The owner of a Shenandoah towing company says the borough is ignoring his business and its own ordinance and treating his business unfairly.
Dwight Williams runs Talk of Town LLC, a towing company based in Shenandoah. At recent Borough Council meetings The Canary has attended, Williams and his wife, Ruth, have logged very verbal complaints against Shenandoah officials for failing to follow an ordinance they passed in 2022 which established a rotation for calling tow companies into service.
Since it was passed, Williams says his company has rarely been called and it’s been a long time since the last call and claims he’s the only one that ever signed up to be part of the rotation.
In recent months, the conversation between he, his wife, council members and the borough’s Mayor have gotten heated. Earlier this week, the tone of the conversation reached a fever pitch.
Council members eventually voted to advertise to repeal the ordinance that established a rotation of towing companies so that a new version of it could be drafted.
Shenandoah’s 2022 Towing Ordinance
In 2022, Shenandoah passed the now-controversial towing ordinance. Part of it is supposed to establish a rotation in which towing companies operating in the borough are called by police to help clear the scene of crashes and other scenarios in which a towing company’s services are needed.
Williams says that even though he signed up to be part of that rotation, his company isn’t getting any calls for towing jobs from the borough.
At Shenandoah’s council meeting on Monday, Williams pointed to seven potential incidents in the last month for which his company was ignored.
The issue, Solicitor Shane Hobbs suggested, may be that the borough doesn’t know how to interpret or enforce the ordinance it passed in 2022.
Repealing the Ordinance
Hobbs suggested to Borough Council members on Monday that they repeal the ordinance and write a new one.
“If we don’t know how to enforce this or if you don’t have the manpower to do it or we don’t have the money or whatever it might be … if we don’t understand the ordinance, if it’s not adequate, then repeal it and come up with another one,” Hobbs said. “Trying to enforce and follow through with the language seems to be pretty difficult.”
In drafting a new towing ordinance, Hobbs told council members that they need determine what type of oversight the borough will have with it.
While a new ordinance may be a chance to start fresh and get Williams’ company into the rotation that is called for in the original rules, the tow company owner remains frustrated by the lack of business he’s getting from the borough.
Williams told council members “Regardless of what talk we do about this ordinance, Talk of Town is still not getting any phone calls.”
Needless to say, the Williamses remain skeptical that Shenandoah officials will actually follow through with the letter of a new ordinance, especially when the original ordinance is fairly cut-and-dry.
“Our Chief of Police and our officers are in charge but obviously, someone isn’t doing their job,” Ruth Williams said. “We’re all saying something is going wrong here. We need to fix it. But no one is doing anything to fix it.”
The couple wants accountability among borough officials to be clearly defined in the new ordinance, especially if it’s not being followed like they say it isn’t currently.
Confrontation with the Mayor
When the discussion came to accountability, that’s when things got heated on Monday night.
Dwight Williams addressed Shenandoah Mayor Andrew Szczyglak directly. He said the mayor technically oversees the Police Chief and wondered what, if any, repercussions were in place when the department isn’t following the towing ordinance as it’s currently written.
“Your job is to give him a write-up and after so many write-ups, you’re gone,” Williams said to Szczyglak.
That touched a nerve with the Mayor, who then turned to council members in frustration.
“This is every meeting I’m getting this thrown at me,” Szczyglak said to Council President Joe Boris.
He told Boris to call a meeting of the borough’s Law and Order committee.
“We have to sit down and I want Council to present my Chief with a letter stating that he has to follow these orders because this is what Council wants,” Szczyglak said. “I want to know what the reason is why we’re not using other tow companies.
Council then voted to advertise to repeal the ordinance. It’ll need another month before it’s officially repealed.
“I’ll never step foot in The Lyric again.”
Later, in public comment, the Williamses used the opportunity to express their frustration once again with the towing ordinance the vote to repeal it. Ruth said that repealing the ordinance basically put their business in the same situation it’s been in for the last two years.
That got Szczyglak hot under the collar.
He said, “Ma’am, I explained that I want to have a sit-down with my Chief to find out what exactly is going on. Please!”
Ruth Williams fired back, “Mayor, I have been here four years and asked about the … “
Szczyglak interjected and said, “And I’m sick of hearing it. And I want find out what it’s about.”
Williams shot back, “And I’m sick of hearing it, too. So be the Mayor and take charge and take control of the police like you’re supposed to.”
Szczyglak then said, “And you take charge of your properties. I support you almost daily at your place. I’m tired of being thrown under the bus by YOU, not your husband, by YOU.”
He then turned to Hobbs and asked, “Shane, I don’t need to speak to her, do I?”
Boris attempted to bring calm to the room amid the uproar and said the borough will attempt to dissect the gray areas in its committee meeting.
“I see your concerns,” Boris told Dwight Williams.
Szczyglak said, “That’s what I’m trying to say until somebody jumped all over me that I’m not doing my job.”
He then turned to Ruth Williams and said, “I’ll never set foot in The Lyric again.”
Boris told the Williamses to write a letter about their concerns and send it to himself, Szczyglak, and Borough Manager Tony Sajone.
Szczyglak said he didn’t want to get that letter.
The borough’s Law and Order committee meets on the first Monday of every month.
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...
Dragonsi
August 24, 2024 at 3:00 am
1.) Out of curiosity, how many towing companies exist in and around Shenandoah?
2.) The Williams, (or you), should file a Right to Know paper requesting each towing incident from say a month after the Ordinance went into effect, to review the official towing history.
3.) If they are the only company that even bothered to “opt in”, and the other towing companies in and around town exist, but chose NOT to “opt in” when it was originated in 2022, WHY was any of them ever called for official police/town business after the Ordinance went into effect? If they didn’t do the paperwork in 2022, before the request for interest in being on the towing schedule weekly rotation list, that would mean Talk of the Town should get 100% of the police & town business, if what he said was true, and they were the only ones to sign up for the list. Was this a “once and done sign up period” for this ordinance, or could other towing companies express interest in joining the rotation if they wanted to, post 2022 implementation?
4.) Doesn’t Shenandoah’s emergency calls go through the Schuylkill County 911 Center, and wouldn’t they have some documentation/rotation list available for dispatches there as well? I’m sure an actual 2 year history of the rotation list could be requested via a Right to Know Record.
5.) What is the official wording of this ordinance? Does the rotation specify weekly as in Sunday morning through Saturday nights, or per each individual accident each company is rotated?