That the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a contract services agreement with Anaheim Fullerton Towing to provide police towing services and vehicle storage.

The La Habra Police Department, along with other City Departments, regularly require and utilize the services of a private towing company to both tow and store vehicles. In some cases, towed vehicles require storage on a short term temporary basis as a result of being parked illegally, on a longer term temporary basis due to accidents or breakdowns until the vehicle owner can arrange a vehicle transfer for repairs, or on a much longer term basis for vehicles held as evidence related to crimes such as homicide or fatal traffic collisions. For vehicles involved in crimes, there are specific storage requirements a tow company must provide in order to maintain the vehicle as evidence. This includes a requirement that these vehicles be stored inside a secured facility. Over the past 30 years, the City has contracted with Graham’s Towing in La Habra to provide these types of towing services to the City. Over this period of time, the owner of Graham’s Towing has provided consistent, reliable, high-quality services to the City at reasonable prices.

The City’s current agreement with Graham’s Towing will expire on June 30, 2026. The Police Department was notified earlier this year that the owner/operator of Grahams Towing, Mr. Danny Hansen, will be retiring at the conclusion of this contract. Mr. Hansen further informed the City that he had sold Graham’s Towing to the Hadley Tow company. The transition to new ownership began late last year. Over the last several months, Police Department staff noticed that the new incoming owners of Graham’s Towing began implementing several changes to their operations which has caused a noticeable decline in the quality of service the City had previously come to expect. For example, the new operator no longer provides onsite dispatch services during evening hours. Staff has found that Police tow requests are answered through an offsite call center, often utilizing dispatchers who have little to no knowledge of the City. This has caused delays in response times and overall poorer customer service. Police Department staff have also received a number of complaints regarding increased tow/storage fees, along with poor customer service.

The City’s contract with Graham’s Towing will expire on June 30, 2026, and the City is under no obligation to renew that agreement. Accordingly, staff has taken steps to determine what, if any, alternatives there are in the market, in addition to Graham’s Towing, that the City Council could consider.

Over the past several months, several towing companies have contacted the Police Department inquiring about the status of the City’s current towing contract and to offer their own towing services. Additionally, Police Department staff reviewed the results of two requests for proposals (RFP) conducted by the cities of Buena Park (2023) and Brea (2026) to determine which towing companies submitted bids and how those companies were rated in the process. Staff has also contacted other surrounding cities to inquire about the towing companies they utilize and the level of service and pricing they have experienced with those companies. This information was instrumental in helping staff identify potential towing companies that could be qualified to provide services to La Habra, especially since the City’s Municipal Code requires any such company to have a suitable tow yard within a five-mile radius of the City's boundary. As part of this process, Police Department staff discussed towing services with Golden Bear Towing, SMJ Enterprises, Hadley/Grahams Towing, Brea Tow, and Anaheim Fullerton Tow.

After interviewing several towing companies, staff found Brea Towing and Anaheim Fullerton Towing to be the two qualified tow companies that consistently received positive evaluations from other Police Departments. Both also received high scores during the RFP process that they had participated in for other cities. Brea Towing and Anaheim Fullerton Towing both also met the La Habra Police Department’s requirements for evidence storage and have tow yards within the City’s five-mile radius requirement. As part of the evaluation process, Police staff also interviewed two other prospective towing companies; however, found that they did not yet have the level of services or storage facilities necessary to meet the City’s requirements. Finally, staff considered the new ownership group that will evidently assume full control of Graham’s Towing in July 2026. This new ownership group, Hadley/Graham's Towing, was disqualified from consideration as it has been reported that some executives from the company are currently under criminal investigation, and since they did not provide a pricing sheet required of all prospective tow companies who participated in the City's evaluation process.

It should be noted that the towing services being considered in this report only pertain to the towing needs of the City’s Police Department and other City departments. An agreement between the City and a towing company has no impact on the ability of any other local or regional towing company to operate within City limits for private towing services, subject to the requirements found in the City’s Municipal Code.

The proposed towing services agreement for the Police Department includes a fee schedule that identifies the various classes of towing, types of storage, clean-up fees and additional services. Fees typically are adjusted over the term of a contract as a result of a company's increased operating costs. Another factor that is taken into account is the California Highway Patrol (CHP) annual average of costs. Many cities and tow companies in Southern California adjust their prices and fees based on the CHP’s annual average cost analysis.

Historically, the City of La Habra has been able to maintain below-market tow pricing and fees as a result of successful contracts negotiated with the retiring owner of Graham’s Towing.  The table below provides a cost breakdown of fees from the two tow companies that met the City requirements, along with the City’s current fee structure with Graham’s Towing. The two pricing levels are for “Class A” tow trucks and outside vehicle storage as these are the most common fees associated with tows that are ordered by the Police Department.  
 

Staff worked closely with the City Attorney to update the City’s non-exclusive towing agreement and provided draft copies to both Anaheim Fullerton Towing and Brea Tow for review. Neither company proposed or requested any changes.

Based on the City’s Municipal Code requirements that tow companies must have tow yards within a five-mile radius of the City’s boundaries, along with the other requirements stipulated by the City's agreement for tow services, staff has determined that there are currently only two companies qualified to provide tow services for the City. Based on the tow pricing that was proposed, staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Anaheim Fullerton Towing as the City’s authorized tow company, as they possess all required services, equipment and facilities needed to provide the level of quality service the City is requiring at a competitive fee.