The fee that drivers have to pay if their car gets towed in Fairfax County, Virginia, is going up, as part of a plan the Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday night.
For passenger cars, drivers will now have to pay $210, an increase from the current $150 fee.
The move comes months after a change in Virginia law went into effect. The switch kept the minimum fee localities can charge at $135 but set the maximum to $210.
“As far as pricing, obviously, everything is significantly more expensive now, not just towing fuel, just everything,” Ashley Miller with Dominion Towing said at a public hearing Tuesday. “It’s affecting everybody, just like it’s affecting county residents.”
The change in fee applies to trespass tows, which involve the removal of a vehicle that’s parked in violation of a property owner or manager’s rule.
About 45,000 trespass tows occur each year in Fairfax County, according to county data, and there are 16 trespass tow operators.
Under the approved changes, the hookup and initial towing fee for passenger cars is $210.
For vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,501-10,000 pounds, the fee is increasing from $250 to $305.
For vehicles other than passenger cars with a GVWR of over 2,000 pounds, the fee is increasing from $500 to $610.
The storage fee after 24 hours is increasing from $50 per 24-hour period to $61 per 24-hour period. And the administrative fee is increasing from $75 to $92.
County leaders said the changes are in line with recommendations from the Virginia State Corporation Commission and maximums allowed in state law.
Michael Fernandez, owner of Battlefield Towing, said during the public hearing that the increase is “not about excess or greed. It’s about sustainability and accountability. It will allow responsible operators to pay fair compensated wages and provide health insurance, helping us retain qualified employees who take pride in their work and serve our community with integrity.”
But some community members criticized the increase during the hearing.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” one speaker identified as Mandy said. “I understand that the Virginia law allows you guys to reach the maximum amount that you can increase it, but it doesn’t mean that we have to do that.”
Another person described scenarios in which residents forget to display their parking decal and get towed and asked if “they really deserve to pay hundreds of dollars, even more so now with the proposed fee increase.”
The changes went into effect immediately.
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