Tow Fees

After a review of tow fees by the Police Department and approval by City Council, the following fees will be in place beginning February 2013:

1. Towing – The maximum fee which may be charged by any towing operation for removing a vehicle from the street in response to a police call shall be as follows:
   1. For the towing of any vehicle, for the total gross weight up to 12,000 pounds: a flat rate of $140.00.
   2. For any service call where no tow is involved: $65.00.
   3. All out-of-town mileage charges shall not exceed $3.50 per mile.
   4. For vehicles with a weight between 12,000 and 40,000: $150.00 per hour.
   5. Any and all vehicles with a weight over 40,000 pounds: $250.00 per hour.
   6. Recovery fee: for vehicles with a combined weight of 26,000 pounds and under, the fee shall be no more than $150.00 per hour. For vehicles over 26,000 and where goods need to be secured, a recovery fee not in excess of $185.00 per hour.
   7. Charges of $30.00 per hour will be charged to cage brakes and/or removing the drive shaft, if necessary, for the removal of a disabled vehicle.
   8. Where a lowboy trailer is required to haul away a vehicle, the rate shall not exceed more than $250.00 per hour.
   9. Special handling charges shall be at a rate not to exceed $125.00 per hour and shall be measured in 30-minute increments. Special handling charges shall include, but not be limited to the following:
      1. Vehicle rollover;
      2. Vehicle impacted in a building or other structure;
      3. Vehicle in river or other body of water;
      4. Vehicle off the roadway requiring the use of a power winch for retrieval.
      5. Motorcycle or other vehicle requiring special handling considerations.
   10. Miscellaneous rates.
   11. Police vehicles for the City of St. Charles will be towed at the rate of $50.00 per hour.
   12. Removal of abandoned vehicles from city streets to City vehicle impound lot will be towed at the rate of $50.00 per vehicle.
   13. Snow tow removal or snow relocation shall be charged at the rate of $100.00 per hour.
   14. Standby time shall be charged at the rate of $55.00 per hour, up to a maximum of two (2) hours.
   15. Any time a firm is required to respond out of the corporate limits of the city to recover a vehicle for the Police Department, time shall be charged at the rate of $70.00 per hour plus mileage.
   16. Removal of debris in the roadway combined with the use of necessary oil-dry type substance shall charge at a rate of $30.00 per incident.
2. Storage charges for vehicles shall be as follows:
   1. For vehicles stored less than 24 hours: no charge.
   2. For any vehicle up to 12,000 pounds: $35.00 per day.
   3. For any vehicle over 12,000 pounds: $60.00 per day.
   4. For storage of semi-tractor truck only: $50.00 per day.
   5. For storage of semi-tractor truck and trailer: $75.00 per day. After the 10^th day: $100.00 per day.
3. Release fee for release other than normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon: $40.00.