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Rules and Regulations Subcommittee
MINUTES
October 29, 2007 at 10:30am
City Hall,1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Room 400
Present: Breslin, Oneto, Gillespie
Absent: none
Commission called the meeting to order at 10:48 A.M.
ATTENDENCE: Deputy Director Jordanna Thigpen, Senior Assistant Danelle Carey, Commissioner Oka – Taxi Commission, Tom Owens-City Attorney, Rich Hybels- Metro, Jim Gillespie- Yellow, Dan Hinds-National, Wesley Hollis-Executive, Hansu Kim
1. Call to Order/Roll Call
2. General Public Comment (Please limit public comment to items not on the agenda)
- Jim Gillespie: 90 second rule for picking up people. I have a copy of the Denver ordinance and would like to calendar this topic.
- Com Breslin: We will continue this to an appropriate time.
3. Adoption of Minutes from the October 15, 2007 Subcommittee Meeting.
Adopted without objection.
4. Consideration of Amendments to Taxicab/Ramped Taxi Rules & Regulations, Section 1, Authority – 1077(a) MPC [DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION; EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS]
- Jordanna Thigpen: Com Breslin asked me to go through and put housekeeping items on; you all have a copy of that right in front of you. Staff made some housekeeping recommendations.
- Com Breslin: On Section 1 under authority I see that a portion is deleted. If you could please explain why this change is made, then we can approve or discuss it.
- Jordanna Thigpen: When Prop K was first passed it was added as Appendix F to the Charter. Prop K is now under Article 16 of the Municipal Police Code. This housekeeping recommendation would simply clean up that language.
- Com Breslin: Are there any regulations left in Appendix F?
- Jordanna: There is an Appendix F; City Attorney Owens can speak to that.
- Tom Owens: For the sake of accuracy Proposition K is now Appendix 6 of the Administrative Code. Appendix F, It would have to do with the Controller’s roll as the county services auditor.
- Com Breslin: So your recommendation is just to add the Administrative Code Appendix 6 and to delete the Appendix F?
- Tom Owens: Correct.
- Com Breslin: There is one other section I wanted to bring up, under authority the Taxicab Commission or Designee may suspend or exempt any or all enforcement of these rules and regulations when implementing special studies and/or projects to service needs relating to PC&N, I have not seen a practice of that. I want a discussion about this rule because we are not utilizing it to the extent of authority that the Taxi Commission has.
- Com Oneto: I think we would need to get the definition of special studies and projects.
- Com Gillespie: Was this originally in the police code or was this something that was added by the Taxi Commission?
- Jordanna Thigpen: I can research this.
- Com Breslin: Should we be asking for a special study?
- Com Gillespie: I think that we just need some better language.
- Jordanna Thigpen: MPC 1077 is what gives authority in the code for the commission to come up with there own rules.
- Com Breslin: We need to make a recommendation to the commission.
- Jordanna Thigpen: I will prepare/find as much history as possible for the next meeting.
- Com Breslin: This will be on the next agenda, there are no recommendations.
5. Consideration of Amendments to Taxicab/Ramped Taxi Rules & Regulations, Section 2, Response Time Goals [DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION; EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS]
· Com Gillespie: Based on what’s here they are good goals
· Com Oneto: I agree with Comm Gillespie.
· Com Oneto: What penalties are associated with having these goals?
· Jordanna Thigpen: There are currently no dispatch standards. No one has ever been prosecuted for failing.
· Com Breslin: We should make recommendation to the commission to review dispatch success. Maybe the response time goals should move to section 8.
· Dan Hinds: Reference 8.A.6
· Com Breslin: It would make more sense to have this under 8.A.6, which is partially the dispatch responsibility. Driver’s responsibility is different than the dispatch responsibility.
· Jordanna Thigpen: Drivers are not responsible for accepting a call from a customer and then dispatching himself to a call, that’s why the goals are different.
· Com Breslin: It has to be a dual responsibility. We can take public comment.
· Com Gillespie: Are you still advocating moving this to section 8.
· Com Breslin: Yes and cleaning up the taxi driver rule.
· Com Oneto: You might want to put how many calls a driver refuses, because that’s more your issue.
· Com Breslin: That’s not my issue; we don’t know where the driver is at the time of the call. I would suggest that the goals belong with the dispatch service.
Public Comment:
- Com Oka : From my experience this is more of an incentive goal. Incentive problem more than anything else. The responsibility has to be both dispatch and the driver.
- Com Gillespie: We have a lot of different rules for ramp taxis
- Com Breslin: We will address incentives and calls pick ups under ramp taxis.
- Wesley Hollis: Goals don’t belong in a rules and regulations book, section 2 is inappropriate.
- Com Breslin: I actually think that we need to encourage response.
- Com Oneto: An agenda item request for the next meeting to discuss Section 2, 6.C.10 and 8.A.6 all at the same time.
- Com Breslin: Lets agenda that. There are no recommendations at this time.
6. Consideration of Amendments to Taxicab/Ramped Taxi Rules & Regulations, Section 3, Definitions [DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION; EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS]
· Jordanna Thigpen: Staff made a recommendation to delete Section K, Formal Employee Operations because this has caused some confusion in the past.
· Com Breslin: I understand that some drivers are employees and some are not.
· Jordanna Thigpen: The only reference we found to it in the rules and regulations was pertaining to parking a taxi cab vehicle off of the color schemes business premise. Section 4.A.9.
· Tom Owens: I don’t really know the significance but it would apply to those operations where the company formally acknowledges that the drivers are employees when they have them on payroll or issue them a W-2 at the end of the year.
· Jordanna Thigpen: Section G of the definitions includes self-employment as an independent contractor.
· Com Breslin: I believe this allows the color scheme to determine whether or not taxis park at or away from the color scheme.
· Jordanna Thigpen: If you wanted to change 4.A.9 you can simply say for business purposes.
· Com Gillespie: I would support staff recommendations.
· Com Breslin: Can I have a recommendation
· Com Oneto: Motion to delete
· Com Gillespie: 2nd motion
· Com Breslin: For the record if one, two or three want it before the commission for a change we will do it. I wanted to take a look at the definition of 3H.
· Com Gillespie: We might want to amend that to include the 800 hour change that we’ve made. A driver does not have a driving requirement a permit holder does.
Public Comment:
- Wesley Hollis: I would like fleet vehicles to be defined in section 3.
- Com Gillespie: Are you proposing 3A be split into 2 categories, medallion holders or fleet medallion holders?
- Com Breslin: Just to list it as a definition. I would like the definitions to be in alpha order.
- Com Gillespie: I would not be comfortable with the term owner/operator. Are you just saying that the person who single shifts his vehicle and does not lease it to anyone.
- Wesley Hollis: I buy the car, own and maintain the car and hire my own drivers. I just pay a monthly fee to the company for the use of radio and color scheme, I am a sole proprietor.
- Com Oneto: Why do they get to be treated differently?
- Wesley Hollis: They get lower mileage than a fleet vehicle.
- Com Oneto: This needs to be defined separately, under vehicle usage. (5.B.1)
- Com Breslin: We need to look at the rules and if its prevalent we can make a definition for it.
- Wesley Hollis: Seems to me that it would be logical to put it under definitions.
- Com Oneto: The city does not make a distinction because they are all the same permit.
- Jordanna Thigpen: Com Breslin asked me to assemble a list of different color schemes that are single medallion companies. There are a total of 13 color schemes with 4 or less medallions associated, that’s current as of today.
- Hansu Kim: There is confusion with the different types of arrangements there are.
- Com Gillespie: Should rules and regulations define this?
- Hansu Kim: Yes, it will be helpful in the future.
- Com Gillespie: We should have a proposed list of all these different arrangements.
- Jordanna Thigpen: The point of a definition section of any statute is only if there is actually going to be reference to that late on in the rules.
- Com Breslin: What I’d like to propose for the next meeting is a public service section.
- Com Oneto: This is a book of rules and regulations, what’s done between a company and permit holder is between them.
- Com Breslin: For the next meeting, Jordanna have a list of the different styles of operation then we can take it into consideration throughout the book. I am going to continue items 4 on.
- Jordanna Thigpen: Next meeting, November 5, 2007 at 10:30pm, room 421.
7. Adjournment.
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