Public Safety, Finance and
Strategic Support Committee
October 16, 2025
Item (d)3.
City-Generated Tow
Services Delivery
Model Status Report
1 Aries, new City-Generated Tow
Service Delivery Model
Purpose and Background
2 Purpose:
Provide a status report of the CityGenerated Tow Services Program Background:
• City-Generated Tows are tows
requested by City Departments
to remove a vehicle from
public property (primarily SJPD
and DOT)
• August 23, 2023 - Third-Party
Tow Administration Contract
awarded to Autura
• February 3, 2025 – Aries, a tow
request system launched
• September 30, 2025 – City
Council approved amendments
to tow agreement contract
authority and certain terms
Transition the new program
model from the Department of
Planning, Building, and Code
Enforcement (PBCE) to SJPD,
per audit recommendation
PBCE SJPD
Officers can request tow through CAD on their MDT (mobile data terminal) and can fill out the automated Tow Slip online using their MDT or on their City cell phone using the Aries mobile application.
Summary
3 Annual service cost: $569,500
paid quarterly $142,375
The City Council approved $200,000 budget to reimburse up to $2,000 per oversized vehicle disposed for vehicles valued at $500 or less.
Any refusal to tow will be fined as follow:
***The Refusal fine will be deducted from the Quarterly service cost Compensation
PROGRESS
Numbers of Tow Requested
ALL DOT
Jun-2025 1222 355
Jul-2025 1183 318
Aug-2025* 1465 468
* Does not include data from the Columbus Park abatement project 4
PROGRESS
5 Oversized Vehicles Towed
June 2025: 30
July 2025: 27
August 2025: 33
Vehicle Disposed
June 2025: 17
July 2025: 17
August 2025: 4
(excludes Columbus
Park)
Columbus Park Project
(August and September 2025)
o 121 towed
o 114 disposed
o 79 RVs
o 7 Lien
Cost: $3,200/RV=$252,800
Billing Improvements
Centralized billings, eased the process of reviewing and approving invoices Billing data is more consistent and accurate, minimizing discrepancies, improving reconciliation, and reducing the risk of duplicate payments.
6 CHALLENGE
AREAS
Challenges: Tow Refusals
REASONS
Limited tow yard capacity
Tows requested after hours are
difficult to get special equipment
and drivers onsite
Refusal fine is not effective
Moving forward (via contract amendment)
Fine of $2,500 per Recreational Vehicle that is refused to tow Other non-RVs continue to follow the fine chart below: SOLUTIONS Tow refusals (mostly
oversized vehicles)
City-Generated Tow Services
PROJECTION OF COSTS
Per City Council direction on September 30, 2025, working with vendor, CAO, CMO staff on 2nd amendment to the contract to increase contract authority and make changes to terms and conditions Request for additional funding will be considered by City Council through the 2024-2025 Annual Report on October 21, 2025
Current budgeted levels do not account for future large-scale abatement projects like Columbus Park. 7 SJPD Disposal Est.
Approximately 100 RVs for the
remainder of the fiscal year
PRNS Disposal Est.
Approximately 45-50 RVs for the
remainder of the fiscal year
DOT Disposal Est.
Approximately 30-35 RVs for the
remainder of the fiscal year
Next Phase 8
Department-wide implementation
Duty Manual is being worked on and
anticipated to launch in early – mid
November 2025
Autura to obtain Criminal Justice Information
Services (CJIS) compliance training
Create a web-based portal, accessible by the
community, for customer self-service inquiries and
activities such as to locate vehicles, pay fees, obtain receipts, upload and download relevant documents,
file a complaint, or contact a Provider.
Outstanding Technical Issues
8 THANK
YOU