In order to make it unchallengeable for companies to contract with the municipality to handle its community and police towing services, the governing body of Paramus has come up with a change of towing decree.
The police department together with Paramus has already worked with four towing companies, out of which two companies have expressed their thoughts saying that the changes were not needed and may perhaps potentially scale up response times from towers positioned in municipalities not flanking to Paramus.
Mayor Richard LaBarbiera made it a point to clarify that changes concerned to the ordinance were not major! Between them was exclusion of a prerequisite that stated that towing companies must have their main place of business in a borough that precincts Paramus. However supplies were reserved that have need of towers to have a 20-minute response time and be located within 1.5 miles of Paramus.
Having said that, the amended ordinance besides removes a condition that towing companies have storage lots next to their main place of business- a progress that put well-known towers in compliance with the decree when in the past they weren’t, the mayor illustrated.
As with the mentioned changes, borough’s established towing companies uttered concerns, predominantly that there would be slower response times if the borough uninvolved the prerequisite that a company’s main place of business be in a town next to Paramus.
In addition, the mayor also said that, he had no clear idea why there was a fight back not in favor of the new ordinance, other than that it would add more towing companies into the regular change. Up to that time, the four towing companies had one week a month to manage all of the borough’s towing needs.
“Nobody that had towed in the past – none of the golden four – are being told not to go back,” LaBarbiera said.
The council members like Jeanne Weber, Stephen Sullivan and Donna Warburton really wanted to table the regulation to look into it more. Weber pointed up that when the ordinance was commenced last month, it was added to the meeting’s plan at the last minute.
Moreover, as a matter of fact, she also mentioned saying why the decree was being changed. It was during the year of 2011, the previous ordinance was attuned. “I kind of feel this was shoved down our throats at the last minute,” Weber said.
LaBarbiera busted the tie and the regulation intently passed, 4-3. The mayor also broke the tie, with the same ruling body members opposing, on the granting of permit to the six towing companies that applied which includes Arrow Towing, Bergen Brookside, Belfis Towing, All-Points Towing, Nutchie’s and City Wide.
The new applicants were Arrow, of Saddle Brook, and Nutchie’s, of Lodi, and Nutchie’s license approval was provisional and subject to approval, Borough Attorney Paul Kaufman said.
Arrow tried to apply for an authorization to tow in Paramus last year; nevertheless the application was not presented in time, Vincent Sturdy, manager at Arrow, said after the meeting. In the fall, the company again tried to re-apply this year.