The towing company that handles city business made its case Tuesday morning for fee increases, citing the increased cost of doing business and noting the current rates are lower than comparable localities statewide.

Seibert’s Towing handles towing calls made by the City of Richmond in accordance with a contract between the two parties. Company President Melvin Lawson presented to the city’s towing advisory board on Tuesday, a group that advises the City Council ahead of votes on the issue.

The advisory board signed off on an across-the-board fee increase of about 5%, pending Council approval.

Under the increase, the cost of a car being towed will go from $120 to $126.

The increase would only apply to city-initiated towing. Private lots posting no trespassing signs are allowed to charge at a higher rate, $195, after a rate increase last winter. Towing companies that respond to a call by a citizen about their own vehicle do not have any restrictions.

Lawson presented data that he said showed Richmond’s fee is significantly lower than other localities. While the $120 is comparable with Henrico County, it is less than the $177 base fee in Chesterfield County.

“If you get in an accident in Chesterfield, I recommend you get your car into the Richmond side while you wait for a tow truck, because you’re going to save about 40%,” Lawson said, adding that Norfolk and Virginia Beach charge $200.

Other surcharges

The board recommended additional research and study before approving two other requests.

The first is a fuel surcharge to reflect the rising price of gasoline. Seibert’s proposed a sliding scale, from $5 when gas hits $3.50 a gallon to $25 if the price rises above $5.51 a gallon.

City officials questioned how complicated it would be to track and monitor such increases.

Seibert’s is also asking for a $250 fee when handling damaged electric vehicles, citing the potential fire hazard that necessitates isolating the car away from others.

“We’re not talking about towing electric vehicles for a street cleaning or a marathon,” he said. “We’re talking about an electric vehicle that’s been involved in an accident or has something seriously wrong with it.”

That proposal will be studied further to determine how the cars would be evaluated and to study other industry norms.

Contact Intern Haidyn Brockelman at hbrockelman@richmonder.org.