San Mateo County Grand Jury
• 2009-2010
Issue Is San Mateo County effectively managing its vehicle fleet and employee vehicle reimbursement
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 8 findings
F1
Assigned Fleet Vehicles a. San Mateo County department managers do not have an effective system to monitor fleet vehicle use or mileage reimbursement. Department managers make decisions on use and assignment of vehicles without any documentation or surveys to support their conclusions. b. There is no process in place to track or analyze vehicle data or justify vehicle assignments, or having 53 vehicles on-call on a daily basis. c. Vehicles are assigned to departments and individuals within departments without provisions for other departments or individuals to use these vehicles. d. County vehicle maintenance costs have increased dramatically from $685 in 2004 to $1,452 in 201010. e. The County is currently spending $1.7 million more per year on assigned fleet vehicles than it would if all 556 assigned vehicle users were driving their own cars for County business and being reimbursed at the 2009 IRS rate of $.55 per mile. f. Current motor pool vehicles are ready available; numerous fleet tracking and reservation technologies have been found by government agencies to significantly increase motor pool utilization.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Annually survey the vehicle fleet including assessing vehicle mileage, assignments, locations, and needs of the County. Recommend to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors which vehicles (assigned to individuals, departments, and the motor pool) should be reassigned or sold.
F2
Vehicle Mileage Reimbursement a. For non-motor pool, it is less expensive for the County to reimburse an employee at $.55 per mile (2009 rate) to use his/her own vehicle on County business than to supply the employee with a County owned vehicle. It should be noted that the County has policies in place to encourage the use of public transportation by County employees. b. Department managers have no system in place to verify employees’ mileage and usage of their personal vehicles on County business. c. Department managers depend upon employees to use an “honor system” in recording their vehicle mileage and usage.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Annually survey the assignments of overnight vehicles to determine if the assignments are in the best financial interest of the County.
F3
Vehicle Allowance a. The Board of Supervisors sets the vehicle allowance amounts and the County Manager determines which employees, in addition to himself and the Board of Supervisors, receive vehicle allowances. b. Vehicle allowances in San Mateo County are higher than in other nearby counties and are provided to a broader range of County employees. 10 http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/vgn/images/portal/cit_609/49/57/133796582fleet_op_review.pdf 7 c. If an employee receives a vehicle allowance within the time period used for calculating his/her pension, it is included in the retirement calculation for his/her pension.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Determine a method of verifying actual mileage used by employees driving their personal vehicles on County business for vehicle reimbursement.
F4
Overnight Vehicles a. There is a cost to the County in allowing its employees to drive County vehicles home overnight. b. The Sheriff’s Office has reduced the number of employees with overnight vehicle approvals from 64 to 36. This reduction is estimated by the Sheriff’s Office to save $150,000 per year. c. The County Manager has final approval as to which employees are assigned overnight vehicles based on established criteria.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Establish a mechanism to verify insurance coverage of County employees driving personal vehicles for County business.
F5
Risk Management a. The County has no system in place to ensure that employees driving their personal vehicles on County business have car insurance. b. The County requires employees to carry minimum car insurance as per California law. c. According to a County official, raising the minimum level of employee car insurance could discourage some employees from driving their own vehicles on County business. d. The use of overnight vehicles increases County liability. e. The County holds in a self-insurance reserve $683 per vehicle per year. This is included in the vehicle mileage costs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Include in the San Mateo County Driving Policy verification that all employees who drive their personal vehicles on County business carry as a minimum the following: $25,000/$50,000 per accident injury and $5,000 per accident for property damages coverage. For their own protection, however, employees should be encouraged to obtain minimum insurance coverage of at least $100,000/$300,000/$50,000.
F6
Policies and Procedures a. San Mateo County’s Driving Policy lacks several provisions that may reduce County costs: i. Setting limits on the mileage an employee may live from his/her duty station while driving an overnight vehicle. ii. Requiring that all unattended vehicles be locked. iii. Prohibiting employees from leaving compromising information (to both California residents and County departments), both written and electronic, in unattended vehicles. iv. Prohibiting passengers in County vehicles unless they are being transported for County business CONCLUSIONS The 2009-2010 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury concludes that:
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Confirm that the County Driving Policy that requires employees to keep daily mileage and destination logs is being followed. Instruct department heads on how to maintain effective oversight on vehicle mileage and use.
F7
Page 10
Update the County Driving Policy: a. Set limits on the mileage an employee may live from his/her duty station while driving an overnight vehicle. b. Require that all unattended vehicles be locked. c. Prohibit employees from leaving compromising information (to both California residents and County departments) both written and electronic in unattended vehicles. d. Prohibit passengers in County vehicles unless they are being transported for County business.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Update the County Driving Policy: a. Set limits on the mileage an employee may live from his/her duty station while driving an overnight vehicle. b. Require that all unattended vehicles be locked. c. Prohibit employees from leaving compromising information (to both California residents and County departments) both written and electronic in unattended vehicles. d. Prohibit passengers in County vehicles unless they are being transported for County business.
F8
Page 10
Eliminate assigning vehicles to departments (except patrol vehicles and vehicles with special equipment) or individuals and transfer these vehicles to the motor pool. Ensure that motor pool locations are optimally placed. 10 9. Consider utilizing fleet management software. Furthermore, the 2009-2010 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors: 1. Set the bi-weekly amount of the present car allowances to the average of other four Bay Area counties.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Eliminate assigning vehicles to departments (except patrol vehicles and vehicles with special equipment) or individuals and transfer these vehicles to the motor pool. Ensure that motor pool locations are optimally placed. 10
Additional Recommendations 1
These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.
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R9Consider utilizing fleet management software. Furthermore, the 2009-2010 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
Conclusions 6
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CL1 Page 8Fleet Cars a. The County’s vehicle fleet is too large, not cost effective, and has no comprehensive oversight. b. The utilization of the current motor pool fleet may be improved substantially by the deployment of any of a number of fleet tracking and reservation technologies. 8 c. The system in place of assigning vehicles to departments and individuals does not maximize vehicle use.
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CL2 Page 9Mileage Reimbursement a. There is no system in place to verify employees’ mileage claims for reimbursement. b. Relying solely on an “honor system” where money is involved can lead to abuse. c. Mileage reimbursement would save the County at least $5,002 per assigned vehicle per year compared with supplying those employees with County owned vehicles. d. Providing 556 employees with a County-owned vehicle rather than reimbursing them for the same amount of travel in their own vehicle costs the County at least $1.7 million per year. Actual savings to the County would be less than the $1.7 million since some additional motor pool vehicles would likely be needed.
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CL3 Page 9Vehicle Allowances a. The Board of Supervisors provides higher vehicle allowances to County employees and elected officials than other nearby counties. b. The County Manager has designated a number of employees who are not department heads or assistants to receive vehicle allowances. c. An employee who receives a vehicle allowance within the time period used for calculating his/her pension will have this amount included in the retirement calculation for his/her pension.
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CL4 Page 9Overnight Vehicles a. Better financial oversight should be applied to determine the assignment of overnight vehicles.
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CL5 Page 8Risk Management a. The County has no system in place to verify if employees who drive their own vehicles on County business have vehicle insurance. In order to reduce liability, the County should require more than the minimum car insurance for employees who use their personal vehicles on County business. b. The County maintains self-insurance reserves of $683 per vehicle per year for vehicle insurance. c. Reducing the number of fleet vehicles and overnight vehicles would reduce the County’s liability.
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CL6 Page 9Policies and Procedures a. The present system where the County Manager and Public Works Director depend on department managers to ensure vehicle use is maximized does not work. No analysis is performed as to the benefit of assigned vehicles, motor pool location placement/usage and who should merit overnight vehicles. The County Manager has not established processes that department managers should follow to efficiently manage the County’s vehicle costs. 9 b. The County Driving Policy needs to be updated to better protect the County from loss. The Policy should contain the following: i. Set limits on the mileage an employee may live from his/her duty station while driving an overnight vehicle. ii. Require that all unattended vehicles be locked. iii. Prohibit employees from leaving compromising information (to both California residents and County departments) both written and electronic in unattended vehicles. iv. Prohibit passengers in County vehicles unless they are being transported for County business.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office