by leilani in 311 Requests, Beat Reporter, Consumer Money Saving, Environment and Open Space, Government Reform, Investigative Reports, Politics, Teele Square, Traffic & Parking, Ward 7
Posted on January 21, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Last Modified on January 27, 2011 at 10:00 pm
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Happy snow emergency, Somerville towing victims!
I just picked up my car from Dilboy Stadium, a public parking lot, towed for the jolly price of $128. (Oh, don’t worry, City of Somerville – I haven’t forgotten about the additional $100 I still owe you!) $35 of the $128 fee levied by Pat’s Towing is marked “storage.”
When asked who ultimately receives the storage fee,
- the Pat’s Towing General Manager, in an email to Somerville 311 staff, said that Pat’s Towing retains the $35 storage fee, which is capped by the state and fluctuates monthly;
- a Pat’s Towing receptionist said it goes to the City of Somerville, which rents Dilboy to Pat’s during snow emergencies. Asked further about rental rates, the receptionist said she’d have to have management call me back and abruptly hung up. When I called back to give her my number, she laughed, collected it, told me there is not another number I can call myself to reach management, and commented to a nearby employee, “No, I didn’t tell her anything.” So far, neither has anyone else from Pat’s Towing;
- Somerville 311 staff is currently unable to confirm whether the city does, indeed, rent Dilboy to Pat’s Towing. (Update to follow.)
Further, according to current Massachusetts code ch. 159B sec. 6B, effective November 10, 2010,
” The maximum storage charge for non-commercial passenger motor vehicles with a maximum capacity of nine persons, shall be $35 per twenty-four hour period thereof…The maximum rate established herein, shall apply only to lighted, outside storage facilities enclosed by a secure fence or other secure barrier at least six feet in height. Other outdoor storage facilities shall be entitled to a maximum storage rate of only one-half that established above.”
So what does all this mean for us, the towed?
As I haven’t seen any 6+ foot high fences sprouting up around the Dilboy Stadium lot recently, at a bare minimum, Pat’s is charging $35 where they should be charging $17.50. Further, if the City of Somerville is not, in fact, renting Dilboy to Pat’s Towing, Pat’s is privately profiting from the free use of public land. And if the City of Somerville is renting to Pat’s, Somerville has to be held accountable for the fact that they are extorting a minimum of $135 from residents and visitors for snow emergency violations.
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Hi Leilani, as you may know, the City has been raising all sorts of fees and fines over the last year or so to help cover budget gaps caused chiefly by ballooning health care costs for municipal employees, a precipitous drop in state-aid, and squandered municipal development opportunities [see Bill Shelton's op-ed Parking Extortion in the SN].
I look forward to hearing how Somerville 311 responds about the rental arrangement.
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I am not much of a conspiracy theorist about local government- I tend to think that things like this happen because “its always been done this way” and when it snows there are too many other things to deal with.
However, your report raises a number of questions the City should answer. How much to they get from the lease of Dilboy Field parking? Does Pat’s overcharge for “storage” under state law? When was the last time the tow contract was bid competitively? Please report on what you learn.
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Hi,
Director of Communications with the City here. I just wanted to chime in about the tow fees so that people understand where the numbers come from.
The $90 towing fee and $35 storage fee are set by the State and apply to all contract towing done for the City. The Dilboy lot is used during snow emergencies to provide more convenience for the people on the west side of the city and to help clear cars more efficiently during a snow emergency. Pat’s drivers could haul the cars back to the east side of the city, but it would be more difficult for those on the west side to get to the lot. It also would delay getting cars out of the way of plows and public safety vehicles.
We understand that no one is ever happy about being towed, but we hope that people recognize we are making a best-faith effort to provide a lot closer to westside residents and to run a more efficient operation in the pursuance of improved public safety.
Needless to say it would be inequitable to charge different rates dependent upon which lot you get towed to during a snow emergency.
Pat’s has the towing contract as part of an open bid process. And, yes, the City absolutely does get back $25 of that towing fee. The $90 towing fee would remain the same regardless of whether the City secured a portion of it. We think it is the more responsible course of action that some of that money goes back to the taxpayers.
And some quick tips to avoid getting towed:
1) Sign up for the City’s emergency alert system. This way you will be given notice whenever a snow emergency is about to go into effect.
2) If social or work reasons are going to make it difficult to move your car on a given winter day, park on the odd side of street as a precaution. Also try to use the buddy system with a neighbor to move/shovel out your car if you will be unable to do so.
3) Remember that you must move your vehicles from school/municipal lots within two hours of the end of a snow emergency.
4) Please make sure to park close to the curb. We understand that the recent snow accumulation has made this difficult. We are trying to plow to the curb and we will be looking to haul away large snow banks throughout the city during the next week. Yet some vehicles are parking 3-4 feet off the curb, which creates both a hazard and a roadblock.
We will be towing cars parked too far away from the curb (in order to ensure public safety). So please take a shovel and dig out a space closer to the curb. As unappealing as that may be, it is preferable to being towed.
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Hi Michael, thanks for joining the conversation and providing some valuable information. Are you able to address leilani’s concern that the storage fee of $35 exceeds what appears to be the legal limit for a an outdoor storage facility without the proper secure barrier?
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Barry,
Sorry for the delayed response. As you can imagine, the snow has kept us busy.
As I mentioned above, we provide the Dilboy lot as a convenience to people on the west side of the city who happen to get towed during a snow emergency. It would be inequitable to charge people in one half of the city less (as a result of offering them greater convenience) than we charge in the other half. People who live east of Central St. would correctly point out that such a program stepped over the boundary between customer service and privilege.
As for the fence, if we put up a temporary fence around the entire lot (there is the back fence and the stadium bordering a significant portion of it), all it would achieve is that it would be more difficult to clear the snow from the lot. We keep a police officer on site for security. If anyone has a constructive comment about how to provide better maintenance or security at that site, we’re more than happy to listen, but we have put some forethought into the optimal way to maintain the lot during all these snowstorms and to keep it secure.
Pat’s tows to that lot at the City’s request. The company then has to staff the lot 24/7 while cars are on site. It could just tow everything back to its already-staffed lot on the east side of the city, but we are trying to give a slight break to people whom, we assume, made an honest mistake.
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“…we are trying to give a slight break to people whom, we assume, made an honest mistake.”
Why does Somerville issues a $100 ticket to each towed resident then? For that kind of money, I could easily afford a taxi to any location in the city. If you mean this statement in the least, I would expect wide-ranging amnesty for snow emergency tickets this season.
The $35 fee is illegal, period. Nothing about convenience or equity changes that. Honestly it was a relief to learn the car was so nearby, but that won’t make me turn the other way at money that is being collected illegally by Pat’s and/or Somerville.
Please point us to some information as to how much money is collected in this way and where it’s going.
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Mike,
We make no apologies for towing during a snow emergency. We have plows and public safety vehicles that need to get down those streets. We blanket the city with phone, email and text alerts. We post the information online and blast it out via Twitter and Facebook. We put up flashing blue lights to alert residents. We run the information on our two City cable stations. We send cruisers through our neighborhoods with loud speakers.
If, after all of that, you’re still parked on the wrong side of the street, or too far away from the curb, or too close to a hydrant or intersection, you are going to be ticketed and towed. We are not giving general amnesty to those whose cars are blocking our streets and presenting a public safety hazard.
The convenience we can offer is that you don’t have to travel so far (and pay the extra cab fare) to retrieve your car, which you apparently appreciated (and that was our goal).
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Look, any time towing is discussed, obviously residents are going to be upset about it. I’m sorry you have to bear the brunt of that here, and I am glad that you are making the effort to discuss this with us.
But I am very frustrated that 3 issues are going unanswered:
1. Regardless of how logical it may seem, the current practice is in violation of state law. That violation is costing many residents at least $17.50.
2. Where is this money going? Where can we get any information about how much is being collected and where it’s going?
3. The $100 charged by Somerville is unusually and unnecessarily high. What is the purpose of this charge? Does the city figure that getting towed and paying $128 is not disincentive enough? Is the $100 ticket punitive or just a good revenue source?
Again, sorry you are taking all of our vitriol, but they are serious issues and I think many of us would like honest answers.
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Hi Michael,
I agree that it’s more convenient for West Somerville residents to pick up their cars at Dilboy than at Pat’s main lot. I also see your point about trying to be equitable to both sides of the city.
I think the current strategy is a reasonable one. I’d like to see the Mayor advocating with our state delegation to update the law so that the City’s practice will be legal. Do you know how long the City has been using this strategy?
And thanks for engaging the community on this blog!
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Barrym
No problem. Happy to chime in.
I should have added that the $100 ticket (separate from the towing fees, which we’ve discussed) goes to the City. We have to run extra police cruisers to make sure our 100+ miles of street are clear and that has personnel, fuel and equipment costs associated with it.
I urge people to read my above tips on how not to get towed. It’s the easier, less expensive course of action.
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I believe the twitter, FB, emails and phone calls for warning people about snow emergency parking. But I have NEVER heard the police announcing it on my street or in my area. I don’t believe it.
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Yes, I would like an answer to the $35 storage fee as well. Seems quite fishy.
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The full $35 charge is plainly in violation of state law. Anybody hear anything back from the city on this?
Also, where can we find a clear accounting of the money Somerville receives and where it goes?
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I called to check in w/the city – no further updates from them. My next step is to request contact info for the GM of Pat’s (since reception seems determined to tell me nothing). Naturally, he/she is welcome to join our little forum here.
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Now that there is a city official in the conversation, i want to ask how the police officer took a ticket back, but forced me to run to find cash and pay $90 to the Pat’s towing guy, or they would tow my car from in font of my house, in front of my eyes and I would have to take a cab and go rescue my car than anything else. I had to run with my life to an atm, pay the $1.50 fee and get that $90 while my roommates stood by the officer and Pat’s guy so that they wouldn’t lose patience while I am at the atm and tow it away anyway. It seemed like they had enough time to wait and extort money from me, rather than to go ahead and continue towing other cars that were parked in front of us, rather than be on my side as a Somerville resident and tax payer, to protect and serve for me because I believe that police force is for our good, not to force us to run like a chicken with its head cut off and pay the tow guy to rescue your own car from in front of your house. My question is, is the police looking out for our good, should we continue to avoid them at all costs because they are just following orders and we shouldn’t expect common sense? How does all this affect our quality of life in the city?
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This absolutely shatters claims of any “good faith” effort to protect safety. A live vehicle owner is there and ready to move his car for public safety, but a tow company doesn’t even render any towing and is allowed to charge for that? If the officer was still present, this is even more damning.
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Police officer was there and threatening me for going to prison if I complained another 2 minutes, that I needed to bring them the money, or they would tow it, later he threatened me to reissue the ticket if I don’t move my car right away after the tow truck released it, believe me if that wasn’t harrassment then what is? All I am trying to do is avoid further costs like ‘$35′ storage fee, cab ride, a $100 ticket etc. I am a car corrier and I have one ticket in 6 months from a wrong turn. $90 is a days work for me. So I am very aware what not to do to get a ticket. I haven’t even mention the lousy signage Somerville applied on the streets. They put random 5, at most 6 signs for a long street like the one I am living on Sunday and everyone thought every space other than those with signs were ok to park. No ticketing or towing happened that night because it was Sunday?? But next day, when Monday arrived, Police, Pat’s and everyone else decided they will go do their job and make some money? I am still in shock!
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If what you write is true, it’s shocking and many Somerville residents will not stand for this, however your story needs to be valid.
What you should do is write down and edit your story very carefully describing your situation, including the name of officer and the towtruck company driver. Post it to local boards, ie Somerville Voices, Davis Square live journal, and share with local press asking for help in clearing up this issue. I’m sure residents will respond as having Police officers threatening citizens is really not looked at favorably in Somerville.
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It sounds like someone is getting paid off, campaign contributions, kick backs or something.
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What about the fence?
The city representative conveniently ignored that point.
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Vis a vis the fence:
so the city representative is openly admitting that the city is violating a regulation.
jeez, i dont see the city forgiving parking violators one penny!
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…really, this would be so much easier to swallow if the city itself weren’t hitting its own residents with exorbitant fines for anything parking-related.
$228 for an “honest mistake” — I’m sorry if I don’t see any kind of break in this.
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I think everyone should call and/or email their alderman/woman and demand that this be discussed at the next BOA meeting. This is highway robbery and the city is violating a regulation. Keep all these postings too.
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Mike,
Responding down here because there’s no reply button up above.
To your specific points:
1) We respectfully disagree. By stationing the police officer on site we believe we have exceeded the security that would be provided by a fence.
2) I’ve explained the fees,and how much goes to the City, at various points in this thread.
3) I mentioned the ticket fee (separate from the towing fees) above. One additional point of clarification, Pat’s does not make the judgment calls on who to tow. Somerville Police do that, so that someone accountable is making that decision. However, that incurs costs and that is where the ticketing fee comes from.
And no problem on the vitriol front. Getting towed doesn’t put me in a good mood either. I hope my participation here has been of some use to you.
With that I’m going to bow out of this thread.
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Hi Michael,
Perhaps there’s only so much you can say in your position, but the concerns are basically left unanswered.
1. The officer may be 6′ in height, but I don’t think he/she qualifies as a “secure barrier”. There’s no exception that I’m aware of for “equivalent security”, just for a security barrier.
2. You did not specify where the storage fees are going, just the towing fees. Is Pat’s really reaping $35 per vehicle stored on public land? That is a very serious issue and you have not addressed it at all.
3. I never questioned any officer or tower’s judgment, just why the fee is so high. Do the additional expenses really come close to this at all?
Does anyone more experienced than I am with city issues know where best to take these questions?
I think the unaccounted use of public land for private profit is extremely serious and needs an answer from our city officials.
Secondarily, the fine seems outrageously high to me, and I would like to at least know why, if not attempt to get it lowered.
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Once again you clearly state that the city is violating a regulation regarding fencing.
You give not an inch vis a vis parking so why should I let this be?
Are you sure your boss wants you to put in writing that the city is violating regulations?
Another thing…has the city ever explored using a different company than Pat’s, or are the kickbacks too good to give up?
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Ben, what evidence do you have of kickbacks?
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None.
But why else would such a great city give a contract to the meanest, dirtiest, scummiest company they can find?
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I don’t know, maybe because they were the lowest bidder?
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Why else indeed.
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There is no way the city simply gave pat’s the contract because they had the lowest bid. They have been towing for how long? The city opened bidding when?
I dont buy it. At all.
Somerville is dirtier than it appears.
And any business that treats people the way Pat’s does and still has city contracts obviously is doing something to keep them.
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I’m sure the City would be glad to share its bidding records in the name of transparency.
What do you mean about the way Pat’s treats people? So far it sounds like they are taking directions from the City.
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Cash only rude talk slobby gross office immunity from normal cultural norms.
Thats all.
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Huh?
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I think you comprehend what i said even with bad grammar.
The “huh” is strictly to discount my words.
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Nope, you didn’t make any sense.
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just add commas.
i know you can read what i said.
you are just acting like a smart…
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Ok, I think you mean that Pat’s only takes payment in cash and has a dirty office. I’m not sure it that’s true, but if so, are these big problems?
I’m not sure what you mean by “immunity from normal cultural norms”?
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Wait! Going all the way back up the messages, didn’t the city say that the $ to Pat’s for storing cars at Dilboy was to cover the cost of the 24 hour security? If there’s a Somerville police officer there, aren’t we paying the tab? Or is Pat’s paying a detail officer? If so, even $35 doesn’t come close. This doesn’t seem to add up…
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The aggregate of all those $35 storage fees might cover the cost of a security officer. But maybe the City’s representative can help us understand how the budget for this works out…
Michael, can you tell us how much it has cost to station the security officer at the Dilboy lot so far this Winter? How many $35 storage fees have been collected so far this season? What’s the City’s estimate for the cost of a fence at that location? Couldn’t the fence be constructed as to allow for certain sections to be opened during snow removal?
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