The Board of Alderman passed an ordinance on May 7 that changes regulations on towing in Oxford. Jeff McCutchen, chief of the Oxford Police Department, wrote the ordinance that was first proposed on April 3.

“The goal of the ordinance was to create fairness and transparency,” McCutchen said. “We wanted to make sure vehicles that were being towed needed to be towed and that the owners were charged a consistent and fair price.”

The six page ordinance introduces several new regulations, many of which focus on towing from private property.

Among the major changes is a cap on towing rates. The maximum rate for towing and storage on light-duty vehicles is now $250 and $45 a day, respectively, and the vehicle owner has 24 hours to claim the vehicle without a storage fee.

The ordinance also mandates that a vehicle cannot be towed if the owner is present at the scene. While the vehicle cannot be towed, towing companies have the right to charge the owner of the vehicle a fee that does not exceed $125 if any piece of towing equipment has been attached to the vehicle prior to the owner’s arrival.

In addition, towing services cannot make a payment to any property owner, lessee or owner’s authorized employee in return for permission to tow any vehicle. Moreover, it is illegal for anyone without a valid city license issued by the city clerk of Oxford to tow any vehicles.

The full ordinance, which outlines all new guidelines and regulations, can be found here.

The Daily Mississippian reached out to towing companies for comment after the ordinance’s passage, but received no response.