SCHNECTADY, N.Y. -- A handful of towing company owners headed Monday to Schenectady's City Hall to make themselves seen and heard when it comes to the city's bidding process.
According to City Council President Lisa Perazzo, the request for proposals only went out because the council passed new legislation changing revenue the city would get from a tow company.
That's when companies like AC Towing started asking questions, hoping to be selected, but they felt they weren't being heard. They decided to light City Hall up, parking their trucks outside with their lights flashing to show they exist.
Saying there's been a duopoly for several years between the city and H & K Towing and Bobar’s Interstate Towing, Rafael Nieves, owner of AC Towing, had questions about what requirements they need to meet to be selected for a contract.
"It's the same runaround that I've been getting for months and months and years,” said Nieves. “At this point I'm not just fighting for my business or my company, I'm fighting for the ones who are out here that are looking to survive to stay in business."
Council was supposed to vote on a resolution that would allow the police department to enter into a contract for police towing, but that didn't happen because the council still had some questions.
“It has nothing to do with a monopoly,” said Perazzo. “It has to be a systematic examination of each business. Some of that examination, we had questions about, hence the delay in pulling it off the agenda. We want to make sure we are making the best, fairest decision.”
According to Perazzo, the item will be on the agenda at the next meeting which she says more than likely will be an executive session due to sensitive information in the contracts.