City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 14, 2017
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Public Hearing, Second Reading, and Final Passage of an Ordinance to Amend and Reordain Sections 2-4-210 (Creation, Composition and Organization) and 2-4-211 (Functions) of Article Z (Alexandria Towing Advisory Board) of Chapter 4 (Committees, Boards, and Commissions) of Title 2 (General Government) of the Code of the City of Alexandria, VA, 1981, as Amended. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
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ISSUE: Consideration of a proposed ordinance to update the composition of the Towing Advisory Board, provide for a rotating chair, and clarify the role of the Towing Advisory Board with regard to towing contracts, to be consistent with Virginia Code.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council hold the public hearing and adopt the ordinance on Saturday, June 24, 2017.
BACKGROUND: The City Code currently states that the Alexandria Towing Advisory Board shall consist of two members of the Alexandria Police Department; two members representing licensed towing and recovery operators doing business in the City; and two citizens at-large, one of which who will have expertise in property management or is a business owner. Section 46.2-1233.2 (Advisory Board) of the Code of Virginia, authorizes the creation of a Towing Advisory Board, but differs from City Code, in that it designates one member of the general public to serve on a local Towing Advisory Board. The proposed update to the City Code would reduce the number of at-large citizens on the board from two to one to be consistent with Virginia Code.
While contemplating this change to bring the City Code in line with State requirements, staff, with the help of members of the Towing Advisory Board, reviewed the entire article for clarity and consistency and recommend three additional changes as a result of that review. The first additional change would add flexibility to allow members from all local law enforcement agencies-including sworn Alexandria Sherriff’s Office and Alexandria Fire Marshall personnel--the ability to be on the board. The second additional change would clarify the role of the Towing Advisory Board in recommending approval of towing contracts. The third additional change reflects recently approved House Bill 1960, which requires that the chair designee rotate annually between board members who represent licensed towing and recovery operators, local law enforcement, and the general public.
DISCUSSION: As noted above, Virginia Code stipulates that a local Towing Advisory Board shall have one member of the general public. However City Code currently specifies two citizens-at-large, which is inconsistent with Virginia Code. Both citizen-at-large member slots on the Towing Advisory Board are currently filled. One citizen-at-large term expires in June 2018, and the second citizen-at-large term expires in June 2019. If this ordinance change is approved, one of the two Citizen members has indicated that they would be willing to resign from the Towing Advisory Board to bring the composition of the board into compliance with the proposed ordinance change.
The Virginia Code also requires representation from local law enforcement, whereas the City Code specifies that members must come from the Alexandria Police Department. This unnecessarily limits the potential membership of the board. The proposed ordinance would allow for members from other local law enforcement agencies. The Virginia Code does provide flexibility in the composition of the Towing Advisory Board for the number of representatives of law enforcement and the number of representatives from licensed towing and recovery operators, so long as both groups are equally represented. Currently City Code specifies two representatives from licensed towing and recovery operators and two representatives of law enforcement, which is consistent with Virginia Code requirements.
Finally, the current City Code tasks the Towing Advisory Board with approving towing contracts. The proposed change includes language to clarify that the Towing Advisory Board’s role is to recommend approval of towing contracts to City Council as necessary. The ordinance also changes the designation of the board chair to reflect the 2017 General Assembly legislation.
FISCAL IMPACT: The will be no expected fiscal impact to these proposed changes.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Ordinance Information Sheet
Attachment 2: Ordinance for update to Alexandria Towing Advisory Board
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, AICP, Director, T&ES
Jeff DuVal, Deputy Director, T&ES
Megan Cummings, Division Chief, Strategic Management Services, T&ES
Matt Melkerson, Division Chief, Traffic Operations, T&ES