A towing rotation in the city of Pottsville is currently on hold.
City Council members were poised to vote on a proposed towing rotation in the city on Monday but on the advice of Solicitor Ed Brennan, the vote was delayed. A towing rotation, in theory, would be used when vehicles need to be removed from the scene of a crash, for instance, and the owner has no preference on their own provider, leaving it up to emergency personnel at the scene.
Brennan advised council to table the towing rotation resolution on Monday’s agenda. He said further investigation was needed and that likely, an ordinance would need to be written.
The solicitor said that with a towing rotation, it’s a “cumbersome, regulatory” process and there are certain procedures that must be followed, namely an appeals process for towing companies that may be rejected from a possible rotation. Brennan wasn’t seeing that spelled out in the proposed resolution that was included on Monday’s agenda.
Regardless of the resolution being tabled, three local towing company owners spoke out on both sides of the issue.
Proposed Towing Resolution in Pottsville
Before council members on Monday was a proposed towing resolution that would have included two companies noted as “authorized towing providers”: Womer’s Garage Inc., and JRL Emergency Services LLC.
Under the proposal, each company would be placed on a weekly rotation for all towing of passenger vehicles.
For heavy-duty vehicles, the proposal gave all work to JRL Emergency Services.
The proposed rotation had the Pottsville Bureau of Police authorized to contact whatever company was on for that particular week. If they couldn’t respond in a timely manner, approximately 30 minutes, then the job would go to the next company in the rotation.
Companies on the towing rotation, per the proposed resolution, would be required to have a valid license, insurance, and permits, be available 24-7, have safe and operable equipment, treat customers with professionalism and respect, and comply with all city ordinances and police directives.
Approved towing companies would be in charge of billing and all recipients of their services would have to pay those companies directly. Pottsville would have required that towing and storage fees “be set by each company but must be consistent, reasonable, and in compliance with state and local law,” per the proposed resolution.
Mixed Reaction
The idea of a towing rotation goes over well for some company owners who spoke at Monday’s City Council meeting, including one who isn’t even included in the proposed resolution.
Mike Litwak, of JRL Emergency Services, who requested the City implement a rotation back in September 2024, said “The whole point of doing a rotation is that you do not direct it to one company.”
He and Andrew Buchinski, of A&E Auto Repair Inc., seemed to identify Womer’s Garage as the recipient of much of the towing work in Pottsville.
Robert Womer, the owner of Womer’s Garage, didn’t specifically say he had a problem with a towing rotation but wanted any company in it to have to pay the same business taxes he says he does.
“I just want a fair playing field. My business is in the city of Pottsville,” Womer said. “You want a percentage of what I make at the end of the year but I’m competing with a company that doesn’t have to do that.”
Womer was likely speaking of JRL Emergency Services, which does operate partly out of Norwegian Township.
However, Litwak said he does lease a yard in Pottsville, has a City business license and pays the Business Privilege Tax.
“If it’s a company that’s in Norwegian Township and even if you charge him mercantile tax for cars he tows out of the city, once he gets back and charges storage, that’s in Norwegian Township,” Womer said. “If he wants to play in the sandbox, then move into the city. It’s that simple.”
Womer also highlighted all the free work and services he says he’s provided to Pottsville over the year, including storage of impounded vehicles and painting of City vehicles being converted from one use to another, like a police vehicle now being used for code enforcement.
“We do what we can for the city to help the city out because we appreciate the city having our backs,” Womer said.
Councilman Andy Wollyung, who seems to support the idea of a rotation and submitted the proposed rotation resolution to be included in Monday’s agenda, told Womer, “I appreciate your services to the city and what you’ve done for our emergency services. I understand your point about being a business in the city. It isn’t right to just base it on the give-back either. I want it to be fair for everybody.”
Buchinski compared himself to Switzerland in the towing rotation debate. He said his father “fought the same battle” in Pottsville decades ago over the lack of a towing rotation.
He said he’s not discrediting Womer in any way but said if there was a rotation in place, companies included “can all be friends.”
“I think it would benefit everybody as a whole, not just one person,” Buchinski said.
Resolution vs. Ordinance
Had Pottsville voted on a resolution Monday and it would have been clear of loopholes, it could have been implemented right away, presumably.
However, now that it seems an ordinance will be required, it will be at least two months before anything is finalized. An ordinance must go through two public readings and at this rate, could only be adopted at the earliest at City Council’s November meeting.
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