Primary Department: Management and Budget
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Secondary Department: Sheriff
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of Management and Budget for discussion and possible action regarding options to update Harris County’s maximum nonconsent tow rates in unincorporated Harris County, including incident-management / law-enforcement tow rates, private-property nonconsent tow rates, drop charges, and a recurring review and adjustment methodology.
end
Background and Discussion:
On June 11, 2026, Commissioners Court directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to return on July 9, 2026, with an updated fee policy covering all fees and fines set by Commissioners Court. Nonconsent tow rates were the presenting concern, raised by towing operators, because the County’s maximum nonconsent tow rates in the unincorporated areas of Harris County have not been adjusted since 2011.
Nonconsent tow rates are consumer price ceilings paid by vehicle owners to private towing operators; the County collects no portion of this revenue. Since 2011, the City of Houston has adjusted its rates annually, and cumulative inflation since 2011 is approximately 46 to 49 percent. As a result, the County’s rates have fallen below the City’s schedule and inflation-adjusted 2011 levels, raising operator cost-recovery and service-availability concerns. Private-property tow rates and drop charges are capped at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) maximums; incident-management and law-enforcement tow rates are set locally and are not subject to that ceiling.
The County’s authority to regulate nonconsent tow rates is addressed through Texas Occupations Code Sections 2308.202 and 2308.203, Texas Transportation Code Section 545.306, and the County’s wrecker ordinance, within the federal nonconsent-tow exception under 49 U.S.C. Section 14501(c)(2)(C), subject to County Attorney review. Under the County's tow truck ordinance, the maximum nonconsent and private-property tow charges are set by a separate Commissioners Court order rather than within the ordinance's fee schedule, so the reset would be implemented through that separate order, subject to County Attorney review. Because the County does not collect this revenue, these rates are addressed using a fair-value or benchmark methodology consistent with the proposed amendment to the Fee Update and Review Policy recognizing County-set, non-collected rates, rather than the County’s cost-recovery methodology. If the Court prefers to act before the amendments are adopted, the rates may also be set under the existing Policy’s provision for a methodology appropriate to the individual fee.
The attached memorandum presents the item as two decisions: a one-time reset level and a recurring adjustment mechanism. OMB recommends Option 3 - aligning incident-management and law-enforcement rates with the City of Houston benchmark and setting private-property rates at the lesser of the County-selected benchmark or the TDLR maximum - paired with an annual City of Houston benchmark review checked against the prevailing TDLR maximums, and requiring Court action for material deviations or methodology changes. A full fair-value cost study is not recommended as a first-year step; staff will document the initial fair-value basis using available benchmark, inflation, statutory-cap, and stakeholder information.
Expected Impact:
This item has no direct County revenue impact. Nonconsent tow rates are maximum charges paid by vehicle owners to private towing operators, and the County receives no portion of the tow-rate revenue. Any adopted increase would affect motorists subject to nonconsent tows in unincorporated Harris County by increasing the maximum amount that may be charged, depending on the option selected. For example, a light-duty incident-management tow would increase from $145.50 to approximately $213 under a CPI-U catch-up option or $232 under a City of Houston benchmark option.
Updating the rates may improve operator cost recovery and support continued availability of nonconsent tow service in unincorporated Harris County. Establishing a recurring review mechanism would also reduce the risk that rates become outdated again. For private-property tows and drop charges, any adjustment must remain within the applicable TDLR maximums. Under current TDLR maximums, a full CPI catch-up for medium and heavy private-property tows and drop charges would exceed the TDLR ceiling and cannot be adopted; the adoptable amount is the lesser of the County-selected target and the applicable TDLR ceiling.
Alternative Options:
Option 1 - No change: Retain the 2011 rate schedule. This option avoids any increase to vehicle-owner charges but leaves County rates unchanged despite inflation, divergence from City of Houston rates, and operator cost-recovery or service-availability concerns. Not recommended.
Option 2 - CPI-U catch-up: Reset rates by cumulative CPI-U since 2011, with private-property rates and drop charges capped at the TDLR maximum. This is a conservative and defensible reset option.
Option 3 - Regional benchmark / City of Houston alignment: Align incident-management and law-enforcement rates with the City of Houston benchmark and set private-property rates at the lesser of the County-selected benchmark or the TDLR maximum. This is the recommended reset option.
Option 4 - TDLR maximum for private-property tows with separate Court-selected benchmark for incident-management tows: Set private-property tows and drop charges at the current TDLR maximum and separately set incident-management rates at a Court-selected benchmark. This option is viable, but more aggressive than necessary for a measured reset.
Future adjustment mechanism: Court may pair any reset option with one of the following mechanisms: discretionary review, annual CPI-U adjustment, annual blended cost index, or annual City of Houston benchmark review. OMB recommends annual City of Houston benchmark review, checked against the prevailing TDLR maximums, with Court action required for material deviations or methodology changes. Under any mechanism, private-property rates and drop charges must be checked against the applicable TDLR maximum before any annual adjustment takes effect.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Objective: F: Ensure safety and security for all using the county’s transportation network in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero plan.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
1-29-2026 |
5 |
No action. Item was presented for discussion only. |
|
2-12-2026 |
7 |
Countywide Fee Policy Approved |
|
6-11-2026 |
482 |
Commissioner of Precinct 2 request for countywide fee update policy including nonconsent tow rates and fines. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): Unincorporated areas of Harris County
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
|
CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
|
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 7/9/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director, Office of Management & Budget
Attachments (if applicable): 7-9-2026 Agenda - Nonconsent_Tow_Rate_Options_Memo_v06-23-2026