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Politics & Government

City Council Approves New Administrative Fees on Tows

Naperville expects fees to generate $250K in revenue.

Crime just got a bit more expensive in Naperville.

Naperville's City Council approved an ordinance at its Sept. 7 meeting that imposes administrative fines on the vehicles of those arrested for felonies, warrants or Class A misdemeanors, which would include driving under the influence, reckless driving and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

The new ordinance creates a tier structure for fines. Naperville police can issue an administrative fee of $150 for warrant arrests, $300 for Class A misdemeanors and $500 for felonies. Those arrested are also charged for the cost of the tow and daily storage fee for their vehicles.

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The first draft of the ordinance, introduced Aug. 17, called for $500 administrative fee for offenses. At that meeting it was estimated the average administrative cost for a towed vehicle is $150.

The city council asked the police department to return with a less severe system.

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The tier system passed 6-2.

"The focus is to recoup some of the cost associated with the arrest of an individual and the towing of the involved vehicle," said Cmdr. John Gustin in an e-mail. "The police department proposed the ordinance in response to the council's direction to research various revenue streams."

Gustin said if the ordinance were in place over the the last three years about 1,000 vehicle and their owners would have been affected. Gustin estimates the city will make $250,000 from the new ordinance. This revenue will go directly to Naperville's general fund.

Those hit by the fine do not have to be found guilty of a crime, only charged. Vehicle owners affected by this fine can contest the tow and request a hearing under the city's Administrative Hearing System.

Councilman Robert Fieseler expressed strong opposition to the new ordinance at the Sept. 7. Fieseler said it "fell on him to be the conscience of the community."

"There's an adage, better let 100 men go free than to put one innocent person in prison," said Fieseler on the day of the vote. "This isn't prison, but we can do something about it, and we just did something pretty heavy handed."

Councilman Kenn Miller did not agree with Fieseler's assessment.

"I think it's wrong to assume that the city is wrong the majority of the time and therefore we shouldn't be imposing fees or fines for breaking the law," Miller said. "Yes, occasionally there may be an incorrect arrest or one that's not found guilty for some technical reason, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen and there wasn't probable cause at the time."

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