Owosso will tow cars with 5 unpaid parking tickets starting Oct. 12

Starting Monday, Oct. 12, an Owosso police officer can order your car towed off any public place in the city if it is carrying more than four parking tickets that have gone unpaid for more than 30 days. The minutes of the Sept. 21 council meeting, approved Oct. 5, record the ordinance as adopted on a 6-1 roll call.

The new Sec. 33-54 is short and blunt. Where more than four violations "shall have been issued and remain unpaid in excess of thirty (30) calendar days for a vehicle bearing the same registration plate, the vehicle may be removed from any public place in the city at the direction of any police officer." Getting it back is not free: "Such vehicle shall not be released to its owner until all outstanding violations, storage and towing charges have been paid." The ordinance sets its own effective date of Oct. 12, 2026.

Councilmembers Janae Fear, Emily Olson and Rachel Osmer, Mayor Pro-Tem Jerome Haber, Councilmember Carl Ludington and Mayor Robert Teich voted yes. Councilmember Christopher Owens voted no. The minutes record that Owens "indicated he felt the City's enforcement of the parking regulations needs to be more consistent before he could support an ordinance allowing a vehicle to be towed." The council's discussion, as summarized in the minutes, centered on the fact that unpaid tickets currently carry no consequence, which the minutes say "has contributed to noncompliance," and on improving parking turnover downtown. The Current reported Sept. 3 that the towing section had its first reading Sept. 8 with the hearing set for Sept. 21.

Two residents spoke at the hearing. Mike Cline, of 204 Stratford Drive, raised questions about which towing company would be used, how an owner could reclaim a vehicle, whether ticketing records would be subject to FOIA, and whether the city would collect any fee; he suggested waiting for the new council and said he favored vehicle boots instead. Gil Humphreys, of 1202 S. Chipman Street, said he had talked with downtown business owners and concluded that "if the City is going to issue parking tickets, then they have to mean something." The minutes do not record answers to Cline's questions about the towing contractor or reclaiming a vehicle. Later in the meeting, Jeff Turner, of 204 Oakwood Avenue, asked for more enforcement against overnight street parking and front-yard parking, and Public Safety Director Lenkart said he would advise officers to step up enforcement in residential areas.

The same night's consent agenda, approved 7-0, carried real money. The council added $190,628 to the 2025 Well Improvements Project contract with Sorensen Gross Company of Flint for work on the Palmer 2 and Local Well 1 wells and the abandonment of Palmer 1, raising that contract from $1,924,395 to $2,115,023 and adding 276 days to the schedule, contingent on EGLE approval. It hired Fishbeck for $150,100 in engineering and construction administration on the 2027 water service line replacement project, contingent on drinking water revolving fund bond proceeds. It approved a $92,581.28 contract with Pleune Service Company to replace radiators and repair pipe and boiler work at Curwood Castle, plus a $5,000 contingency, with the city's insurer MMRMA reimbursing the cost. It also bought a 2027 Ford F250 from Lunghamer Ford of Owosso for $46,575 and a John Deere Gator from Hutson, Inc. for $41,330.17, both off state or Sourcewell contracts with bidding waived, and added a late item authorizing up to $12,473 with Mid Michigan Emergency Equipment Sales and Service to swap in-car cameras in ten police vehicles.

The consent agenda also set the Oct. 5 hearings on the camping ban and the single-hauler trash ordinance, and approved Traffic Control Order No. 1547 closing streets from 5 to 7 p.m. today, Friday, Oct. 9, for the Owosso High School homecoming parade. The minutes do not list which streets; the order adopts the closures "listed on the application."

Councilmember Ludington left the room at 7:10 p.m. and abstained while the council approved $1,023.49 in August contracts with his company, Ludington Electric, Inc., a pecuniary interest declared under the city charter and state law. The council separately committed $123,586.75 to the Shiawassee Area Transportation Agency for its fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, approved 7-0. Asked by Humphreys why SATA's funding runs short, City Manager Nathan R. Henne said the Headlee rollback and tax captures by the Brownfield Authority and the DDA mean the city's millage no longer covers the full SATA fee, and that the gap has appeared only in the last couple of years.

What happens next: the towing ordinance takes effect Oct. 12, and it is available for inspection or purchase at the city clerk's office, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Councilmember Fear asked about the vacant commercial property registration ordinance; the minutes say it is being evaluated by the DDA and "should be ready for Council in October." Councilmember Olson raised the downtown holiday lights, which the minutes say are affected by outdated electrical infrastructure and circuit problems with repairs "expected to cost many thousands of dollars"; Mayor Teich suggested developing a plan for an affordable fix. No repair figure or date was set.