CITY
OF
City
Hall - 101 N. Court Street
Minutes
TAXICAB
COMMISSION MEETING
9:00
am
Wednesday,
May 3rd, 2006, room 212, City Hall
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Present: Alderman Donna Kuzemchak Ramsburg, Alderman
Marcia Hall, Alderman C. Paul Smith, Jerry Wood, Tammy Wood, Mark Mahibi, Byron
Bowie, Lt. Tom Chase, Kenny Shapiro, William Bowie, Eileen Farrar
Item 1: Approval
of the Minutes from the meeting of March 31st, 2006.
Minutes were approved as written
unanimously.
Item 2: Discussion
regarding changes to the Taxicab Ordinance.
Mr. Kenny Shapiro
began by stating that if changes were made to Section 23-30 of the ordinance,
that Section 23-9 would be acceptable as written and stated that Section 23-30
of the ordinance addresses the issue of vehicles not in service. Mr. Shapiro
continued to explain the changes made. In part (a), the stipulation was added “
or allow such vehicle to become unable to be lawfully operated” without “first”
receiving written consent from the Commission. Part (b) was changed to read
“the holder of a permit for any taxicab
that becomes inoperable or unable to be lawfully operated shall within ninety-six(96)
hours of inoperability or inability to be lawfully operated provide the taxicab
administrative agency with: 1) As a written request to remove a vehicle from
public 2) The make, year, model, vehicle identification number, and permit
number of the vehicle which is no longer operable or permitted to be used 3)
The conditions surrounding the vehicles inoperability or inability to be used.
Part (f) new language states “Failure to comply with the provisions of this
section shall result in a fine of fifty dollars($50.00) per day for the first
fourteen (14) days and then one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day
thereafter. A letter requesting
withdrawal of a taxicab complying with the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section shall stay the issuance of any fines until such time that the commission
shall provide answer to the taxicab permit holders request.” Part (g) state
“Failure to comply with the provision of this section after a period of sixty
(60) days shall result in the automatic forfeiture of such permit. Alderman
Ramsburg thought that maybe a new section in Section 23-9 should be revised so
that other parts of the ordinance will not always have to be referred to. Alderman Hall thought maybe a reference with
the title would work as well. Mr.
Shapiro stated that however the language is provided, that once you are
permitted you still have to have your vehicle on the road. Alderman Ramsburg
thought there could possibly be a section that deals just with existing
permits. Mr. Shapiro stated that this was addition was possible. Alderman Smith would like to have Section
23-9 subsection (b) to say after the very last sentence “as provided in Section 23-30, Alderman Smith
questioned the wording in Section 23-9 section (a) and Alderman Ramsburg
thought that this subsection may not be needed.
Mr. Shapiro stated that he would revisit this section again. Alderman Smith stated that possibly
subsection (a) of section 23-9 might state that in the event a taxicab becomes
inoperable for whatever reason you must notify us within a certain amount of time. Alderman Smith was concerned about the fines
and thought they might be too high for the small businessman. Alderman Ramsburg stated that the fine issue
was addressed and agreed upon due to the amount of complaints received
regarding the lack of cabs on the road.
Lt. Tom Chase stated that the purpose of the administrative agency was
to provide for a whole system that can properly administer and include in a
certain amount of reasonableness as they administer the agency regardless of
whether it is a large company or a new business just beginning. Lt. Chase feels that there are remedies in
this statue that would address a significant amount of this discussion
today. Lt. Chase also stated that there
is a sufficient amount of time for notification if problems occur and said that
if the timelines starts to become an issue there are ways to address that. Lt. Chase explained that the administration is
trying to facilitate a way to motivate the taxicab companies to do what they
are supposed to do and to keep all responsible parties in the loop. Lt. Chase stated that every time someone has
an issue regarding a violation, a lawyer will be arguing the law regardless of
how well it is written. Mr. Shapiro stated that the Commission has a lot of
leeway in the lack of compliance, as long as the companies notify them. Alderman Smith stated that he thought one
week was better then 96 hours for notification time in that it was easier to
understand. Alderman Smith was still not
comfortable with the fine amount. Alderman
Smith stated that he would like to cut the fines in half, so that the fine
would be in section (f) only $25.00 dollars instead of $50.00 dollars for
failure to comply per day for the first fourteen days and then $50.00 dollars
per day instead of $100.00 dollars per day thereafter. Alderman Hall thought $100.00 dollars per day
thereafter was fair due to the fourteen days time frame. A discussion continued regarding the catchall
fines for municipal violations and agreement was made on the progression of
fines for each subsequent violation.
Public Comment:
Mr. William Bowie
stated that there should be a hearing process.
Mr. Jerry Wood
stated that he notifies the Commission of all accidents or issues of car
problems within 48 hours. Mr. Wood stated
that the new ordinance was very well written and he was pleased with the
result.
Alderman Smith
stated that he would like to see a provision in the law stating that if you are
charged with fines (particularly the very large fines) that there would be an
“up to” clause. Alderman Smith would
like to review and possibly change part of Section 23-59 and have the appellate
board have the ability to change things.
Alderman Smith
passed out a memo that had a purposes section to be included in the Ordinance
and thought that this could be helpful in the future. Alderman Ramburg wanted
to review the memo at a later meeting and distribute by email to all interested
parties.
Discussion continued
regarding the cost of permits and explained the reasoning behind the cost. Also discussed were ownership and guidelines
for transferability of permits.
Alderman Ramsburg asked that Alderman Smith bring to the commission any problems with costs associated with permits or issues with any part of the ordinance and it would be reviewed at a commission meeting and that any historical information will be furnished to him. Alderman Ramsburg asked that any changes be put forth in writing.
Alderman Ramsburg stated that lowering fines and time of operation on the road by a cab could be discussed at the next meeting. Alderman Ramsburg would also like to discuss the hours of operation as well. Alderman Smith stated that hours of operation might be justified by the number of complaints generated by lack of service. Alderman Hall stated that there are times when there is a need for a cab when most of them are not in service.
Alderman Ramsburg reviewed what would be discussed at the next Taxicab Commission meeting.
1) proposed purpose section to the Ordinance
2) Section 23-9
3) Section 23-30
4) Section 23-31
5) Discussion of a catchall that would include a discussion of the appeals process.
Public Comment:
Mr. Byron Bowie stated that there is always difficulty getting drivers. Mr. Bowie stated that most applicants are unemployed and it is expensive to obtain employment with all of the fees involved. The Commission explained that there are now ways to achieve a temporary license and Mr. Shapiro stated that the cost for a temporary license was $5.00 for 60 days as explained in the ordinance. Lt Chase explained why the temporary license section was instituted and that the fees and procedures for obtaining a permanent license were made as reasonable as possible.
Item 3: Rates
This item was tabled due to a lack of information for this request forwarded to the Commission.
Public Comment:
Mr. William Bowie asked if the currents rates are determined by the owners or is it the Commission that makes that decision. Mr. Bowie stated that in 1991 the issues regarding permit ownership were different and explained how this affected his company. Mr. Bowie feels that costs and fees are to high and too burdensome for a taxicab company.
Mr. Jerry Wood stated that $78.00 was the total cost for obtaining a license before the health exam. Mr. Wood asked who signs the temporary licenses. Mr. Wood stated that he would invite anyone to visit his company to view daily operations. Mr. Wood stated that he needed drivers as well.
Lt. Chase clarified that part of the $78.00 charge for a
license was for a fingerprinting charge of $18.00 that goes to the State of
Ms. Tammy Wood stated that a big company as well as a small company will have the same expenses. Ms. Wood also stated that tags, renewals and inspections will set her back $13,000 in two months time and that just because there are more cars on the road, this does not make it less expensive to operate due to more overhead. Ms. Wood stated that her company notifies the police department within 48 hours after an accident. Ms. Wood stated that they have spent over $15,000 in lawyers fees during the re-write of the Ordinance. Ms. Wood stated that she was never aware of the opportunity to purchase a permit back in the 90’s and thought waiting on a list was the only way to purchase one. Ms. Wood also stated that it was very difficult to keep drivers.
The next meeting will be determined at a later date.
Minutes submitted by Eileen S. Farrar.