Leaders in Iowa City Consider Tougher Vehicle Impound Law

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Motorists in Mason City, Iowa could soon have their vehicles impounded for any one of 10 violations, including some misdemeanors.

The City Council will consider an impound ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night, the Mason City Globe Gazette reported. Violations leading to vehicle impounds include using a vehicle while making, selling or delivering drugs, operating under a suspended license or without proof of insurance and operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Those suspected of using a vehicle while fleeing police, in connection with a crime or while transporting stolen property also would have their vehicle impounded.

In most cases, motorists would have to pay $250 to get their vehicle back. The proposal is modeled after a Cedar Rapids ordinance.

Some officials have asked where impounded vehicles would be kept. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department has an impound yard it could share with the city until the city could build its own, but both options would cost money, said City Administrator Brent Trout.

Trout and Police Chief Mike Lashbrook also have concerns about the amount of an officer’s time impounding a vehicle could take, which includes waiting for a tow truck and paperwork.

They suggest removing from the proposal that a vehicle could be impounded for driving with a suspended license and for lack of insurance.

“These are simple misdemeanor charges and do not seem to carry the severity that requires the impoundment of a vehicle,” Trout said in a memo to the council.

The ordinance as written is expected to result in 30 to 40 impounded vehicles per month, Trout said.