Less than 10 minutes after leaving his van to run an errand at the Public Safety Building, a city resident, who does not want to be identified, returned to find his Honda Odyssey being towed away.

The tow-truck operator told the resident to call the towing company in 15 minutes. The resident called 20 minutes later, and got voice mail. He kept trying. It took the entire business day, he says, to get a person on the phone. And his bill came to $184.68, including tax.

A growing number of customer complaints about alleged gouging is prompting the city to consider tightening its regulation of tow-truck operators.

"It just seems like there's more and more concerns," says City Clerk Dan Karin.

The city licenses 20 operators to tow from private property. The city charter says these operators cannot charge more than $50, or more than the city's contract towers charge - whichever is greater.

Contact towers charge a standard fee of $99, but they can tack on $72 for additional services, such as when an extra person is needed for a job. And that's where questions often come in, Karin says.

"It's tough to prove," he says. "I'm not in the towing business. Who knows if it needs two people or one person to tow a car?"

The city refers complaints to the police department for investigation. (A police spokesman did not return City's calls for comment on this story.)

Karin says the city is looking into what, if anything, can be done to make sure that towing companies are levying fair fees.

"The question is, is it fair? Is it legal?" Karin says. "And it very well may be."

The city is also looking into the cash-only policies that most, if not all, of these companies have, he says.

 "They must've been burned by checks," Karin says. "People don't have $184 in their pockets to retrieve their cars."

But drivers have a responsibility, too, he says. And that is to find legal parking.

"It is kind of a shock - $184, that's a lot of money," Karin says. "It would've been a whole lot cheaper to park someplace else."

Parking violations often occur in areas with thriving commercial strips, Karin says, such as on Park and Monroe Avenues. People will sometimes try to justify the violation, he says, by saying they were just running into the bar for a quick drink. But if you're caught, Karin says, "that's a pretty expensive drink."

"What we want is a healthy, functioning towing business," he says. "And if you violate the law by parking where you shouldn't be, well, you shouldn't have violated the law. But we're trying to find that balance."

Karin says that officials hope to have legislation pertaining to the regulation of towing companies in front of City Council before the end of the year or early next year.