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Committee to rewrite take-home vehicle policy, flags 100-mile personal-use limit and IRS guidance
Summary
Committee members agreed on Sept. 4 to rewrite Resolution 980 (take-home vehicle policy) rather than amend the outdated list of positions; discussion focused on limiting personal use mileage (a 100-mile/bordering-states allowance drew criticism) and whether specific job titles should be hard-coded into policy.
The Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 4 reviewed Resolution 980, the city's vehicle-commuting (take-home vehicle) policy, and decided to put aside piecemeal amendments in favor of a full rewrite.
Why it matters: The policy governs who is allowed to use city-marked vehicles for commuting and personal use, which carries optics, payroll-tax and audit implications.
Staff said the current resolution includes obsolete job titles and inconsistent personal-use exemptions. The presenter told the committee to "put all of that aside and let's hear what you feel it needs to look like and then we can just rewrite it as new," and referenced IRS Publication 15-B in explaining how personal use can create taxable fringe benefits.
Alderman McOde (committee member) raised concerns about a provision that would allow personal use of a city vehicle up to 100 miles into bordering states, calling that range "pretty far" for personal use and noting potential bad optics if a city-marked vehicle showed up at a private event. Other members debated whether to retain specific job titles in the policy or leave the policy flexible so future administrators' contracts could specify vehicle use.
Staff told the committee these changes were in part informed by the city's recent state audit and that the committee should consider restricting personal use and cleaning up the list of positions. The committee directed staff to draft a new, updated policy that reflects current positions and tighter personal-use guidance; staff will return with a rewrite for committee review.
Ending: No vote was taken. Staff will produce a rewritten take-home vehicle policy for future committee consideration, with attention to IRS guidance, audit findings and future-proofing the policy language.
