FREEPORT – Freeport may be ready to tweak the rates allowed for vehicle towing.

In a memo to Town Manager Peter Joseph that was released with the notice of a Jan. 8 Town Council public hearing, Freeport Police Chief Gerald Schofield outlined the reasons for a proposed ordinance change that would affect rates.

Schofield said that under the town’s towing ordinance, there are two lists of towing companies that can be used. The primary list consists of any towing companies located in Freeport. The secondary list is made up of towing companies in Brunswick, and these companies are licensed by the town of Brunswick.

“At the present time, we do not have any towing companies that meet the requirements to be on our primary towing list,” Schofield said. “Therefore, when dispatch needs to contact a wrecker for public safety needs, the dispatcher contacts a towing service from the secondary list.”

Schofield said the present Freeport ordinance defines what companies on the primary list can charge for their services when called to assist public safety agencies.

The impetus for the proposed changes, Schofield said, came from a recent incident where the Freeport police needed a wrecker, and, in accordance with the ordinance, dispatchers sent a wrecker from Brunswick.

“The operator (of the towing company) called to inquire about the towing fees and we quoted the fees from our ordinance,” Schofield said. “However, the towing company charged the fee that was allowed by the Brunswick towing ordinance. Even though the difference between the fees was minimal, it created a situation where the owner (of the vehicle being towed) was upset.”

To rectify similar situations in the future, Schofield is proposing changing the town’s ordinance to let the secondary-list operators charge the fees allowed in Brunswick.

“Under the present conditions, we are totally dependent on getting needed towing services from the Brunswick towing list,” Schofield said. “To avoid confusion in the future, I would recommend that we amend our present towing ordinance to state that a towing company from the secondary towing list be allowed to charge the towing fees outlined in the town of Brunswick towing policy.”

The changes to the ordinance would be small ones. Both towns specify fees of $75 for daytime towing and $85 for nighttime.

In fact, according to information provided by Schofield in his memo, the main differences where Brunswick operators could charge a higher fee than allowed in Freeport come in the areas of vehicle storage rates (Freeport calls for a flat $25 fee, beginning 24 hours after the vehicle is towed, while Brunswick fees are not to exceed $50 for inside storage and $35 for outside, with fees beginning when the vehicle is towed) and the minimum fee per call (Freeport’s ordinance calls for a $15 minimum daytime fee, rising to $25 at night, while Brunswick’s rates are one-half of the minimum towing fee day or night, which comes to $32.50 for daytime rates and $42.50 at night).

No one from the town office, which was closed last Thursday and Friday, was available to comment on the issue.

The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Freeport Town Hall. The full agenda for the council meeting was not available prior to the Tri-Town Weekly’s early New Year’s deadline.