Local limousine companies struggle with municipal codes
Written by Mark Hensch | | news@toledofreepress.comTodd Daggett plays by the rules.
During his 12 years as owner of Perrysburg’s Dagwoods Limousine, he said, his company has strictly followed Toledo’s municipal code while operating in the city. Unfortunately for area consumers, he said, enforcement of the code is so lax, Dagwoods is in the minority.
“The city is not inspecting the limousines the way they are supposed to,” Daggett said. “If someone gets hurt in a limo driven by an unlicensed or uninsured company, it could hurt the whole industry. Something terrible is going to happen.”
Daggett said an officer from the Toledo Police Department inspects each company’s fleet of vehicles once each year. Once inspected, he said, each company’s owner turns in government paperwork and pays a nominal licensing fee. Vehicles seating seven passengers or fewer are charged $100 by the city of Toledo, he said. Vehicles seating greater numbers pay $30, he said, to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio instead.
In addition, he said, vehicles weighing more than 10,001 pounds pay a $100 fee to the Ohio State Highway Patrol and not the City of Toledo.
Unfair advantage
Problems occur when other companies gain an unfair advantage by not incurring these same licensing costs Dagwoods experiences, Daggett said.
“These companies undercut my business,” Daggett said. “Would you want to go to a doctor for surgery and find out afterwards he was not licensed so it was cheaper? I cannot compete with that. It is just not right.”
Scott Searle, Toledo’s administrative services officer, said Toledo’s municipal code concerning vehicles for hire last changed in October 2008. Since then, he said, keeping the rules in practice has proven difficult after shakeups in the police force.
Todd Daggett
“The biggest problem in citing someone for violating these rules is the police have to catch them doing it,” Searle said. “Part of the issue right at this moment is that after the police restructuring the officer formerly assigned to assist the finance department with public vehicle enforcement was reassigned to street duty.”
The department currently provides a single officer for directly enforcing the rules, Searle said, although other officers may issue citations if they are familiar with municipal code. The financial department that issues licenses cannot give out citations for violations on its own, he said.
Daggett said increased awareness of the code amongst police officers would help. He said the current administration lacks the manpower and training for effective enforcement of Toledo’s vehicle for hire laws.
“I think the police department is understaffed,” Daggett said. “That, or not enough of them have knowledge of the rules. They do not even teach the taxi cab or limousine codes in the police academy.”
Officer Bruce Simon, the police officer in charge of enforcing Toledo limousine and taxi codes, did not return calls seeking comment.
A fourth-degree misdemeanor is given for failure to have an appropriate license under the Ohio Revised Code, Searle said. He said violations may result in fines under the Ohio code. Impounding of offending vehicles may also occur under Toledo’s own municipal law, he said.
Doug Ramsey, owner of Limo Toledo, said abuse of the code runs rampant through the city’s limousine companies. Even worse, he said, Toledo loses out by not enforcing its own laws.
“Half the companies in Toledo are probably illegal,” Ramsey said. “If the city wants to make money on issuing tickets, they can make tons of money ticketing these companies. The city and state need to step up and do their job.”
No help from Carty
Motivated by “the city’s inefficiency,” Daggett said he wrote Mayor Carty Finkbeiner a March 25 letter detailing his concerns. Finkbeiner’s response was less than satisfying, Daggett said.
“Your business is in Perrysburg. Why are you writing me?” Finkbeiner asks in a copy of the March 31 letter obtained by Toledo Free Press. “And who wrote the rules?”
Daggett said he next contacted 2nd district City Councilman and mayoral candidate D. Michael Collins with a May 1 letter about the issue. Collins said as the current chair of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee, he oversees all legislation concerning limousine law. He said Finkbeiner’s response “demonstrates a continuing pattern of his incompetence.”
“For the city to not enforce the municipal code is irresponsible,” Collins said. “We have these rules on the books and we have to react to them.”
Mayor Finkbeiner never responded to a second letter sent May 1, Daggett said.
Daggett said stricter administration of Toledo’s limousine laws could eventually reap benefits for the city. He said greater adherence towards the rules would create a medium of fairness between the city’s competing limousine companies.
“If the city would get on people’s backs about paying licensing fees, we would have less of a $21 million deficit,” Daggett said. “Everyone should be compliant so there is a level playing field for everybody. The remedy is enforcement.”
“For the city to not enforce the municipal code is irresponsible,” Collins said. “We have these rules on the books and we have to react to them.”
Be careful what you want.
We have a rogue Acting Commissioner, who seems to not hold the qualifications for the position and this could possibly add to her resume, police officer in charge of enforcing Toledo limousine and taxi codes.
“Collins said as the current chair of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee, he oversees all legislation concerning limousine law.”
And say, besides berating the rogue Acting Commissioner, is council going to take any action with regards to the “police powers” that are being misused?
Or are we going to wait for more lawsuits?
This comment was posted on July 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 amInteresting. So if companies don’t even spend the money for a $100 or $30 fee, what else are they not paying for?
How about insurance? I would be curious to know that if I see a limo, on the street of Toledo with a Ohio plate, if they are insured or not.
A quick comment to Scott Searle who said: “The biggest problem in citing someone for violating these rules is the police have to catch them doing it,”… Um, recommend you check phone book Scott. Limo services have to advertize to make money; check the ads and then check their books.
Step 1) Send the obligatory letter of warning citing the law, the required actions of alleged violator and then the consequences if alleged violator fails to comply.
Step 2) Then go enforce the law 30 days following the letter.
I bet that Officer Bruce Simon could whip up and mail multiple form letters in a day. I don’t think that is too heavy a lift; what do ya say Officer Simon.
I would hope limo providers could not receive a license from the city if they do not present proof of minimum insurance requirements.
Seems to me failure to enforce laws places those “in the know”, or in a position of responsibility of enforcing those laws, in a situation where one might say they are liable.
Can you say law suit members/representatives of city of Toledo? I am sure an accident victim could find a first year law student willing to drag your name through the press.
Thank you Mark Hensch, Dagwoods Limousine & Limo Toledo for putting the spot light on this issue.
This comment was posted on July 4th, 2009 at 12:35 amA greater problem lies in the fact that the city of Toledo does not have the right to over ride State and Federal Transportation laws. For a company to legally operate in the state of Ohio they must be registered with the Public Utilities Commision(PUCO) To transport across state lines they must have United States Department of Transportation Authority(USDOT) Any company operating in the city of Toledo or its suburbs that does not have these licenses are operating illegaly. Plain and simple. The city of Toledo is just looking for another money grab. Enforce state and federal laws, both of which supercede any local ordinance.
If you want to get down to the dirty secrets of this industry, then ask about paying under the table, false employee status claims, claiming employees as independant contractors to avoid paying taxes and workers compensation as well as unemployment insurance.
Talk about lost money. Most operators locally pay under the table or 1099 their employees as IC’s illegaly. They are cheating the citizens of Toledo and Ohio by not paying taxes. These are the real costs that create unfair competition.
This is not a new issue and many of the so called “legal” companies that sound off about City licenses are they themselves cheating the citizens of Toledo and Ohio and putting them at risk.
Ask yourself this : would you knowingly contract a limousine service that pays its drivers under the table and does not carry workers compensation insurance ? Many people do, because they are cheaper.( although I doubt that most people have any idea they are supporting the underground economy ) Its easy to charge less when you steal $2,000 – $3,000.00 a month from the honest tax paying citizens.
Just keep this in mind. Even if the company has the legal amount of insurance, if an accident occurs across state lines, the insurance company may not cover the claim if the company does not have proper PUC and USDOT compliance. In either case, no commercial liability insurance covers the employees(drivers)in case of an accident and injury.
All of this is easy to check online through the Ohio BWC, the Ohio PUC, The USDOT(safersys.org)and Ohio Family and Job Services.(unemployment)
I think the people of Toledo would be very surprised to learn who the comapnies are that run in the underground and avoid paying the same taxes that every honest person does.
This comment was posted on July 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pmThe underground economy is not only a burden on tax paying citizens but is also a hazard. Companies that play by the rules often lose because of higher costs and less legitimate companies ability to undercut them on prices.
It is an unfortunate consequence of how most municipal governments are set up that many important issues can fall through the cracks.
This comment was posted on December 19th, 2009 at 3:20 am