At Monday’s Decatur city council meeting, leaders passed the long-awaited repossession ordinance. The 4-1 vote came seven months after police shot and killed Steve Perkins during an overnight repossession. The ordinance will go into effect on June 1.
The new ordinance has been in the works for months now. It would add the definition of re-possessor to the city’s code, and the biggest part is adding a notification of repossession.
Anytime a car is going to be repossessed by a tow truck, the company has to notify the Decatur Police Department 30 minutes before they do so. And they must notify the department an hour after the repossession to let them know if it was successful or not.
If any type of breach of peace happens, the tow truck company must stop the repossession immediately, and they will have to wait at least 24 hours before attempting to repossess a vehicle from that same location.
Mayor Tab Bowling stayed for a portion of the public comments, listening to concerns about the lack of a director for the parks and recreation therapeutics special needs program. But he left shortly after that when somebody called him racist.
City leaders called out Bowling once he left Monday's meeting for a lack of leadership. In particular, not showing up to the State of the City address.
City Council President Jacob Ladner said, “I think if you're not willing to sit there and listen to everybody, if you're not willing to step in the gap when there's a big leadership void as there has been, and if you are not willing to show up for the state of the city, then I really question if you are still willing to do the job.â€
Decatur Councilman Kyle Pike said, “I think it sends a bad signal to the community and to the businesses in our community, and so I think he does need to reassess his role and his willingness to do his job.â€
Several parents and community members stepped up to the mic, asking why the mayor and city have not taken steps to hire a director for the city's special needs program. The former director gave a six-month heads-up before she retired in December.
Mark Griffin said, “We didn’t capitalize on the director before she retired while she was willing, and that was a mistake."
Advocates for their family members in the therapeutics program say a lack of leadership caused several athletes to miss the deadline for this year’s special Olympics registration.
Sarah Malinowski said, “The one takeaway we did have was that they were going to support us for the state Olympic games. And when that didn't happen, we were forced to do it on our own and to research things that they could have researched.â€
Decatur Parks and Recreation is in the process of hiring a new director for their therapeutics program that meets their criteria and qualifications.
