Towing came out in full force during a public hearing to discuss the city’s towing concerns.

A significant argument involved the reinstallation of a rotating service, which is a working schedule that would place primary and secondary towing calls on different towing services on rotating days.

Bill Lovett of Lovett’s Towing said the resounding displeasure of various towing services will not diminish with a rotating service.

“I think with rotation, you tend to see less dedication from towing services,” Lovett said. “By having your own will-calls and customers, it gives you a feeling of being committed to one person. You know who you’re going to assist and you don’t hesitate in being there.”

Bill Arhos of Tri-State Towing thought the benefits of the rotating system would be plentiful.

“In certain cases, major accidents occur and if the person’s typical towing service is 20 minutes away, another only five minutes away could arrive sooner and clear the road before the other company even arrives,” Arhos said.

Another important topic established at the meeting was the effect of towing on DeKalb residents.

Reynaldo Ong, a resident of University Village, argued extensively about separate occasions when his vehicles had been towed.

“My cars were towed for no reason,” Ong said. “I initially lost money because of it and missed an appointment in Chicago with one of the towings. Because my two stickers were placed on the wrong cars was why they towed both cars.”

Ong hoped owners don’t make impulsive decisions when calling towing services and demanding that a car be towed.

“Property owners should be desisted from making their own provisions that violate due process,” Ong said. “It’s not just an inconvenience for the owner of the car, but could be harmful if the person has an important meeting or class and finds out his or her car has disappeared.”

Lovett added a point that parking lots need to be expanded in order to prevent towing, because a Lovett’s customer’s building has 27 available parking spots for 55 tenants.

The most hotly debated topic centered around relocation, which is a proposal not to relocate towed vehicles more than a mile and a half from DeKalb corporate limits.

“Every situation is different,” Arhos said. “Property owners, though, should decide times because they have problems at all hours. To say relocation should happen between certain times is not possible. It’s the tenant’s prerogative.”

Lovett, though, somewhat opposed Arhos’s philosophy.

“I disagree with towers patrolling at all hours,” Lovett said. “There should be somewhat of a time limit to allow students some freedom.”

Lovett said that property owners need to take more of an active role instead of simply pointing fingers at the towers. He added that relocation was OK if it did not exceed the mile-and-a-half limit. Anything outside of that, he said, is unnecessary.

“It’s what’s absolutely best for the city and what’s at least a problem to the city,” Lovett said.