[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Monticello 1-5-1976 (Ch. 169
of the 1976 Code); amended in its entirety 5-19-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is entitled "A Local Law Providing for the Licensing
and Regulation of the Operation of Service and Tow Trucks for Hire
in the Village of Monticello, New York."
No person, firm or corporation shall operate for hire a truck
or other type of motor vehicle designed and able to service or tow
other motor vehicles within the Village of Monticello, unless a license
therefor shall first have been obtained from the Clerk of the Village
of Monticello as hereinafter provided, except that tow truck operators
from outside the Village of Monticello may enter the Village of Monticello
without a license to remove a motor vehicle from any garage, private
residence or any street by permission of the owner.
No such license shall be issued unless an application therefor
shall have been filed with the Village Clerk upon a form prescribed
therefor, which shall include:
A.
The name and business address of the applicant and, if a natural
person, his age and residence address.
B.
The registration number of the service or tow truck to be operated.
C.
The amount of liability insurance for personal injury and property
damage on said service or tow truck; the name of the insurance company,
which must be licensed to do business in the State of New York; and
the policy number. The limits shall be not less than $100,000 for
each person and $300,000 for each occurrence and not less than $50,000
for property damage; not less than $20,000 for uninsured motorists;
and not less than $50,000 for no-fault insurance.
D.
The schedule of maximum prices the licensee agrees to charge during
the term of the license for servicing or towing motor vehicles from
points within the Village of Monticello and for storage of such vehicle
at its garage or service station. Such schedule may be based upon
the distance that each motor vehicle is to be towed, the weight of
the vehicle towed and the time of day or night such services are performed.
E.
The applicant's Registered Repair Shop Certificate Number or
the applicant's Registered Automobile Sales License and a copy
of the applicant's Registered Repair Certificate or a copy of
the applicant's Automobile Sales License shall be attached to
the application form.
F.
Such other information or exhibits as shall reasonably be required
by the village officials to whom administration of these provisions
is delegated.
A.
No such license shall be issued unless the applicant agrees to charge
no more than the maximum rates for towing as set forth from time to
time by the Board of Trustees, regardless of distance, within the
Village of Monticello.
B.
However, reasonable extra charges may be made for labor to right
any overturned vehicle, to remove from the highway any motor vehicle
incapable of being towed, for opening a locked vehicle and for towing,
pulling or hoisting vehicles from positions off the highway.
C.
All licensees shall be required to post in their garage or service
station a schedule of the maximum rates for to wing as herein set
forth and shall also be carried on the truck to show the owner of
the vehicle if requested.
D.
Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the maximum rates
permitted to be charged by tow trucks shall not apply to any trucks
or buses in excess of seven tons.
E.
The towing rates as above set forth may be altered or amended by
resolution of the Village Board.
F.
Any vehicle picked up for towing in the Village of Monticello shall
be towed to a legal destination within the Village of Monticello or
Town of Thompson (a registered repair shop, a licensed automobile
sales agency, or a legally zoned and approved automobile storage area)
unless the owner of the vehicle requests that the vehicle be removed
to a location outside of the Town of Thompson.
A.
No such licenses shall be issued unless the applicant agrees to charge
no more than the maximum rates as set forth from time to time by the
Board of Trustees for road service, regardless of distance, within
the Village of Monticello.
B.
However, a reasonable extra charge may be made for service calls
that require services beyond 20 minutes.
C.
All licensees shall be required to post in their garage or service
station a schedule of the maximum rates for road service as herein
set forth.
D.
The service rates as above set forth may be altered or amended by
resolution of the Village Board.
A.
No such license shall be issued unless the applicant agrees to charge
no more than a maximum charge per twenty-four-hour period for outside
storage as set forth from time to time by the Board of Trustees and
a maximum charge per twenty-four-hour period as set forth from time
to time by the Board of Trustees for inside storage at the garage
or service station of any vehicle towed thereto.
B.
Under the terms of this chapter, there shall be no storage of any
kind of any unlicensed or unregistered motor vehicles.
C.
The storage rates as above set forth may be altered or amended by
resolution of the Village Board.
Every license issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire on
the first day of January following the issuance thereof, and no such
license is transferable from one operator to another nor from one
truck to another without the prior consent of the Board of Trustees.
A.
The annual license fee, payable to the Village Clerk for each such
license or renewal thereof, which license may cover but one service
or tow truck, shall be as set forth from time to time by the Board
of Trustees.
B.
The license fee as above set forth may be altered or amended by resolution
of the Village Board.
On each side of every service or tow truck for which a license
has been granted, there shall be legibly inscribed, in letters not
less than three inches high, the name and address of the owner of
such service or tow truck or of the person, firm or corporation having
the license number assigned to such tow or service truck by the Village
Clerk.
Each person, firm or corporation operating a service or tow
truck business may obtain a license for each service or tow truck
it desires to operate, provided that such person, firm or corporation
abides by the regulations set forth herein.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation operating a licensed service or tow truck to charge any party more than the maximum prices set forth in its application for the servicing, towing and storage of disabled motor vehicles. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit such person, firm or corporation from making a reasonable extra charge for performing the services described in §§ 236-4 and 236-5. The schedule of maximum prices to be charged may be revised at the time application is made for a renewal of the license.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
service or tow away any motor vehicle which has been involved in an
accident without the prior consent of the owner or operator or the
police officer at the scene of the accident. No motor vehicle shall
be serviced at or removed from the scene of an accident where the
police officer requires or requests that an examination be made of
the damaged vehicle to determine whether the vehicle was defective
or where the police officer requires or requests that photographs
and/or diagrams of the scene be made.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to drive
along any public street or highway within the Village of Monticello
for the purpose of soliciting towing and/or repair work.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to solicit
towing or repair work at the scene of any motor vehicle accident on
private property or on a public highway within the Village of Monticello.
The Board of Trustees may, in each case after a public hearing,
either deny any license to any applicant whom the Board of Trustees
shall determine to be an undesirable person or incapable of properly
conducting a road service or tow truck business or revoke the license
or licenses of any licensee whom the Board of Trustees shall determine
has violated the provisions of this chapter.
A.
A licensee performing towing services for the village or called by a police officer shall be limited to licensees whose auto repair facility is located within the boundaries of the Town of Thompson and shall perform on a rotating basis of a twenty-four-hour calendar day. The calendar days shall be assigned on a rotating schedule per licenses issued for licensees whose auto repair facility is located within the boundaries of the Town of Thompson. A licensee who cannot respond on his given day shall relinquish his turn, and the list will advance to the next day's licensee. Such licensee, in order to be placed on the list, shall furnish the Village Clerk with quarterly certificate of insurance in compliance with § 236-3C hereof. All licensees are required to provide to any owner of a vehicle it tows a form which includes information that the licensee was called to the scene by the Monticello Village Police and the licensee's name, address and phone number, as well as the name and phone number of the Village Clerk for registering any complaints. The Village Board shall periodically review the complaints and may strike any licensee from the list for the period of one year based on the complaints. Substituting will be tolerated only by necessity. When the owner or driver of a disabled vehicle indicates a choice of a specific licensee, that licensee shall be called, and no tow truck shall be assigned from the rotating list. No licensee shall respond to the scene of an accident except upon notification by the police officer in charge in police headquarters or upon request of the driver or owner of the disabled vehicle.
B.
Such licensee, in order to be placed on the list, shall furnish the Village Clerk with quarterly certificates of insurance certifying the insurance coverage required by § 236-3C hereof. Each licensee is required to provide to the owner or operator of a vehicle it tows a form which includes information that he licensee was called to the scene by the Monticello Village Police, the licensee's name, address and phone number, as well as the name and phone number of the Village Clerk for registering any complaints. The Village Board shall periodically review the complaints and may strike any licensee from the list for the period of one year based on the complaints.
C.
In the event that a licensee called does not respond as quickly as
is necessary in the opinion of the police officer in charge at the
scene of an accident or other emergency, the police officer may call
another licensed tow truck. At no time shall it be more than 15 minutes
from the time the licensee is called.
D.
Such additional rules and regulations regarding the rotation of tow
trucks as they may be hereafter promulgated by the Village Board of
Trustees shall take effect immediately after service of a copy thereof
on holders of all licensees for tow trucks in the village. Service
upon a licensee may be made by sending by ordinary mail, a copy of
the additional rules and regulations to said licensee's business
address.
