Sherman loosens requirements for wrecker services

heralddemocrat.com

Amid a dwindling number of partner services, the Sherman Police Department is reducing the requirements for its rotation wrecker program. The Sherman City Council voted unanimously to approve the change earlier this month.

The change will allow the city to sign agreements with wrecker services within five miles of Sherman for tow truck operations for vehicles involved with wrecks. 

"Our current ordinance allows us to enter into rotation wrecker agreement with companies that only operate within the city limits of Sherman," Sherman Police Sgt. Brett Mullen said.

However, the number of wrecker companies that have such agreements has dwindled over the years to where Sherman only works with three services, Mullen said.

"Having only three services has led to delayed response times during inclement weather especially, as well as when we have multiple incidents involving vehicles at one time," he said.

This also has led officers to have to spend more time at crash scenes and traffic for citizens due to the prolonged wait time.

By opening up services to a five-mile radius, Mullen said it would allow up to 10 services to work with the city of Sherman and significantly lower response times.

City Council Member Pam Howeth asked if the department had received any pushback from the three partner services. Mullen said no one has approached him, but two outside services have already expressed their desire to partner with the city.