FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Fort Wayne is officially seeking a new contract with a towing company, a hot topic last March.
In 2024, several towing companies showed up to city council asking that the contract be bid out and not just automatically renewed by Parker, who has had the contract for more than a decade. According to a Request for Proposal (RFP) WANE 15 obtained, they’re getting their wish.
The RFP that the City of Fort Wayne says went out last week details that they are searching for “proposals from qualified vendors for a single contract to provide towing, recovery, storage, and salvage services.”
One man show
The city also confirmed to WANE 15 that the RFP signals that they are looking for one contractor to handle all the towing despite pleas last year to let multiple services handle the job.
The RFP reads “The City will enter into one (1) Contract with the selected Proposer who receives the award and who will be solely responsible for the performance of Towing Services.”
The RFP lays out stipulations for each applying company, and the city told WANE 15 that the five-year-long contract will go into effect on November 3rd, with bids being due on September 15.
The RFP lays out that companies must, among other things,
- Have a 20-minute maximum response time
- Demonstrate completed services for towing and related services
- Have business offices and storage operations in Allen County
- Be fully licensed and have been in business operations for a minimum of three (3) years and documented on the Attorney General’s website IN Biz
- Have a minimum of five (5) years’ experience in providing towing and recovery services
- Be open to the public from 7:00 am – 6:00 pm weekdays and 8:00 am to Noon on Saturdays except on major holidays
Is towing a place for felons?
A hot topic of debate when New Haven approved their most recent towing contract was whether or not felons should be able to be tow drivers for municipalities, and Fort Wayne RFP tows the line on the issue.
Parker Towing Owner Dan Parker claimed that since a new 2025 law forced municipalities to either revise or create towing contracts for their city, he has been advising government officials not to allow felons.
“I helped several departments with this amendment, with this new law that came in effect July 1 today. Each one of them put in and amended their contracts and put in there that you cannot have felon drivers … I’m not saying that there’s not a place for felons to work, but it should not be in this industry,” Parker said in July.
The sentiment isn’t shared by all area towes with Blue Eagle Owner Chris Morgan responding to Parker’s comments in July saying, “I feel like if you’ve completed your sentence and ready to return to society, I don’t understand why towing is a bad place for that to happen.”
Fort Wayne will seem to handle the issue on a case-by-case basis, as the RFP reads, “Background screenings must be performed annually on current employees and on newly hired employees. Any screened employees that have a felony record must be approved by the City Law Department before being assigned to City Towing Services resulting from this Contract.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
