RD296 - 2010 Annual Report Board of Towing and Recovery Operators


Executive Summary:
Mission & Objectives

The mission of the Board of Towing and Recovery Operators (BTRO) is to protect the public by setting standards of qualifications, training, and experience for those who seek to represent themselves to the public as towing and recovery experts and promoting high standards of professional performance for those engaged in the practice of towing and recovery.

The main objectives of BTRO are:

• To receive complaints concerning the conduct of persons and businesses licensed by BTRO and to take appropriate disciplinary action if warranted;

• To establish means and procedures by which BTRO may attempt to mediate and resolve, in an expedited manner, complaints filed against those licensed or otherwise regulated by BTRO;

• To establish the qualifications of applicants for licensure to ensure competence and integrity in towing operations;

• To examine the qualifications of each applicant for licensure;

• To license qualified applicants as Class A or Class B operators;

• To issue driver authorization documents to qualified tow truck drivers; and

• To revoke, suspend, or fail to renew a license for violations of statute or regulations promulgated by BTRO.

All this is accomplished by a Board consisting largely of towing and recovery operators, following the model of the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board, which allows for industry self-regulation (see Attachment A for a list of Board members and committees as of October 2010).

Summary of Fiscal Affairs

On October 15, 2008, BTRO began collecting and processing operator license and driver authorization document applications along with their associated application fees. Prior to that date, BTRO’s operations were funded with Treasury loans (see Attachment B for overall budget information as of September 28, 2010). BTRO has paid back $185,400 of those loans to date, leaving an outstanding balance of $514,600.

Summary of Recent Activities

After successfully credentialing initial applications made prior to July 1, 2009 (the deadline for having licenses and driver authorization documents), BTRO continued to use a manual process to issue initial licenses and driver authorization documents as well as renewals. During the 2010 initial renewal process, BTRO staggered out the expiration periods for previously issued licenses and driver authorization documents, helping to reduce the application processing burden.

As of October 14, 2010, BTRO has issued and renewed 10,713 credentials as follows:

Type of Credential: Class A Operator License
Active Credentials: 302

Type of Credential: Class B Operator License
Active Credentials: 1,180

Type of Credential: Driver Authorization Document
Active Credentials: 4,626

Type of Credential: Tow Truck Class A Decals
Active Credentials: 1,205

Type of Credential: Tow Truck Class B Decals
Active Credentials: 3,400

Of all applicants, 51 tow truck drivers have been denied. Of those denials, 16 were due to applicants not being qualified because of having to report to the Sex Offender Registry.

BTRO’s staff is limited, having three full-time employees and one part-time wage employee. One full-time position remains unfilled at this time, but BTRO plans to fill it in calendar year 2011. Using currently appropriated funds, BTRO also plans to hire two part-time wage employees as Compliance Specialists by the end of this year to assist with and enhance compliance efforts.

Other recent BTRO actions include:

• Finalizing recommendations for Governor McDonnell’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring;

• Developing an online application process in the near future; and

• Increasing Treasury loan payments to expedite the repayment of those loans.