PROVO -- Utah County commissioners are trying to cut costs by reducing the number of leased or owned vehicles in the county's fleet -- but they're finding the wheels of government are prized by those who have them.
"We have reviewed all of the vehicles in the county motor pool," said Commissioner Jerry Grover. Grover said the intent is to eliminate little-used vehicles.Currently, the county has 220 vehicles and 117 pieces of equipment in the motor pool, including snowmobiles, graders and landscaping equipment. Most of the vehicles are owned.
Insurance for the fleet through the state insurance provider costs the county a flat fee each year so the elimination of a few cars would not affect the bottom line. However, maintenance for the motor pool in 1999 totalled $1.01 million and could be reduced with fewer units.
The commission is proposing to drop eight vehicles that have been driven less than 12,000 miles. That includes a police car for Robert Ward, manager of an inmate-job program, along with a pair of four-wheel drive vehicles in the engineering department and several assigned to the sheriff's office.
Sheriff David Bateman said Ward needs a vehicle because he often drives inmates involved in the program to and from work.
Don Nay, public works administrator, said one building inspector basically would lose his office if he loses his car.
He said another vehicle on the chopping block is essential to the employee who needs it to help him inspect rugged areas for mapping.
Sheriff David Bateman says each vehicle he loses costs him a chance to put an officer on the street. Originally, he was looking at losing a dozen vehicles, but now he is hoping to retain all but six.
During the budget approval process in December, Bateman spoke against the proposed budget because of cuts he said took away much of his opportunity to manage effectively and efficiently.
Commissioner David Gardner, defending the county's position in a meeting Tuesday, said he cannot see having three vehicles assigned to the three administrators who basically work at the Utah County Security Center each day.
Gardner said the employees are very valuable but the cars they drive at county expense "feel more like a perk."
Commissioner Gary Herbert said there are challenges involved in keeping quality people interested in employment at the jail.
"There are some intangibles that come into place," he said. "Is having a car a perk or good management? Maybe allowing them to keep their cars ultimately serves the taxpayer better."
The commissioners voted to allow Ward to keep his car and the engineers to retain their vehicles. They eliminated one of the remaining three cars in the sheriff's department, leaving two for the three administrators to share.
Grover said the car policy will be reviewed every six months. The current review was prompted largely by a high number of accident claims that came in during the past year.
"We had one police car damaged in an accident on the defensive driving range and then again coming from that accident," he said. "That cost us $150,000 because of all the specialized equipment involved."