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| Another take on take-home vehicles |
| By jconline.com - DOROTHY SCHNEIDER |
| Published: 06/01/2011 |
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With gas prices flirting on and off with $4 per gallon, who wouldn't jump at the chance to drive an employer-provided vehicle? Such take-home cars are provided to more than 180 workers in Tippecanoe County, Lafayette and West Lafayette government. Lafayette resident Devin Budreau said he thinks take-home vehicles should be used sparingly by government officials. He said he can see the need for them in some cases -- for emergency responders, for example. "I don't think all of the government (workers) require a vehicle who are using them," Budreau said. "Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for that gas." Rising expenses and shrinking tax revenues may force a harder look at the perk in the coming months, but there are no immediate plans to sideline any local government vehicles. "Most of those who do get the vehicles to take home, they have extremely job-related reasons," said David Byers, one of the three county commissioners. Take-home vehicles from most departments can be used only for work travel and the commute. Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said he sees numerous benefits from having employees take cars home, such as having police cars stationed in residential areas. But he said the practice is studied every year at budget review time. "It may be looked at even a little more closely this year," Murtaugh said. Just over half of Tippecanoe County's 85 take-home vehicles are for use by the sheriff's department. The bulk of the take-home fleets in Lafayette and West Lafayette are also assigned to police officers. Additional take-home vehicles were added last year in the Community Corrections department. They are used by nine employees to help keep track of growing numbers of people on probation. Aaron Sloan is one of the department's surveillance officers currently assigned a car for work. Read More. |
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