Manassas creates towing advisory board, legislative committee

The Manassas City Council will create a new commission to help it keep a closer eye on legislators in Richmond.

A new Legislative Committee will develop an agenda to showcase the city’s wants and needs and present it to elected members of the General Assembly. The committee will also monitor legislation for review and recommend revisions for existing legislation. The committee will consist of three members of the City Council appointed through the Council’s rules of procedure.

This committee will be the fourth committee put together by the Council, which included committees dedicated to finance, land use, and appointments to various city positions.

While these committees have discussed issues that have become legislative priorities for the Council, such discussions have never been the purview of these committees. Nor have the committees had the authority to push these agendas toward elected legislators.

The City Council also established a towing ordinance advisory board for the city that will regulate the removal or restraint of vehicles parked on private property. The owners or managers in charge of any property with an unauthorized vehicle on the premises can report to this board to remove the vehicle.

Like its counterpart in Prince William County, the advisory board will also set fees charged for removing vehicles left on private property. The city currently contracts with local law enforcement and local towing companies for vehicle removal and storage.

The board will consist of three members, one from the Manassas City Police Department who will be appointed by the chief of police, a representative of the local towing companies, and a member of the public. All board members will serve a term of four years, with the chair position rotating among its members on an annual basis.

No date has been set to appoint members of either community.