Ulster County reimburses employees $347,000 annually for mileage
KINGSTON – Over the past three years, Ulster County government employees who used their personal vehicle to travel for their jobs, racked up over 600,000 miles a year with the county spending an average of $347,000 in mileage reimbursements annually.
That analysis came from County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach’s office, which conducted its second “Measure 2 Manage” report for 2010.
“While Ulster County owns a fleet of vehicles for use by staff, there may be an under utilization of the resources that result in the high cost of reimbursement,” said Auerbach. “We expect this data to initiate analysis by departments regarding the economy, effectiveness and efficiency of the use of county vehicles as compared to the costs of reimbursement for mileage of personally-owned vehicles.”
Auerbach’s study concentrated predominantly on two departments: social services and public health.
The county has no policy regarding personal vehicle use and he said one should address responsibility and authority including vehicle ownership, condition and adequacy of insurance coverage.
He suggested the county executive and county legislature look into adopting such a policy.
“We want to ensure that both the county and its employees are adequately protected, especially those who carry passengers in the line of duty,” Auerbach said. “Likewise, we believe the county can better manage its expenses by instituting a personal vehicle use policy.”
(Copyright © 2009 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc)
2 comments:
Time for gas only credit cards and accompanying log books. This expense needs auditing, big time.
Of course employees would use their own cars. It's an easy way to make a car payment or help defray car insurance. Who wants to use a car from the fleet when you can get reimbursed for mileage.
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