the sheriff. Three operators who submitted proposals were disqualified for not meeting the county’s guidelines, officials said.
Once all the contracts were received, the commissioners planned to develop quadrants assigned to towing companies.
If a tow operator had a contract with the Sheriff’s Department that was not renewed by the commissioners, it will be terminated, officials said.
