August 2003
Oakland towing contract faulted / Auditor's report says city loses $500,000 yearly in current deal
Oakland's city towing contract has been awarded without competitive bidding for more than 20 years and shortchanges the public by about $500,000 a year, the city auditor said in a report released Monday.
The auditor, Roland Smith, said the city should stop awarding contract extensions to A&B Auto without competitive bidding and revise the deal so the city gets more towing fees. Under the city's purchasing ordinance, towing contracts must be put to competitive bids, the audit says.
He said Oakland's towing deal compares poorly with that of San Jose, estimating that Oakland loses nearly $500,000 a year in revenue because it does not get fees from the sale and storage of vehicles. Smith also said the contractor underpaid the city $31,500 in administrative fees from 1999 through 2002.
A&B received $3.9 million from towing, storage and lien sales in 1998, Smith said. The city gets $441,500 a year under the current deal, Smith said in his report, which is the first installment in an audit requested by the City Council in 1999 to check A&B's compliance with the contract.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-towing-contract-faulted-Auditor-s-2559834.php
