Limo companies struggle with muni codes

PERRYSBURG, Ohio - Todd 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.

“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.”

 

( The Toledo Free Press is a FOX Toledo News media partner)