Subject:
Title
Ordinance amending the Pinellas County Code, Chapter 122, related to the County Towing Ordinance.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Conduct a public hearing and adopt the proposed amendments to the County Towing Ordinance revising County Code sections 122-40, 122-41, and 122-42, adjusting the tow rate schedule and operational guidelines for tow operators.
• Following a three-year review of the towing rates in 2023, the Board of County Commissioners (Board) requested that Consumer Protection (CP) meet with the industry to continue review of the rate structure for further updates based on industry feedback and continued economic pressures.
• CP held a series of meetings with Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida and towing representatives to review and maintain a competitive rate schedule responding to the economic pressures of the industry while seeking to protect and balance impact to consumers.
• Recommendations were paused to assess community impact of statutory changes in July 2024 resulting in new lien assessments in addition to county rates.
• The Board made rate adjustments in June 2026 by resolution and requested additional recommendations return as an amendment to the ordinance.
• Proposed amendment seeks to adjust rates on several vehicle classes, adds several new fees for towing operators, and provides language clarifications and requirements to help protect consumers.
• Human Services anticipates that this proposed ordinance change will require no additional staff time. This ordinance amendment, by itself, has no fiscal impact on Pinellas County and brings no additional revenue to the County.
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Strategic Plan:
Healthy and Safe Communities
2.1 Improve public health.
2.2 Enhance community safety.
Prosperity and Opportunity
3.3 Increase workforce opportunities.
Smart Service Delivery
4.4 Pursue Continuous Improvement.
Summary:
Summary
Pinellas County Consumer Protection strives to recommend towing rates and regulations to promote a competitive marketplace for the towing industry while balancing protections and impacts to consumers. In recent years, the industry has seen increased economic pressures with the cost of vehicle acquisition, maintenance, insurance rates, fuel costs, staff salaries and retention, and continued modernization costs for towing operations.
During the previous ordinance review and adjustment in August 2023, based on industry feedback, CP was asked to work with stakeholders to review the rate schedule for future recommendations. CP held a series of meetings with PWoF and towing representatives to discuss and review ideas that would be responsive to the challenges. Additionally, CP has reviewed local complaints and regulatory challenges and worked with the County Attorney’s Office to explore recommendations to enhance consumer protections.
This proposed amendment seeks to adjust rates on several vehicle classes, adds several new fees for towing operators, and provides language clarifications and requirements to help protect consumers.
Summary of proposed changes:
a.) Add new rates and fees to the current rate structure including:
• A new Electronic Vehicle (EVs) Fee of $35 per 15 minutes on scene with a maximum of $70 to offset costs of EVs on a typical Class A tow.
• A new after-hours gate fee of $70.00 for opening to allow vehicle release. This proposed, new fee addresses the operational cost of opening for release of vehicles after hours and aids with accountability when responding to customer release requests.
• A Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate adjustment to base tow rates with a 3% cap for the next five years. The new CPI will be applied annually and will be reviewed after five (5) adjustment years.
• An emergency fuel surcharge to allow for a $1.00 per mile adjustment in the event of a temporary surge in fuel pricing. This proposed fee will utilize the standard U.S. Energy Information Administration pricing for the Southeast region to track diesel fuel pricing. If pricing surges to $5.50 per gallon, CP will initiate and post a temporary surcharge for thirty (30) days and continuing until pricing indicators drop below the threshold.
b.) Adjust current tow rates for trespass and police directed tows across additional vehicle classes including:
• Increase base trespass tow rates for vehicle Classes B ($315.35), C ($476.00), and D ($618.80) in line with recent adjustments to Class A rates.
• Increase base police directed tow rates for vehicle Classes A ($200.00), B ($340.35), C ($501.00), and D ($643.80) in line with recent adjustments to Class A rates
• Increase mileage rates for Classes B ($7.00), and D ($8.00) vehicles by $1.00 per mile up to 10 miles.
• Increase daily storage fees across vehicle Classes B, C, and D classes by $5.00.
c) Adjust ordinance language for clarification and consumer protections including:
• Amend payment types to align with statutory changes.
• Require additional documentation by photo or video prior to tow. This is new documentation to aid in responding to consumer complaints. This mirrors Hillsborough’s ordinance language.
• Require new signage at locations of private trespass tows in addition to statutorily required signage.
• Restrict lien fees to forty-eight hours from the time of storage. This mirrors Hillsborough’s ordinance language.
• Clarify Drop Fees prior to arriving at storage site.
• Clarify that failure to provide records to investigators is a violation.
The measures presented in this amendment seek to provide competitive rates for tow operators while ensuring proper controls are in place to avoid excessive billing during short release periods and ensuring effective regulation for consumer protection.
A public hearing was advertised for the July 21, 2026 Board meeting. A Business Impact Estimate was properly posted to the County website.
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Background Information:
The initial towing ordinance was established in 2000 to provide guidance and standards for local towing operations and rates within Pinellas County. Pinellas adopted amendments to the initial ordinance in 2016 to enhance several areas for consumer protections. In 2019, following feedback from local towing operators, Pinellas County adopted amendments to the ordinance to clarify language and provide for an initial increase on towing rates while striving to balance consumer and industry interests. As part of the 2019 agenda item, CP proposed an ongoing review of the ordinance and rates every three years.
In recent years, the industry has seen increased economic pressures with the cost of vehicle acquisition, maintenance, insurance rates, fuel costs, staff salaries and retention, and continued modernization costs for towing operations.
In 2023, CP brought forward new rate adjustments for tow operators and amendments for language clarification within the ordinance. During the adoption of the amendment, the Board of County Commissioners requested that CP continue to work with the towing industry stakeholders to review the rate structure for reasonable adjustments that would be responsive to industry impacts.
CP held a series of meetings with PWOF and towing operators to review operations and rate structure and has received industry feedback. Recommendations were paused to assess the impact of legislation which pushed forward a $250 administrative lien fee in addition to typical county rate setting.
The county has seen a significant increase in consumer complaints driven by the lien fee with 318 specific complaints since its inception in July 2024 through May 2026. The $250 lien fee accounts for 83% of all towing complaints from January 2025 through May 2026 with the first five months of 2026 reaching 94% of total complaints.
In June 2026, the Board increased several rates by resolution and requested the ordinance be brought forward for recommendations at the July 2026 Board meeting.
CP recommends continuing to conduct three-year active review cycles of the ordinance and rates.
Fiscal Impact:
Human Services anticipates that these proposed ordinance changes will require no additional staff time or fiscal impact. This ordinance brings in no additional revenue to the County.
This ordinance amendment, by itself, has no fiscal impact on Pinellas County.
Staff Member Responsible:
Karen Yatchum, Director, Human Services
Partners:
Towing Industry Partners
Law Enforcement Agencies
Local Consumers
Attachments:
Proposed Ordinance Change
Proposed Ordinance Change Redline