COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Monday, Columbus police began taking action against abandoned and inoperable cars in Hilltop and Franklinton with "Operation Broken Windows."
In 2021, the department received more than 11,000 "311 requests" and complaints about the issue. Sergeant James Fuqua said this week the city will focus only on identifying and tagging junk cars.
If your car is tagged, you have until the weekend to have it removed on your own. Monday, Feb. 7, the department will start towing tagged cars to the city's impound lot.
"We understand the fees that will incur when your car is impounded can be substantial, and a lot of times people will have cars that are abandoned or just not operable because they don't have the money to fix it in that moment--so we don't want to put money on top of money already," Sgt Fuqua said.
Impounded vehicles are subject to the following fees prior to release:
- $125 towing fee
- $30 administrative fee
- Cost of current parking citations ($50 and/or $30) and any previous unpaid citations
- $18 per day storage fee after the first 3 days
Any unclaimed vehicles are subject to sale or destruction.