Credit Where Credit is Due: Mayor Greg Ballard and Council President Ryan Vaughn Propose Ordinance to End Predatory Towing

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard

About 1 1/2 years ago, I began discussing predatory towing in this city.  Eventually others picked up the topic, including Fox59, WTHR and WRTV.  All did excellent investigations on a problem that was growing increasingly worse.  Unfortunately the only state law on the subject - that vehicles must be tagged for 24 hours before they are considered "abandoned" and can be towed (with a couple exceptions), was routinely ignored.  We needed local ordinances to clarify the state law and provide more protection for vehicle owners.  Into that void Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and Council President Ryan Vaughn stepped and made what appears to be a very sensible proposal.  Here are the highlights according to Fox59:

• Cap towing fees for passenger vehicles at $150.

• Cap storage fees at $30 per day
• Require detailed receipts listing all charges
• Prohibit payments from tow operators to property owners/lot managers per vehicle towed
• Signs listing lot hours and vehicle redemption information must be approved by the City
• Vehicles must be towed directly to secure storage lot inside Marion County, unless within 10 miles of pick up
• Motorists must be able to claim their vehicle 24 hours per day, seven days a week
• Towing operators and their storage lots must accept cash or credit cards




Council President
Ryan Vaughn


• Representative of property owner, not affiliated with the tow company, must sign tow order for each vehicle prior to towing

These are good ideas.  There might be a problem with  the 24/7 pickup for small towing companies that aren't able to staff 24/7.  I've also heard that the credit card option is a problem as well.  People often  challenge credit card charges for towing companies doing non-consensual tows.

Instead of just the $150 cap on non-consensual tows, I would put in a provision in saying that towing companies cannot charge more for a nonconsensual tow than they charge for a consensual tow.  The ordinance also needs to address charges for mileage and other add-ons that inflate towing bill.   This proposed ordinance though appears to be an excellent start.

For some time, I've criticized Mayor Ballard and Councilor Vaughn for putting the wishes of establishment insiders ahead of what is best for the people.  I wanted them to take a more populist approach to their positions, proposing measures that put the people first ahead of those special interests.  In a county that's only 45% Republican, that was the only way the Mayor could have been re-elected.  Now 3 1/2 years into the Mayor's term, he appears to finally have gotten the message.  While it is too little and too late to save his re-election, both the Mayor and Councilor Vaughn deserve credit for doing the right thing.