New Towing Regulations Coming

North Myrtle Beach City Council is changing how they regulate towing companies.   Right now, the North Myrtle Beach Police Department has a rotation list of which towing companies to use.  Monday night, council passed a first reading to turn it into an ordinance.  Members are also looking at capping towing rates from private property, and setting fines and jail time for companies in violation of a towing ordinance.  NMB Mayor, Marilyn Hatley says their goal is to prevent predatory towing.

“My main concern was the gouging of the fees and the fact that some of the cars were being carried so far away. Now they cannot. That was two of the major issues we were having. We want to be kind to our tourists and we don’t want to make it difficult for them if a car does have to be towed”  Under the new ordinance, tows from private property would have to be initiated by a property’s management or elected homeowner association officers.