OGDEN — Despite objections from a Morgan-based tow-truck operator, the Utah Highway Patrol will continue to use towing companies from outside Morgan County in the coming year.

UHP contracts with tow-truck companies whenever it needs vehicles towed for incidents like DUIs, state tax issues or lack of vehicle insurance — what is often referred to as a “non-consent” tow. In an attempt to make the process fair for all, UHP uses a tow-rotation schedule, compiled from all eligible tow-truck operators in a county.

Prior to 2015, only two companies — both located in the city of Morgan — were on the Morgan County tow rotation. But early in 2015, following a petition signed by 33 of 35 Weber County towing companies, UHP decided to combine the two counties and allow Weber companies into the Morgan rotation. UHP officials then promised to revisit the issue in a year.

• RELATED: Weber tow trucks up in Morgan irk one operator

It’s now been a year, and Lt. Mike Loveland, the new UHP commander over Weber and Morgan counties, said he simply doesn’t have enough evidence to overturn last January’s decision to open up the tow-rotation schedule.

“We’ve decided to leave it the way it is for now,” he said. “Things are working adequately, and we’re not to the point where we need to change it.”

But Dale Winterton, who owns two Morgan-based tow companies — A.W. Towing and Winterton Automotive — said the increased competition is killing his business and may eventually force him to shutter his Morgan tow service.

“My Morgan operation, that’s probably going to go away — it’s just not to my advantage. I’ll keep it open for the next year, but after that …,” he said, trailing off. “I’m looking at two years’ lost wages here.”

Last spring, Winterton told the Standard-Examiner the new tow-rotation schedule would take $70,000 out of his annual income.

Safety first

One of the primary concerns for law enforcement is clearing accidents as quickly and safely as possible. Response times — how long it takes between the time when troopers call for a tow truck and when it arrives on scene — are an integral part of a safe incident cleanup, according to Loveland.

• RELATED: Watch where you park; you could get towed, charged big bucks

Prior to 2015, tow operators in Weber and Morgan counties were required to arrive on scene within 20 minutes of being called. While that 20-minute dispatch window still holds for Weber County, when UHP opened up Morgan County to Weber-based tow companies it increased the allowed response time to 30 minutes.

Loveland said response times from Weber tow companies in the Morgan area have been acceptable since the change a year ago.

“They’ve actually been — quite surprisingly — good, in that they’re not extensive, they’re not real lengthy,” Loveland said.

The lieutenant admitted that response times can depend on a lot of variables — including time of day, distance to an incident, and road conditions — and that the goal is not always met.

“But we’ve decided as a section that we’re OK right now, and we don’t need to change the way it’s currently working,” he said.

Winterton disagreed.

“I don’t have any problem if (the new rotation) is working, but I don’t think it’s working,” he said.

30 minutes or less

Winterton doesn’t think UHP has enough data to know if response times are adequate. He also thinks they’re fudging the numbers.

“My biggest beef is the way they’re making response times up,” Winterton said.

Winterton said he believes many of the Weber County tow companies aren’t hitting that 30-minute response window, although obtaining an accurate record of response times is difficult. Less than a fourth of this year’s calls logged the time the tow truck arrived on-scene.

• RELATED: Protecting businesses or predatory towing?

Winterton also contends that although UHP officials say their troopers give motorists a choice on “consent” or “request” tows — asking them if they have a preference on which towing company they’d like to use — that’s not happening. He thinks they do this to artificially shorten response times.

“They’re not giving anyone a choice,” he said. “They’ve already dispatched a truck before they even talk to the motorist. They’re doing it to save on response times, because they’ve screwed up.”

Loveland insisted his troopers do give motorists a choice, but he admitted there’s been a lack of data when it comes to recorded response times.

Cleaning up

The problem, Loveland said, is that tow-truck operators are supposed to record their own response times, and that hasn’t been happening. He also said UHP has started to record and store those times itself.

“Prior to storing our own information, there was a lot of incomplete data,” Loveland said. “So we’re trying to clean that up now and get more data to make an educated decision on this.”

But Winterton isn’t holding his breath for an educated decision. He continues to maintain that bad blood between him and a competing Ogden tow-truck company owner, Casey Snyder, is behind the tow-rotation change — in a blatant attempt to put Winterton out of business. And he thinks UHP Sgt. Bryce Kohler, who oversees the towing rotation for the two counties, and Capt. Chris Simmons, the former UHP commander over Weber and Morgan counties who instituted the change a year ago, are involved.

“There is a conspiracy,” Winterton said. “The Highway Patrol, they’re great people. I deal with these troopers, and they’re great guys. But when you get told by a supervisor to do something, you do it.”

Winterton hasn’t taken legal action; he’ll wait until he sees the new rotation schedule for 2016.

“But if it doesn’t change, I’ll sue,” he said. “I’m going to be going to court, and I’m after two jobs — Chris Simmons’, and Bryce Kohler’s.”

Attempts to reach Simmons and Kohler for comment were unsuccessful.

Squeaky wheel

Snyder, who owns both Lost Recovery Inc. and KC’s Towing, denied he has a vendetta against Winterton.

“I feel like this (current rotation) is the best thing for a fair market,” Snyder said. “This has nothing to do with me — 90 percent of all of the companies think this is a great idea.”

Between his two companies, Snyder gets one or two calls a month from the UHP Morgan rotation, but he said he’s made the 30-minute response requirement every time this year.

Loveland said Winterton is the only one complaining about the year-old rotation.

“I can tell you this: We have one squeaky wheel and everybody else is content,” he said.

Loveland said the tow industry “is an animal that’s big,” and he can’t see making changes for just one company out of many.

“For us to basically accommodate one particular company where everybody else thinks it’s a fair and just rotation doesn’t sound very fair, either,” Loveland said.

Neil Schultz, president of the Ogden Weber Tow Association and a towing company owner, said he knows Winterton has lost some business as a result of the change in the rotation schedule, but he doesn’t think the UHP or customers “have been handicapped by it.” And Schultz doubts there’s any conspiracy.

“It’s a dog-eat-dog industry,” he said. “There are people who have vendettas against one another, but I don’t think that’s the case here.”

Winterton said, at this point, he’s not fighting for himself anymore.

“I don’t care what they do,” he said. I just want everyone to know what’s going on. People need to know that a tow in Morgan County will take twice as long and cost twice as much because of this decision.”

Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SEMarkSaal.