Mayor Brandon M. Scott Announces that Baltimore City will Waive Towing Fees for Victims of Auto Theft
BALTIMORE, MD (January 13, 2022) – Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott was joined by Councilman Ryan Dorsey, Councilwoman Odette Ramos, Councilman James Torrence, and Baltimore City Department of Transportation Director Steve Sharkey to announce that the City of Baltimore will no longer charge towing fees for stolen vehicles.
“This administration has made a concerted effort to correct historically unfair and inequitable policies across all of our agencies, and these fees represent an unfair burden on victims of theft,” said Mayor Scott. “As part of my administration’s commitment to ensuring the responsible stewardship and management of City resources, we are proud to work with our City Council members and agencies to reverse this policy, effective February 1, 2022.”
“Among the more demoralizing calls I’ve received is to learn that the city is charging a person a fee resulting from that person having been a victim of a crime,” said Councilman Dorsey. “Doing away with such fees puts into practice a level of consideration every city resident deserves.”
Owners of stolen vehicles often face unforeseen towing fees when retrieving their vehicles from the city’s impound facility. The towing fee ranges from $130-$140 and must be paid before the vehicle is released. Oftentimes, this fee is not covered or reimbursable by insurance, particularly if owners do not carry comprehensive coverage.
Stolen vehicles that are located by the police cannot be left in the public right of way. These vehicles are impounded for public safety and it was common practice for victims of stolen vehicles to have to pay the associated fees to retrieve their vehicle. The City of Baltimore has listened to the appeals of residents and worked with City Council to stop assessing towing fees to stolen vehicles beginning February 1, 2022.
“The Department of Transportation applauds the hard work of our city council members to relieve residents of this burden as they deal with the stress of recovering their vehicles,” said Director Sharkey.
The Responsible Stewardship of City Resources is one of the Mayor’s priority pillars guiding the administration’s Action Plan, which was released early last month. Residents can view the Plan and track progress across all of the Mayor’s priority pillars at: mayor.baltimorecity.gov/tracker.
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