County to restrict use of take home vehicles to save money

by Samuel King (king@wsbt.com)

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Reducing the number of county take home cars

St. Joseph County commissioners are hoping to reduce the number of St. Joseph County employees that take their cars home. They are also looking at buying more fuel-efficient vehicles. (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Apr 28, 2008 at 3:10 PM EST

Story Updated: Apr 28, 2008 at 4:08 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — Local governments are changing policies to help deal with rising fuel costs. St. Joseph County commissioners will vote Tuesday on a proposal that would reduce the number of St. Joseph County employees that take their cars home.

Forty-five percent of the county's fleet goes home with employees every day. The plan could save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

“Now with the cost of fuel where it is today and with the budget constraints of House Bill 1001, we needed to radically alter the way we were handling our take home car policy,” said Mark Dobson, President of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.

Under the proposal, most of those county vehicles will be parked, unless an employee needs it for work. Dobson told WSBT it’s a matter of cutting costs, not a reaction to abuse.

“I've never seen a vehicle at the local grocery store or at the golf course, or somewhere that it doesn't belong,” Dobson said.

The St. Joseph County police already have a more restrictive policy in place.

Employees who are not on-call have to leave their cars parked when they leave work. Officers will still take their cars home, but they can't use them for non-work functions.

“It's because it's a proven fact that take home cars is a crime deterrent,” said Maj. James Weisser. “People love them parked in their neighborhoods. They see a marked car, and it deters crime.”

County commissioners voted to eliminate their take home cars a few years ago to set an example. Now many other employees will have to follow suit.

“It would have been nice if the county were still buying my fuel, the reality is we can't do that,” Dobson said. “We acknowledge it's a hardship, but at the same time we have a responsibility to the taxpayer as well.”

The county will buy more fuel-efficient vehicles in the future. That could also save on gas. The City of South Bend is also looking at whether to change its policies and finding other ways to cut fuel costs.

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