This website and the documents it makes are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Plain-language guides for people who were towed, and the audits, reports and court rulings behind them. Each summary is ours; follow the link to read the original.
Newest first. Government reports are public records; the others belong to their authors, so we link to them and do not post copies.
Covers the commission's January 9, 2023 vote to send back an APD study. Tow companies sought $340 for a light-duty tow (including a $150 electric-vehicle labor fee); APD proposed $215; the fee then was $185.
Why it matters: Shows the competing numbers behind Austin's later fee increases.
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TV report on the same vote, with commissioners' concerns about costs for people in crashes.
Why it matters: A second account of the 2023 debate.
It says the 2019 increase was to $180; the Austin Monitor and a 2021 City of Houston survey say $185.
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Houston's 2021 rate review compared light-duty police tow rates in Texas cities. It listed Austin at $185, between San Antonio ($177) and Victoria ($200).
Why it matters: An outside, official check on Austin's 2021 rate.
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Reports that Council voted 9-0 to raise the police-initiated tow fee from $150 to $185, tied to inflation, and asked APD to study the private-property tow fee.
Why it matters: The best public account of the 2019 rate change.
News report; the ordinance itself is not yet read.
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APD's review of the $150 police tow fee, unchanged since 2006. It adjusted the fee for inflation (about $185) and for the City's living wage (about $207), surveyed Austin-area and large Texas city rates, and reported 12,329 APD impounds in 2018.
Why it matters: The only City study we found that explains how Austin's police tow fee has been set.
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Reports the first-reading vote on Austin's booting ordinance, which proposed a $50 cap after booting had cost up to $150. Council later set the cap at $100 when it adopted the ordinance on August 23, 2018.
Why it matters: Background on why Austin regulates booting itself after the state stopped licensing boot companies.
Reports the first-reading vote only; the final cap was $100.
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