Misuse of credit cards and county-owned vehicles by employees will be unlikely if not impossible under new guidelines adopted by three Wasatch Front counties.
Davis, Weber and Utah counties have apparently taken to heart lessons from so-called "guzzlegate" in Salt Lake County. High-ranking county employees were routinely using county cars for personal use, sometimes for vacations. The county auditor purchased more than $10,000 worth of county gas allegedly used in a private vehicle.
Although those acts were apparent willful violations of fleet use guidelines in Salt Lake County, Davis, Weber and Utah counties are removing any temptation for misuse or chance of oversight.
In Davis County, only Sheriff Bud Cox drives a county-owned car, and that's because of the radio and other equipment installed in it, said Commission Chairman Dannie McConkie.
In Utah County, gas cards are issued for county vehicle use. Sheriff's patrol officers are the only county employees allowed to take vehicles home at night. All others are to be used only during the work day, said Clyde Naylor, Utah county public works director.
"The only elected official who uses a county vehicle is the sheriff," he said.
In Weber County, officials have quit buying vehicles for non-sheriff's office employees and are leasing them in an effort to save money, County Commissioner Glen Burton said. The county continues to buy sheriff's vehicles, but so far that is a good investment, he said.
"Oddly enough, our public safety fleet sells out first because smaller communities find it is cheaper for them to buy our 2-year-old cars that are already equipped with police equipment," Burton said.
Gary Laird, director of operations for Weber County, said he and other officials are reviewing the county policy on buying cars. He said he expects to recommend they buy fewer cars and return to reimbursing county employees for their mileage. The county has about 150 cars for its public safety employees and another 40 for other employees.
In recent months, Weber County discovered a problem with the sale of its used cars. The man who contracted with the county to sell them was arraigned in 2nd District Court Friday on fraud charges, stemming from $160,000 in missing funds.
Burton said the county has tightened up its control over car sales. "You can't get comfortable even though someone has performed in the past. You have to make sure you don't release the title until you get a check. Overall, our program has worked well over the years except for that little glitch. We'll have to make sure we get it back that way."
Both Weber and Utah counties log mileage reports for each time county gas cards are used, with the odometer reading entered at the gas pump in order to use the gas card, he said. This also applies to the cards used by their public safety employees.
"We know who purchased the gas and for what vehicle," Utah County's Naylor said.
When personal vehicles are used, mileage is reimbursed at the federal rate of .375 cents per mile.
If an employee needs to travel for the county, personal vehicles are used and a mileage reimbursement form is completed. Money for all foreseeable expenses is usually issued beforehand, he said.
These measures would have prevented the abuses in Salt Lake County from happening in Utah County, he said.
McConkie has a county-issued credit card, but keeps it locked in his desk and uses his personal card, he said from Ohio, noting that the expenses of that trip will be put on his own card and he will apply for reimbursement.
"I think the way we do it is in the best interest of the county financially. People buy their own gas with their own credit card and then apply for reimbursement," McConkie said.
County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings said the few credit cards Davis County issues to elected officials and department heads are for authorized travel only. "The cards are used for conference registration, hotel charges so we can take advantage in managing our cash flow," Rawlings said.
The only cars Davis County buys are for employees in public safety, the Assessor's Office, the Department of Health and Public Works. "We didn't want to expand our fleet. Employees have to check out a car and check it back in," Rawlings said.
Rawlings said all travel requests from the county commissioners and reconciliation forms are approved through the County Attorney's Office and his office.
"We have a system of internal controls that are audited and looked at by an outside auditing firm. They audit all records and make any recommendations for improvements. We haven't had any recommendations in that area.
"Before anyone travels, they must get approval from the commission and their travel expenses must be budgeted for previously," he said.
Davis County gives the three commissioners each a $541.67 before-tax car allowance each month, Rawlings said. The other 17 elected officials and department heads get a monthly allowance of $502.67. That money is taxable to them at the same rate as their income tax bracket.
For commissioners, the car allowance is 5.8 percent of their annual salary of $92,513.
"There are another 75 people we pay mileage to at the current rate of .375 cents per mile, the IRS-allowed rate," Rawlings said, at a cost per employee averaging about $126 per month.
Unlike other some other counties, Davis County Sheriff's deputies don't drive cars home. They drive their cars to work and then take over a patrol car from an officer going off shift, he said.
"If you look at other counties, they have a fleet department, which can be a big mess considering the problem of buying, selling and maintaining vehicles," he said.
E-mail: lweist@desnews.com