Fed up with complaints over bad operators, Savage will begin licensing towing companies

Savage Mayor Janet Williams kept hearing the same story: Residents were visiting the Scott County law library to research their rights after getting towed.

"The people had no recourse," said Williams, former director of the Scott County Library. "They were trying to get their cars and it was difficult."

After hearing a deluge of grievances against towing companies, the City Council enacted an ordinance Monday requiring licenses for towing companies impounding vehicles in Savage, whether they're based in the city or not.

That makes Savage likely the first metro suburb to have a towing license ordinance, and the only metro city besides Minneapolis and St. Paul.

"We've had a steady stream of complaints against tow truck companies operating in Savage," said City Administrator Brad Larson. "And it's not like, 'Hey, these guys are mean [because] they took my car.' "

Instead, owners of towed cars say they don't know where to retrieve them, Larson said. They complain that office hours are irregular, the fines keep changing and they aren't given receipts. They're annoyed by predatory companies, often hired by apartment managers, that patrol parking lots and tow cars the minute their parking time is up.

"Really our intention with this business license is that people who start tow operations here have a good record … and are communicating effectively," Larson said.

The ordinance exempts towing that's done at the request of a car's owner, such as in an emergency or for repairs. To get a license, towing companies must agree to background checks for employees and provide addresses, hours of operation, fee schedules and the license plate numbers of its trucks. They also must meet certain insurance requirements.

The towing license costs $400 the first year, which includes the background check, and $100 for renewals.

Savage-based towing companies — there are at least four — "aren't crazy about" the new rules, said Council Member Matt Johnson, and see licensure as another hoop they must jump through.

None of the companies returned calls for comment. But Allen's Service, a longtime Savage business, sent an e-mail to city officials saying they "strongly oppose" the license requirement because it won't solve existing problems with towing companies, according to city documents.

Adam Hlavac, co-owner of All-N-One Towing in Apple Valley, said he wondered if companies will need to have 10 licenses for 10 different cities in the future. He wishes municipalities would instead work together on standards, he said.

"There's always going to be people doing bad business — you're never going to get a wrap on that," he said.

Lance Klatt, executive director of the Minnesota Professional Towing Association, said his operators follow all state and federal regulations.

When Donovan Pohl's car got towed outside his Savage apartment complex after a snowstorm in 2019, it kicked off a monthslong saga that ended with the loss of his 2017 Jeep Cherokee.

Pohl, who commutes between Minnesota and Arizona, couldn't pick up the towed SUV for a week. When he arrived at Artemis Recovery in Savage at 8 one morning to pick it up, the manager wouldn't take his cash until 8:30 a.m. He left after exchanging some choice words, he said.

Pohl said he wasn't aware he would be charged storage fees for the three weeks his vehicle sat in the lot. Before long he owed $1,200, money he said he didn't have. He said he never received the certified letter or saw the notice published in City Pages, both state requirements, saying that his car — on which he was still making payments — would be sold.

Artemis, which declined to comment, sold his SUV to the company's owner. And Pohl is trying to figure out what legal recourse he has.

"It doesn't just make me angry," Pohl said. "It was consuming my whole life."

Johnson called Pohl's case "atrocious" and said it was one reason for the new ordinance, though he conceded "the family didn't handle it the best."

State law mandates many aspects of towing, including when a company has authority to impound a car, requiring notice that a car is impounded or will be sold, the owner's rights in reclaiming cars, and waiting periods before a sale. It also regulates the kind of lights a tow truck must have. But the state doesn't say much about how towing companies must run their business.

Savage officials leaned on Minneapolis and St. Paul's ordinances, they said, as well as their own massage business regulations, to craft the towing ordinance.

Towing companies operating in Savage will have a six-month grace period to comply with the new rules. The city has a list of every towing company within 20 miles and plans to send them letters, as well as provide explanations in the city newsletter and on social media.

The ordinance won't solve every problem, but it offers another tool to protect individual rights, city officials said.

"It has the potential to deter a lot of the bad actors," Larson said.

Erin Adler • 612-673-1781a