The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department requests that City Council approve Change Order #3 to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Houston and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) to fund the continuation of the Tow & Go Program. This change order provides supplemental funding in the amount of $1,200,000.00 to the Intergovernmental Agreement that expires January 31, 2026.
The purpose of the Tow & Go Program is to quickly remove stalled vehicles from area freeways to a nearby safe location at no cost to the motorist, thereby reducing traffic congestion and secondary crashes. Vehicles can be towed to a nearby storage lot where they will be stored at no cost for up to 48 hours. Storage fees accrue after 48 hours. The Tow and Go service and related incident management activities currently operate within unincorporated Harris County, as well as the cities of Bellaire, Deer Park, Houston, Humble, Jersey Village, La Porte, Pasadena, and Webster.
Towing costs are $70.00 per tow and are funded by H-GAC as part of this Intergovernmental agreement.
The Houston Police Department also requests City Council to authorize the Chief of Police, or his designee to act as the City’s representative in the grant application process with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds as awarded, and apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period and to authorize the Mayor to execute related agreements with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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J. Noe Diaz, Jr.
Chief of Police