San Francisco: The "predatory" city

Photo: Kevin Hume

Some thoughts on the Examiner's story on vehicle towing: Fight on 'poverty tows' heats up. 

Back in 2016, Jose Cisneros, San Francisco's Treasurer, wrote an op-ed in the SF Chronicle: San Francisco has become a predatory government:

We all remember when Michael Brown, an unarmed young black man, was tragically shot and killed by the Ferguson police in 2014. A Justice Department investigation revealed a pattern of ticketing people for minor offenses — like having a busted taillight or high grass in their yard. 

If people couldn’t pay the tickets, which averaged a few hundred dollars, then the fines grew. Many people lost their driver’s licenses, their credit ratings plummeted, and they were sometimes jailed. These fines were Ferguson’s second-largest source of revenue in 2013.

Cisneros told readers that San Francisco was---still is?---a lot like Ferguson:

But this is not just a Ferguson problem. According to emerging research, San Francisco levies more fines per capita than most California counties. Also, we assess more fines per capita than Philadelphia, Louisville, Ky., or Nashville, which are comparable city/county localities.

Cisneros is doing something about that, since there's a Financial Justice Project in his department that supposedly addresses the problem. 

In the 2016 op-ed, Cisneros mentions towing fees that were then more than $400. 

According to a MTA site, it looks like his department hasn't done anything about that:

Administrative Fee (this charge is in addition to the tow fee below)

All repeat tows $318

First-time tow $268

Low-income $0

Tow Fee (this charge is in addition to the administrative fee above)

One-time waiver for people experiencing homelessness $0

Low-income $100

All others $256

Storage (if applicable)

First four hours free

First day after first 4 hours $56.50

Subsequent days $67.50

I interpret this as $268 (administrative fee) plus $256 (tow fee) plus $56.50 (first day storage), plus $67.50 thereafter (daily storage). If your car has been towed and "stored" for more than one day, that adds up to $648!

Okay, if you're homeless and living in your car and your home is towed, you aren't charged with either the "administrative fee" or the $100 "tow fee" for the first tow. But if you're homeless and towed again, you pay $318 (repeat tow), plus $100 (low income), plus "storage": $56.50 for the first day and $67.50 a day thereafter.

If you're homeless and your home is "stored" for two days, by my reckoning that adds up to $542!

That's a good deal for AutoReturn ("the nation's leading towing management systems provider") and for the tow truck/car "storage" companies.

But what's the city's cut? How much does City Hall make on the deal?

Click on "Predatory City" below for earlier posts on the subject.

More here on the subject soon.

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