CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake reported that it is gearing up to tackle the widespread issue of abandoned vehicles.
Acting Clearlake Police Chief Tim Celli said that, soon, personnel from the Clearlake Police Department along with Code Enforcement officers will be tagging and towing vehicles which are believed to be abandoned.
He said that work is made possible through funds that have been collected by the state of California and dispersed to the county of Lake. These fees are collected from registration fees through the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The program is managed through a joint powers authority known as the Abandoned Vehicle Authority. This association is made up of members from the Lake County Board of Supervisors, along with city council members from the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, Celli said.
For several years, these fees have not been dispersed to local jurisdictions due to a discrepancy in the interpretation of law regarding these abandoned vehicle fees. This discrepancy surrounded an interpretation that these fees collected should be a tax rather than a fee. This was problematic because taxes must be voted on, but fees do not, according to Celli.
Celli said the funds were still being collected from the state and disbursed to the county, however, due to the discrepancy; many counties were not dispersing the fees to local jurisdictions and were waiting for the issue to resolve. This discrepancy essentially suspended the ability to tow these vehicles due to the lack of outside funding.
“Since the suspension of the program, the abandoned vehicles throughout our city and other areas of the county have grown exponentially,” said Celli.
“We are extremely excited to announce there has been new clarification from the California Department of Finance clarifying these funds collected are fees and not a tax,” Celli said. “Based on this clarification, the Abandoned Vehicle Authority is moving forward with the program and funds will be disbursed to local agencies for towing and removal of abandoned vehicles.”
Celli said there are certain parameters that these abandoned vehicles must meet in order to qualify for the program. In addition, a plan will be devised to seek cost recovery from registered owners of these qualified vehicles.
California Vehicle Code section 22524 (a) states in part that the abandonment of any vehicle in any manner shall constitute a prima facie presumption that the last registered owner of record is responsible for the abandonment and is thereby liable for the cost of removal and disposition of the vehicle, Celli said.
Celli said it’s important to note that not all vehicles appearing to be abandoned will qualify for the Abandoned Vehicle Authority program; however, owners of vehicles are strongly encouraged to ensure their vehicles are parked lawfully.
As employees from Code Enforcement and the Clearlake Police Department identify vehicles qualifying for Abandoned Vehicle Authority program, other vehicles may be identified as being parked unlawfully, Celli said. Vehicles parked on city streets must be operational and registered. If not, owners may be subject to citations or tow fees outside of the Abandoned Vehicle Authority program.
“We want to work with our citizens to ensure that they are treated fairly, but we also need to clean up our city,” Celli said. “It is my hope that citizens will use this information and immediately take the time to take care of their vehicles so that they don’t cause themselves undue anguish when this program is started. Clearlake Police officers have already started the process in identifying vehicles that need to be addressed under this program.”
City of Clearlake to begin removing abandoned vehicles; work to be funded by Abandoned Vehicle Authority
- Lake County News reports
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