ROY -- The city has now joined other cities in the county in an interlocal agreement to change the way towing companies are contacted after accidents.
Each city will submit the towers/wreckers it would like Weber dispatch to contact after an accident requiring a tow occurs. A list of seven will be submitted by each city.
Council members quickly jumped on board with the idea when Police Chief Greg Whinham went over it with them, and they voted unanimously to sign the agreement.
Whinham said he and other police chiefs in the county feel the change will be more fair to local towing businesses, and will allow individual departments to work with wreckers in their own cities and be able to make changes when cities are not satisfied with towing results.
Cities are just now submitting their request for proposals from towing companies and will then submit those to Weber Area Dispatch.
Kim McCallister, center manager For Weber Area Dispatch, said the change in towing contacts is not official yet.
"It is just in the process of being changed," McCallister said, adding, "It is being driven by the area chiefs."
Whinham said Roy has been the last of the cities to get its RFPs out, but said the city is happy to jump on board with the change. The RFPs were open to any licensed wrecker service, and the city is also looking at other services that dispatch to Weber Area Dispatch once the call is made.
Each city also sets its own criteria to fit its needs, he said. Criteria are based on licensing, insurance and driving records.
"This will improve the service to the citizens of Roy," Mayor Joe Ritchie said.
Whinham agreed and said that because the police department can submit wreckers based on the city's set of criteria, it can also alter and make changes to that list if things aren't working well with one of the wreckers. It also gives smaller wreckers a chance to be on the calls, where before it cut some off that weren't involved in the wrecker's association.
"We would welcome any wrecker to step forward," Whinham said.
Whinham explained it will be a win-win for each city to increase the local business traffic, as well as possibly providing a faster response time for local accidents. Whinham also said some wreckers could be taken off the list for bad driving, poor insurance or similar problems, and once positive changes are made they can be put back on the list.
Kirk Die, who owns a towing service in Roy, is excited for the chance to submit a request.
"We have gone though all the hoops with the current system, and it is difficult for a newcomer," Die said. "The current system favors big companies, and I'm hoping this new system will help."
Whinham said there have been several instances when calling the regular list of wreckers has caused problems, and said this new system should alleviate that issue. There is no set date for the system to be switched over, Whinham said, but the process is moving along.
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