Sacramento spends a lot of money towing away homeless vehicles

Reality check is a Bee series that holds public officials and organizations accountable and sheds light on their decisions. Do you have a tip? Send an email to [email protected].

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to clear homeless encampments, a month after the state Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold a law that criminalizes the practice of housing homeless people in public spaces.

Sacramento already regularly conducts evacuations of encampments and tows vehicles that homeless people use as shelters. In a document attached to a City Council agenda item on Feb. 13, the city said it spent $604,000 in fiscal year 2023 on heavy-duty towing services provided by one company. The Sacramento Bee obtained documents that provide a more detailed look at the price tag.

Click to resize

The Bee has filed a request under the Public Records Act for January towing service invoices between Sacramento and Chima’s Tow, a company that contracts with the city to impound vehicles, including those used by homeless people as shelters.

For just seven days of bills, the city received $21,050 from Chima’s Tow. The “removal fee” for 15 vehicles listed in the documents ranged from $895 to $2,000. Most of the vehicles were RVs or trailers.

A pricing schedule presented to the Sacramento City Council on Feb. 13 for College Oak Towing indicated that trailers up to 41 feet long will cost $2,084.25 and RVs up to 41 feet long will cost $2,215.50. For vehicles longer than 45 feet, pricing will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

All towed vehicles destroyed

Whether all of the vehicles listed on the invoices were occupied is unclear. However, based on other information from the city, it is likely that the majority belonged to people without stable housing, or people who were currently or previously living in these vehicles.

In a February 13 City Council agenda item, staff wrote: “There has been an increase in the number of heavy-duty and recreational vehicles and trailers being abandoned on city streets. Over 90 percent of these towed vehicles are associated with individuals experiencing homelessness.”

The city’s data dashboard shows that during the week of July 15, the city towed 52 vehicles belonging to homeless individuals. The previous week, the city towed 65.

Chima’s invoices show that all of the vehicles were estimated to be worth less than $500. All were destroyed within a month of being towed. The forms for 10 of the vehicles did not indicate that a warning had been issued.

Another set of documents shows other charges related to towing vehicles, including those occupied by homeless people. Code enforcement logs show officers making multiple visits to the vehicles, in addition to the hours contributed by the Sacramento Police Department.

View the invoices: