Controversial towing plan heads for L.A. City Council consideration.

The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to take up a controversial proposed ordinance on Jan. 3 that would allow for the phase-in of competitive bidding for tow truck services beginning in 1998.

Tow truck companies that have been shut out of city police business for decades, because of the city's existing policy of handling down exclusive agreements to the same few "official police garages," want the city to go out to bid sooner.

Under the proposed ordinance, 16 existing OPGs would automatically receive interim contracts extending until the contracts are awarded through competitive bidding, some of which might not be done until 2001. (The Request For Proposal process would begin in 1998, with the selection and award of contractors to be gradually completed over three years.)

Attorney Robert Ring of the law firm Ring & Green in Century City, who represents Tom John Automotive Inc. and Girard & Peterson Inc., two companies that have been shut out, said he is optimistic that he can successfully lobby enough council members to defeat the proposed ordinance.

Ring noted that two members of the council -- Marvin Braude and Jackie Goldberg -- voted against the ordinance on "first read" last month, forcing the second vote on Jan. 3.

"I'm pushing very hard to see if we can defeat it," said Ring. "There's nothing in it for the city. There's everything in it for the OPGs."

Lawsuit partially successful

Ring last year sued the city on behalf of his clients over an OPG agreement that was "passed down" from Les Temaner, owner of Hank's Wilshire Tow Service, to Temaner's widow, Sylvia. Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien ordered the city to go out to bid on the one contract, but he did not rule that other towing contracts must be bid any sooner than the city plans.

Assistant City Attorney Byron Boeckman said the city will not appeal the Hank's Wilshire Tow contract decision. Ring said he has not decided whether to appeal the second part of the judge's ruling.

"If the city would change the ordinance to go to bid sooner, the city would avoid more litigation," Ring said.

In a separate lawsuit filed last year in federal court, plaintiff Metro Towing Inc. alleged that the city's policy violates antitrust laws, civil rights laws and the city charter. That suit was dismissed last September by a U.S. District Court judge, and Metro Towing's attorney -- Brian Lepak of Bennett & Lepak in Beverly Hills -- filed an appeal in December.

Price-setting prohibited

Boeckman has been urging the council to pass the proposed ordinance as soon as possible because of a new federal law prohibiting cities from setting prices for towing services. Boeckman said the city's existing policy does not comply with that federal law, but the interim contracts called for in the proposed ordinance would be allowed under the new law.

The ordinance represents a follow-up to a 1993 audit report by City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie regarding the OPG program. Comrie strongly recommended the city switch to a competitive bidding procedure. He noted that the existing policy "may conflict" with the city charter.

The charter states that contracts spanning more than three years must be approved by the council and the mayor. But the existing OPG policy allows the Police Commission to sanction exclusive agreements with a network of tow truck companies.

The city's 17 OPGs take in a total of about $20 million per year from their city franchises. They have formed an organization called the Official Police Garage Association, which lobbies City Hall, hires its own lawyers and contributes to the campaigns of city officials.