Department:

City of Seattle

Department of Finance and Administrative Services Rule No:

FOR-HIRE TRANSPORTATION-05-2019

Supersedes:

New

Publication:

8/22/2019

Effective:

10/10/2019

Subject:

Involuntary Transfer of Taxicab or For-Hire Vehicle Medallions and Public Auction

Code and Section Reference(s):

SMC 6.310.137.A and .340

SMC 6.310.140 (rulemaking authority)

Approved:

Division Director

Business Unit Officer

Calvin W. Goings, Department Director

Date

Date

Date

City of Seattle Taxicab, Transportation Network Company Vehicle and For-Hire Vehicle Rules

________________________________________

Rule FOR-HIRE TRANSPORTATION-05-2019

Involuntary Transfer of Taxicab or For-Hire Vehicle Medallions and Public Auction

(SMC 6.310.137.A)

The following rule provides guidance for the auctioning of an involuntarily transferred taxicab or for-hire medallion as required by the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC).

1. The interest of a medallion owner may be suspended or revoked for any reason enumerated in SMC Chapter 6.310 for the suspension or revocation of a taxicab or for-hire vehicle license.

2. Upon a final order of revocation and where all appellate proceedings, if any, have been concluded, the Director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) or his or her designee (the Department Director) will coordinate the sale of the medallion at public auction by an auctioneer licensed by the state of Washington and holding an active contract with the City of Seattle.

3. If a judicial foreclosure proceeding related to the revoked medallion is filed in court, the

Department Director will stay the auction until the proceeding is finalized. Unless the decree of foreclosure states otherwise, the Department Director will follow the auction process and proceedings distribution as outlined in this Rule.

4. The medallion will be sold at a live auction unless a live auction proves impractical or would cause an unnecessary delay. In such cases, the Department Director reserves the right to sell the medallion via an online auction by a licensed auctioneer holding an active contract with the City.

5. The Department Director will search FAS records and run a search for any liens recorded against the revoked medallion on the Washington State Uniform Commercial Code's (UCC) website at https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/ucc/.

6. The Department Director will publicize the auction date, time, location and other pertinent information via FAS' website and through other communications channels used by the for-hire transportation industry. The notice will identify any liens discovered by the Department Director's search. The notice will be provided to any identified lienholders.

Within two business days of the Department Director publicizing the auction date, the medallion to be auctioned will be published, by medallion number, at http://www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/taxis-for-hires-and-tncs/medallions. The Department Director will put the medallion up for auction no sooner than 10 business days from the date of this publication.

7. The Department Director will establish a minimum bid (reserve) price for the medallion based on the estimated cost of auctioning the medallion.

8. The medallion will be sold to the highest and best bidder, who will pay the amount bid by a cashier's check within seven business days from the date and time of sale.

The Department Director will verify whether the highest and best bidder meets all obligations of a medallion holder as outlined in SMC Chapter 6.310, including the ability to complete the medallion transfer process and place a medallioned vehicle into service within the timeframe established in SMC 6.310.360.C. There is no obligation for the buyer to personally operate the taxicab.

Should the highest and best bidder not meet those obligations, that bidder is disqualified as the medallion awardee and will receive a full refund, less $500 as the City's administrative fee. The Department Director will then re-award the medallion to the next highest and best bidder and will repeat that process until finding a successful bidder or exhausting the list of bidders from the auction, whichever comes first. If no highest and best bidder is identified in the first auction, then the Department Director will re-auction the medallion later. For an unsuccessful auction, the City will pay the expenses of holding the auction.

9. The proceeds from the sale of such medallions, after deducting the expenses of the sale and all costs incurred by the City including, but not limited to, auction costs, attorney's fees and any outstanding penalties and/or fees against the medallion, will be paid, first, to the lienholder or lienholders identified by the Department Director's search in the order of date of filing and the balance, if any, will be paid to the person whose interest in the medallion has been revoked, or to the City when the person cannot be located.

Any remaining balance owed on a lien identified by the Department Director's search and other alleged liens or financial obligations attached to or related to the medallion remain the responsibility of the revoked licensee.

To complete the transfer process, the new medallion holder will file a completed medallion application from with the Department Director and pay applicable licensing fees.

3. A dual medallion; i.e., a combined City medallion and King County medallion; must be transferred together per SMC 6.310.340.F. If the medallion to be auctioned is dual, FAS will confer with King County to confirm that the City may conduct the auction of the King County medallion on behalf of King County. If King County concurs with that plan, then the City will complete the steps outlined in this Rule. If King County does not concur, the King County medallion will be deemed abandoned and void (please see King County Code 6.64.710.B).

In addition, the transferred medallion must be used for the same purpose it was used for at the time of auction. For example, an auctioned wheelchair accessible taxicab (WAT) medallion cannot be used as a non-WAT medallion after the transfer.